The Pittsburgh Penguins are currently in the midst of preseason and training camp along with the rest of the NHL. The goal is to evaluate each player and see if they belong in the NHL, AHL, or even released. In addition, another goal is seeing what players play well together and where they belong in the lineup. The Penguins top-six forwards has been very consistent for years and has always produced offensively and that will continue as long as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Bryan Rust are each in the top-six. However, it has been the bottom-six forwards that have been giving the Penguins problems.
Pittsburgh Penguins Forwards Constantly Reshuffled
Arguably, the last solid bottom six forward line for the Penguins that worked was the infamous HBK line consisting of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino, and Phil Kessel. That line was a crucial part of the Penguins success in their back-to-back Stanley Cup wins in 2016 and 2017. However, since then, that unit has dealt with constant reshuffling and poor offensive play. General manager Kyle Dubas spent a ton of time and money the past two off-seasons hopefully fixing that unit.
The First Noteworthy of Penguins Depth Forwards is Noel Acciari
One of those recent acquisitions was veteran forward Noel Acciari. Acciari in his career has 107 points in 439 total games. However, this past season was his first season in Pittsburgh and it was rather lacklustre, to say the least. In 55 games, Acciari had four goals and just three assists for a total of seven points. To be fair to Acciari, he also missed some time due to various injuries including a bad concussion. However, when he was on the ice, he was not really contributing much either offensively or defensively. Hopefully his second season with the Penguins goes much better than his first.
Blake Lizotte
Blake Lizotte, on the other hand, was signed by the Penguins this past offseason. Lizotte is coming off of a down season with just seven goals and eight assists for a total of 15 points. However, he also only appeared in 62 games. Even in a down year offensively, Lizotte has still been a solid defensive forward and his work on the penalty kill is a great example as to why.
Despite the two statistics being close last year, Lizotte’s biggest strength is his ability to protect the puck and also get the puck in on his stick on the opposite end. In his career, Lizotte has 103 takeaways to just 66 giveaways. That type of puck protection and defensive play will most likely earn Lizotte a spot on the fourth line. Moreover, the Penguins will hope he can get back to being a 25+ point player this upcoming season.
Acciari and Lizotte’s Chemistry Grows
So far throughout training camp and the preseason games, head coach Mike Sullivan has reshuffled the bottom-six forwards multiple times. However, the same combination that has always been together is Acciari and Lizotte. Sullivan also mentioned that Lizotte is a “dog on a bone” with the puck. This is good news for a Penguins team that was 13th in giveaways this past season with 672.
Penguins fans are hoping the Acciari and Lizotte duo is as good as advertised and the Penguins bottom-six struggles are finally fixed and can be a complete team offensively. It is unfair to rely on Crosby and Malkin offensively every game to carry them as they are getting up their in age and have already done so much for the franchise. Therefore, having a reliable set of forwards establish chemistry, who can also chip in offensively does wonders.
Main Photo Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
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