Pittsburgh Penguins top prospect and ex-Winnipeg Jet Rutger McGroarty is starting to ramp up the production at the AHL level The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins doubled up the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday and defeated the Belleville Senators 6-1 on Friday. Backed by Joel Blomqvist's 39 saves on his birthday, Sam Poulin's two goals, and Rutger McGroarty's three assists, the Penguins jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back. With the win, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is closing the gap with the Hershey Bears, who have been the top team in the Atlantic Division for most of the season. The Penguins are now only four points behind with five games in hand. Avery Hayes gave the WBS a 1-0 lead at 4:55 thanks to McGroarty's first three assists on the night. Less than two minutes later, Poulin potted the first of two lamplighters to extend the visitor's lead. Then, on the power play, at 7:53, Valtteri Puustinen scored his fourth of the year with assists from McGroarty and Hayes. Ultimately, in roughly three minutes, the Penguins erupted for three goals. In the second, WBS kept the pedal down, with Boris Katchouk scoring his 13th just 2:03 into the period. Eventually, the Senators got one past Blomqvist, but Bokondji Imama finished the period with his third goal of the year at 18:37. It was an interesting middle period, with Jonathan Gruden and Imama picking up fighting majors just eight seconds apart. While shorthanded in the third, Poulin scored second thanks to McGroarty's third helper. Meanwhile, Marc Johnstone collected the Penguins' third fighting major. Between the pipes, Blomqvist, now 6-4-2 on the season, was busy all night, turning away 39 Senators' shots with a game-high 16 stops in the second period. Eleven different Penguins players found their name on the scoresheet as WBS took the first meeting against the Senators, outscoring their Ontario rivals by a 12-4 total through two games. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton face off against Belleville for a 3:00 p.m. ET rematch on Sunday. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEwNjYwNDIwMDI3OTUwOTI5/thnpitbanner.png]
