Lunch Pail and Work Boots: The Fourth Line's Mentality

While Pittsburgh is currently riding a six-game winning streak since the conclusion of the holiday break, the team’s fourth line of Connor Dewar, Blake Lizotte, and Noel Acciari has been making positive contributions throughout the whole season. When all three are in the lineup, the team has a 14-3-3 record.

“I think from the very start of the year, they’ve been very consistent,” Head Coach Dan Muse said. “They’re a line that just has an energy that they play with. It’s contagious, and you feel it. It can change the feel of the game, the momentum, and it’s the next shift coming out there and following it up. It’s a huge credit to them. It definitely impacts not just the shifts that they have, but also impacts the momentum of the game.”

Over the last eight games, where the team has gone 7-1-0, the fourth line has combined for 15 points (7G-8A). When at least one of those three players records a point in the game this season, the Penguins are 13-1-4. Those totals are even more impressive considering how much they’re relied on defensively.

“They kill penalties. They're out there in late-game situations. They're out there in a ton of key defensive situations,” Muse said. “They'll play against anybody. They can play against the top line, top matchup.

“They're creating offense with very, very little O-zone starts, with me sometimes pulling them off the ice and putting them back in a D-zone start when they go back on, and they find a way to get in the offensive zone. They find a way to create. They're confident with the puck there in the attack, as they should be. There's not a lot of shifts that I've seen them take off, if any.”

Lizotte said the trio carries a blue-collar mentality.

“There aren't many nights when we don't bring the work boots,” Lizotte said. “Some nights you don't have it. That's just the way it is. But at the end of the day, if you bring your lunch pail and your work boots every night and contribute to the team in any way you can - I think all three of us have that mindset. Consistently, we can help the team.”

“I think we play a simple game,” Acciari added. “We kind of know what the others are doing, and it makes it easy to read off of each other and kind of know where the others are going to be and anticipate things.”

As individuals, they all came into this season ready to go. Dewar had been acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline, with Penguins President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas saying he was a younger player who could bring a certain life and spirit to the group. Dewar re-signed with Pittsburgh shortly after turning 26, saying it was hugely beneficial to be healthy in the offseason after undergoing shoulder surgery the year prior.

“I didn’t get to train at all (in the summer of 2024),” said Dewar, who has eight goals, two shy of tying his career high. “It was nice to not be in a sling and be able to lift weights and feel strong and to be excited for a hockey season, not feeling like you're behind the eight ball and chasing it early.”

Last season, Acciari was selected by his teammates as the recipient of their Unsung Hero Award, which recognizes a player who constantly gives 150% effort but receives little recognition. He adjusted his nutrition during the offseason, losing some weight so that he could get a little faster.

“The big thing is just the time when you’re eating things,” he said. “I found the happy medium there and felt really good coming in.”

Since the day Lizotte arrived in Pittsburgh, he has had a dog-on-a-bone mentality, and he’s ramped that up even more as he looks to help the Penguins make the playoffs.

“People don't always realize these games, game one is worth two points and game 82 is worth two points. So, I think each and every night that kind of fuels me, just wanting to put two points in the bank and get closer for the playoffs,” Lizotte said.

The three of them had chemistry right away. But first, Acciari got sidelined due to injury, missing 13 games, and then Lizotte, who was out for nine games.

“Just 5-on-5, you could tell when Noel and Lizzo got hurt, that there was a kind of a big gap,” defenseman Ryan Shea said. “When those three are together, I believe that they’re one of, if not the best, fourth lines in the league. The way that they work, it’s like having five D-men out there in the D-zone, but they added a new element where they can score goals.”

One of the biggest examples during this current winning streak in terms of creating momentum is Acciari's goal against Columbus on Sunday, which cut their deficit to two and was a turning point.

“That goal by Cookie at the end of the second period gave us hope coming into the third,” Rickard Rakell said.

From there, the team rallied in the third period and won 5-4 in overtime. But that is just one example among many of the different ways the fourth line has brought energy to the team, with Dewar’s breakaway goal against New Jersey another big one. The Devils players felt like that was a turning point in the matchup.

"You’ve got three guys that have an engine like no other, especially Lizzo,” Shea said. “Having him back definitely helps that whole fourth line because he just motors. And then Cookie and Dewey, they’re perfect complements to each other. The way that they work together, it’s just so fun to watch, it gets the guys going. Whether it’s the first or the second line, it gets them going just seeing how hard they work. Everyone just feeds off of each other.”

"I’m very happy that they’re getting rewarded for their play, because they deserve it.”