The Pittsburgh Penguins were able to get do-it-all forward Blake Lizotte back in their lineup recently as they defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 7-3 out of the holiday break. And the impact that Lizotte has whenever he is in the lineup and is on the ice, really shows game in and game out.
It is like the last few seasons when the Penguins would play so much better and so much differently in front of goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic than they would in front of Tristan Jarry. There is a massive difference in the way the Penguins play when they have Lizotte in the lineup versus when they do not.
The penalty kill looks so much better, the forechecking looks better, the net front defense looks better. Everything as a team just clicks for the Penguins when they have Blake Lizotte available to them.
It also helps that the Penguins are able to ice one of the best fourth lines in the league in Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari. They all just play so well together and forecheck well and get after loose pucks and block shots. Lizotte's presence was missed for the last 9 games or so that he missed.
Everything that the Penguins did was just really sloppy when Lizotte was not in the lineup. And then when they were able to get him back into the lineup against the Blackhawks, they were doing the little things better and playing well as a team.
Lizotte just does a lot for the team that at times just goes unnoticed. He is able to win a ton of puck battles, he uses his body to forecheck well, he blocks shots when he needs to. He also has some speed that can go unnoticed at times.
Lizotte has been one of the Penguins best players all season and he mainly goes unnoticed from game to game. He quietly has been one of the Penguins best players over the last few seasons and deserves his flowers. He has been that good and the Penguins at times do not deserve him and his services.