The first batch of injuries in the 2026-27 season are in for the Penguins. Forwards Blake Lizotte and Oliver Okuliar practiced on Sunday and now both are out on a week-to-week basis.
Of course, this time of year injury designations can be fluid. Take Bryan Rust, who was said to be out a “minimum of two weeks” in the
preseason on October 2nd, only to come back and play in a regular season game on October 11th, very much beating his initial timeline outlook.
That situation can be more the exception than the rule, so the news on Lizotte certainly throws his availability for the start of the regular season that is just nine days away into question.
That door closing, at least temporarily, leads to more opportunity for others. Most notably, the Penguins will need to figure out who their fourth line forward will be. Tristan Broz and Hendrix Lapierre figure to be the two biggest potential names to watch as players who have been working at the center position in camp. Others like Connor Dewar have also filled in at center recently, which could lead the team into yet another direction if they want to take it for how to handle the news on Lizotte.
If Lizotte does end up on injured reserve, it means keeping around one extra forward that otherwise wouldn’t have made the healthy 23-player roster. That could go a long way towards helping the cases of Justin Brazeau, Ville Koivunen and Broz+Lapierre as mentioned above as bubble players if the bubble has shifted.
However, Lizotte was not deemed the dreaded month-to-month injury, so any such reprieve could be short. (Until someone else gets injured anyways).
It’s a tough break for Lizotte, who has been no stranger to the injury bay. Lizotte played 55 games in 2025-26 and 59 the season before with the Penguins. Getting through preseason in one piece has been a concern, Lizotte missed the first 11 regular season games of his Pittsburgh career after being struck by a puck while sitting on the bench during a preseason game back in the fall of 2024. Barring a quick recovery from his latest injury, he’s bound to go 1-for-3 in starting the regular season as a healthy player with Pittsburgh so far, which is unfortunate news to everyone besides the players fighting tooth and nail to step in and try to replace him.
