When the Pittsburgh Penguins headed into their Nov. 27 matchup against the Vancouver Canucks, they had lost eight of their past 10 games and found themselves in the basement of the Metropolitan Division. Since then, the team is 5-1 and finding itself right back in the thick of the playoff race.
And it happened to coincide with a player’s return to the lineup.
At the time, forward Blake Lizotte had been out since Nov. 13 with his second concussion of the season. He made his return against Vancouver, and since then, he has four goals and seven points in six games – primarily as the team’s third-line center.
“I think Lizzo has been a good player for us since he came back,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s been a big part of our penalty kill, and he’s an important player for us because he plays on both sides of the puck.”
And what’s most impressive about his output is that all of his points have come either at even strength or shorthanded – meaning he’s pacing more than a point-per-game at even strength. He’s also second to Bryan Rust in expected goals per 60 at 1.24, and although he may be riding an unsustainable 37.5 shooting percentage right now, these are still impressive offensive numbers.
But it’s not just his offense that has stood out. Statistically, Lizotte has been the best defensive skater for the Penguins. According to HockeyStatCards, his plus-1.2 defense rating is best on the team, and Cody Glass’s plus-0.4 is the next-closest mark. In addition, his 2.17 on-ice expected goals per 60 is a team-best mark, per MoneyPuck.
Simply put, he’s getting it done on both sides of the puck. And that’s exactly the kind of thing that the Penguins have been looking for in a third-line center.
“He’s a tenacious player,” Sullivan said. “He hunts pucks, he’s conscientious defensively, he makes good decisions, and I think his line has been very effective.”
During Lizotte’s second game back against the Boston Bruins, he was united with Michael Bunting and Anthony Beauvillier to form the “BLT” line, and they have been a force in all three zones ever since for the Penguins. Although his right winger has shifted a bit – Jesse Puljujarvi flanked him from the right in the Penguins’ win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday – the one constant has been Lizotte and Bunting.
“Lizzo’s been great,” Bunting said after the win against Toronto. “He’s been fun to play with, and he’s been a great addition to the team.”
It’s early, and prior to his stint with the Penguins, Lizotte hadn’t registered more than 11 goals and 34 points in a season, which came during his 2022-23 campaign with the Los Angeles Kings. But right now – despite missing 16 games this season – he is still on pace for 30 goals and 46 points.
Although it’s safe to assume that pace isn’t sustainable, it may be safe to say that the Penguins now have a legitimate third-line center option, which drastically changes this makeup of this team down the middle. Bottom-six offense is something that’s been hard for Pittsburgh to find over the last few years, and Lizotte is finding a way to give this team scoring depth and create better matchups for them throughout the course of games.
And – most importantly – his contributions have helped his team trend in the right forward direction.
“It definitely feels good to come back and contribute right away and help the team win,” Lizotte said.
