With Blake Lizotte sidelined for the past five games due to an undisclosed injury, the Pittsburgh Penguins have slid Connor Dewar from left wing to the center station on the fourth line over that span.
The assignment isn’t foreign to Dewar, who is listed as a center on official league documents as well as web pages and entered the NHL in 2021 at the position. Since joining the Penguins in a trade last March, he has primarily been deployed as a left winger.
“I’ve probably played about 150 games at center,” Dewar said in Cranberry on Wednesday. “It’s something I’m comfortable with. I didn’t do it much last year. And obviously, not very much this year (when Lizotte has been) healthy. It’s something that I’m comfortable with doing.”
Another degree of comfort is provided by the right winger on the fourth line, Noel Acciari. Also listed as a center, Acciari has primarily played in the middle throughout his 11-year career but has largely been deployed as a right winger the past two seasons.
With Lizotte, Acciari and Dewar, the so-called “LAD Line” has three players capable of taking faceoffs and filling other duties typically assigned to the center role.
Lizotte and Dewar are left-handed, while Acciari is right-handed.
“It’s a great dynamic we’ve had on our line all season in Blake being a lefty and Noel being a righty, for taking faceoffs on your strong side,” Dewar said. “It takes a lot of stress out of the faceoffs when you know Noel can take them on my off side.”
Lizotte’s status has been labeled as “week to week,” so it’s uncertain as to when he’ll be able to rejoin the lineup. For the time being, all parties concerned are at ease with Dewar as a center.
“He started his career playing in the middle,” coach Dan Muse said. “He has played there quite a bit and he’s gotten a lot of time there. It gives two good options there. The way it’s listed is with (Dewar) in the middle. But based off of faceoffs, where they start and even based on how they end up in the (defensive) zone, Acciari winds up there as well quite a bit. It’s nice when you have those options. We’ve talked to him, he’s very comfortable there.”
Mantha sidelined
Penguins forward Anthony Mantha was withheld from a practice session in Cranberry on Wednesday due to an undisclosed injury.
He has been labeled as “day to day” and will travel with the team for a road game against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.
The specific nature of his ailment isn’t publicly known. Mantha finished Tuesday’s 6-2 home loss to the Colorado Avalanche with no visible impairment.
One of five players who have appeared in all 71 of the Penguins’ games this season, Mantha has set career highs for goals (26), assists (27) and points (53) while averaging 15:03 of ice per contest.
During Tuesday’s game, he replaced another injured player, Evgeni Malkin, on the right wing of the second line as well as the top power-play unit.
Malkin remains “day to day” due to an unspecified malady and will not travel to Ottawa, according to Muse.
Malkin has skated in 50 games this season and posted 52 points (15 goals, 37 assists) while clocking an average of 17:33 per contest.
Hallander’s status remains unclear
Muse was asked for an update on rookie forward Filip Hallander, who has been designated to injured reserve due to a blood clot in an unspecified leg since November, but indicated a more elaborate update will be provided on Hallander in due time.
On Feb. 18, Hallander was sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on a conditioning assignment. In three games with that team, he scored one goal before being recalled to the NHL roster Feb. 27. Since then, the Penguins have offered minimal updates on his status.