Lizotte Is Out, and Pittsburgh's Opening-Night Roster Has a Problem on Every Line

Blake Lizotte was announced as unavailable for at least a week as of September 23rd, one piece of a broader injury picture that has the Penguins heading toward opening night short-handed at multiple positions. The center depth situation, which this beat has been tracking since Kindel went down in the preseason, now has another name attached to it.

The structural issue hasn't changed — it's just gotten more acute. Behind Crosby, the center depth chart drops off sharply, and Malkin at 40 is a bridge, not a foundation. The blue line carries its own concerns: Caleb Jones and Melvin Fernström remain on injured reserve with no clear return timeline, and while Korczak, Carlile, and van Riemsdyk were brought in to stabilize things, the depth behind Korczak is thin enough that one more setback changes the math entirely. The right wing situation isn't much cleaner, with a meaningful production gap between Rakell and whoever lines up behind him.

The offseason plan made sense on paper — veteran continuity up the middle, younger depth on the wings, a rebuilt blue line. The Koivunen commitment signals where the organization thinks it's going. But plans drawn up in July have a way of meeting September injury reports, and right now Pittsburgh is being asked to open a season with holes at center, defense, and right wing simultaneously. That was true before camp started. It's more true now.