For the majority of the regular season, when all three players were healthy, Pittsburgh’s fourth line of Connor Dewar, Blake Lizotte, and Noel Acciari did a terrific job of generating momentum for the team, while also handling difficult matchups against opponents’ top lines.
But with Lizotte missing the team’s last 16 games of the year with an upper-body injury, and Dewar being sidelined the last four games with a lower-body injury, the trio had to work on regaining their chemistry once the Stanley Cup Playoffs began.
“For the most part, I thought we had an okay game. And that's not what you need in the playoffs,” Lizotte said after Game 1. “I think there's areas we can improve. But yeah, it's good to be back with those two, for sure.”
From there, they continued taking steps in the right direction, and have gotten back to their best game in Games 4 and 5.
“They’ve been awesome. The last two games, I think they kind of found another level,” Head Coach Dan Muse said. “But I also think, for me, for the team, for anybody that watches regularly, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. They can create momentum in multiple ways.
“Their defensive detail is outstanding – the work ethic; the second, third and fourth efforts; the tenacity that they play with. This is all ingrained in their DNA. It's who they are. But they also have skill, and you've seen that as well.”
In Game 4, they helped the penalty kill go a perfect 3-for-3 after the Flyers went 2-for-3 on the power play in Game 3. Dewar then scored an empty-netter to ice a 4-2 victory in a do-or-die contest for Pittsburgh.
Come Game 5, in the midst of a line change, Sidney Crosby found Dewar streaking into the zone with speed. Dewar shot the puck so quickly that the referees reviewed the play to see if it completely crossed the goal line.
“It was huge,” Crosby said. “Great shot by Dewey. I was pretty confident when I saw it that it was in. You never know, but it looked pretty good from where I was.”
As was the case with several players this season, Dewar broke career highs across the board in goals (14), assists (16), and points (30) while ranking third on the team with a +16 rating.
“If you go through those goals, there've been some pretty ones, too,” Muse said. “He doesn't take any shifts off. You know what you're gonna get from him every day, from a work standpoint. I don't think he knows anything else other than just playing the right way and playing hard. But he's got skill, and he doesn’t just make plays, but he's also shown that ability to finish.”
In Game 5, the members of the fourth line once again played a key role in negating both of Philadelphia’s power play opportunities.
“You've been seeing it all year,” Bryan Rust said. “They're guys that are the first couple guys over the boards all the time and they do an amazing job. They're huge reasons why our penalty kill was and is as good as it is.”
While Games 4 and 5 have gone the Penguins’ way for a number of different factors, the fourth line has certainly played a part in that. Being relied upon for their defensive prowess, Dewar, Lizotte, and Acciari certainly stepped up to bring the Penguins to a Game 6 matchup in Philadelphia.
“We’re just fighting to stay together,” Dewar said. “Every win is a few more days together. We’re going to scratch and claw as long as we can.”
