Penguins’ Blake Lizotte Out Week-To-Week

The Pittsburgh Penguins are dealing with some injuries toward the bottom of their lineup. The Penguins announced that Blake Lizotte will miss the next few weeks with an upper-body injury, and Oliver Okuliar will miss the next few weeks with a lower-body injury.

Due to the shortened preseason in the new NHL calendar, Lizotte may not be ready to start the 2026-27 season on time. Pittsburgh didn’t specify whether Lizotte is expected to miss any regular-season action, but their season begins next Wednesday.

Despite being a bottom-six forward, Lizotte has become an important fixture in the Penguins lineup throughout the past two years. Since joining the Penguins ahead of the 2024-25 season, Lizotte has registered 18 goals and 39 points in 114 games with a +2 rating, averaging 13:17 of ice time per game.

While his offensive production doesn’t jump off the page, Lizotte’s importance in Pittsburgh’s lineup comes from his defensive play. Last season, which frankly should have earned him some Selke Trophy votes, Lizotte won 50.0% of his faceoffs, managed a 50.9% CorsiFor and 91.6% on-ice SV% at even strength, while beginning a whopping 85% of his shifts in the defensive zone.

It’s not easy to find a dependable fourth-line forward like Lizotte, and the Penguins rewarded him with a three-year, $6.75MM extension in January. Still, Lizotte isn’t necessarily the perfect bottom-six forward. He’s missed over 30% of the Penguins’ regular-season contests since first donning the black and yellow, and today’s injury doesn’t bode well for how much action he’ll see this year. Simply put, he can only help the Penguins defensively when he’s on the ice.

Meanwhile, with all respect to Okuliar, his injury development isn’t as concerning for the Penguins. After spending last year with the SHL’s Skellefteå AIK, Okuliar has been preparing for his second season of North American professional hockey. He was not expected to factor into Pittsburgh’s plan for the upcoming campaign and was likely destined for AHL duties regardless of injury.