The Pittsburgh Penguins fourth line has become a major driving force behind their success this season, and rapidly become not only one of the most effective fourth-lines in the NHL, but also one of their most effective lines as a team.
When the Penguins visit the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night, in their final game before the Olympic break, it is going to have a different look.
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Perhaps even a significantly different look.
The Penguins announced on Thursday that Blake Lizotte will be away from the team for personal reasons as his wife is expecting the birth of their first child.
The good news is it is not an injury situation and just a temporary absence for some good news for the Lizotte family.
The bigger potential concern beyond Thursday is the fact forward Noel Acciari was also not present at the morning skate, putting his availability into doubt with what Dan Muse called an illness.
The fourth consisted of Connor Dewar, Kevin Hayes and Rutger McGroarty.
That could obviously be a problem on a lot of different levels.
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For one, Lizotte and Acciari are both significant parts of the Penguins penalty kill. Taking them out of the lineup would really love that unit scrambling for some options.
It would also negate the 5-on-5 play that group has been demonstrating all season.
The Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari trio has played 282 minutes of 5-on-5 hockey this season and outscored teams by a 14-7 margin with a 54.7 percent expected goals share. They are doing that despite getting the heaviest defensive zone starts on the roster.
It is also not playing like a traditional fourth line in the sense they are just looking to chip the puck and play to a 0-0 tie. They are looking for offense, creating offense and converting offense.
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If McGroarty draws back into the lineup that would not be the worst thing given how well he has played in his most recent call-up. It might not be ideal to have him on the fourth line, but his presence in the lineup would be a positive.
Hayes would be the concern given how much he has struggled this season when he has played.
This was already going to be a difficult game given that the Sabres have been one of the best teams in the league for two months now, and it could get significantly tougher if two-thirds of their fourth line can not play. Even Lizotte’s absence along would be significant. Given that the Penguins have recorded just one out of a possible four points this week these would be two important points to get going into the Olympic break. They are going to have their work cut out for them.
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