Blake Lizotte was a long shot to make the NHL. He's undersized but has the motor and the will to make plays in all of the dirty areas of the ice. He has previously been criticized for blocking young prospects' pathway to make the team. But he's been essential to the King's success in many aspects.
He's been a producer since making the team as the fourth-line center in 2019-20 while playing in the bottom six. His career year came from the previous season, with 81 games played, 11 goals, 23 assists, good for 34 points, and a +11.
Though he has never averaged over 14 mins a season, residing within the 11-12 minutes a night range, with PK duties, Lizotte has been a mainstay in the bottom six.
Say what you will about Lizotte, but he's been as good as any fourth-line center in the league. Swapping at times the last few seasons as the 3C, it was clear to the organization that their center depth wasn't quite in the same breath of Stanley Cup caliber teams, such as Vegas.
They saw their departure again from the Oilers, attempting to utilize Gabriel Vilardi/Quinton Byfield at 3C in the second half of that series. That is history, and the hope is to learn from the failures.
Enter Dubois, the massive deal in the offseason, who has not played nearly close enough to his price tag.
Lizotte however, has been at his market price or above. Lizotte can potentially be a 4C on a championship roster, for he plays trusting minutes and can match up against top six opposing lines.
Before his injury, the Kings were losing games, or at least finding ways to lose games. He only played 2:49 in his departure from Carolina due to injury. The Kings had lost eight straight before Lizotte's departure and, since his departure, have gone 1-3-1 while being outscored 17-10, which boils down to 16-10 without the shootout.
To step into his role is Trevor Lewis, a longtime Kings forward and one of the few remaining players in the league from both championships in 12' and 14'. Lewis may be able to play center, but the King's success that they have built around is center depth.
Lewis is not the answer, but he is the only thing close to being able to fill that void during the skid. Calling up a young center like Alex Turcotte during this skid, while every game is a must win, is out of the question.
With Dubois' play being questioned since the early start of their woeful late December play, losing Lizotte and being replaced by Lewis has impeded their ability to roll four lines. Lewis has yet to see a ton of ice time post-Lizotte injury but has attempted to play the 4C role.
In the prior loss to the Buffalo Sabres, McLellan shortened his bench, something he has become accustomed to during this poor stretch of play. He relied heavily on the top six, with a mixed-bag formula for the third line with Dubois.
The season started with four lines that could tilt the ice, and currently, the Kings are operating with a line and a half to work with. Anze Kopitar seemingly isn't 100% healthy, and the Danault line may get an excellent offensive zone shift to pass it off to the bottom six line that gets hemmed in their own zone.
This isn't a recipe for success, nor is it placed sorely on the shoulders of a Lewis. Lewis isn't a sparkplug for offense, and his real strength is playing defensive hockey. Playing defense the entire night as a line erupts many problems that infect the team.
With two lines souring, it puts an impetus on Lizotte's return. There are three road games upcoming. Colorado, St. Louis, and Nashville. The earlier reports are that Lizotte could return post-All-Star Break.
The Kings will have to weather the loss of their stalwart depth center at the worst possible time for the state of the franchise.
Unless the Kings can salvage the road trip, relying on their early season road dominance, Lizotte will be coming back to a down and rigid team that is forced to must-win games night in and night out and the possibility of playing in front of a new coach to boot.