'Couple of bounces,' shootout loss cloud superb night for Acciari line

CALGARY, Alberta -- The Penguins' 4-3 shootout loss to the Flames on Tuesday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome could be seen as a frustrating one for a lot of reasons.

It was another slow start, something that's become somewhat of a trend this season. Two one-goal leads were blown in the third period. There would be a pretty great overtime period ... but no one capitalized. And overall, the Penguins played one of their better games defensively all season, only allowing 25 shots, but still couldn't turn that into two points.

But on a smaller level, it's unfortunate that a couple bad bounces cost the fourth line what was shaping up to be an exceptional performance. The Penguins' bottom-six has looked like an improvement over last season through this early part of the season, and for most of the game this showing from the fourth line was among the best one of their bottom-six lines has looked in a game this season. But through no real fault of their own, all they and the rest of the Penguins have to show for it is a single point in the standings.

The Penguins made a change to the fourth line on Tuesday ... putting it right back to the way they started. After elevating Cody Glass from the fourth line to the third line and playing Valtteri Puustinen on the fourth line wing on Sunday in Winnipeg, the Penguins restored Glass as fourth-line center in Calgary, keeping Kevin Hayes as his left wing and shifting Noel Acciari from center back to the right wing.

It's fair to say that it's the best Acciari has looked all season.

The Penguins and Flames were tied with a goal apiece through 40 minutes, with Rasmus Andersson opening the scoring in the first period for the Flames and Bryan Rust scoring a tying goal on a power play in the second. The Penguins had an awful start, conceding the game's first seven shots and spending much of the first period in their own end. The second period flipped the script, with the Penguins controlling much of the play. But in either frame, the fourth line was incredibly effective at both slowing the Flames' momentum and helping to drive it in the Penguins' direction at times. 

Acciari in particular had a little more five-on-five ice time than his linemates, in part due to the shuffling that follows power plays and penalty-kills. And in those first two periods, with Acciari on the ice, the Penguins controlled nearly all the shot attempts (10-1), all the unblocked shot attempts (9-0), all the high-danger chances (2-0) and all of the shots on goal (8-0). That's despite Acciari's line getting the usual defense-first deployment, getting exactly zero offensive zone shift starts through those two periods. It was a different game when they were on the ice.

The game broke open in the third period. Rickard Rakell gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead with a flukey goal scored just as a power play expired, attempting to throw a puck to Hayes at the net-front but having it inadvertently take a bounce and deflect in. The Flames tied the game off a goal credited to MacKenzie Weegar minutes later against the fourth line, but it was another weird bounce, this time in the Flames' favor. The puck hit the stick of Glass way out at the top of the left circle and deflected in, something difficult to pin on Glass or Nedeljkovic, or really anyone at all:

Later in the third, Acciari had a chance after he dove for a loose puck in the crease and nearly knocked it in, only for Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf to make one of his 35 saves of the night. When the Penguins regained possession, Acciari stuck at the net front and couldn't be moved, taking a couple of whacks at the puck before finally getting one past Wolf and regaining the lead:

"Hayes, on his knees, gets it up to the top and Glass is just putting pucks on net," Acciari said. "I was fortunate to be there and was able to find it. It's just making sure we're strong on the puck in the offensive zone. Do that and good things will happen."

The lead wouldn't stand. When the Flames pulled Wolf for the extra attacker late in regulation, the Penguins deployed Acciari, Glass and Lars Eller along with Ryan Graves and Kris Letang to defend the 6-on-5. They got pinned in their own end and were gassed at the long shift when Acciari dropped to successfully block a shot, but the puck landed right on the stick of Nazem Kadri, who scored with 42.9 seconds remaining to force overtime:

Rakell and Rust scored in the shootout, while Sidney Crosby hit a post and Letang, Eller and Evgeni Malkin were stopped. The Flames scored on three of their six attempts to win the game.

The Penguins couldn't close out the game when they had the lead, which was a little concerning given that it was something that was a trend last season. But the way that the two goals were scored were unlike last season in that they weren't total collapses, but rather unfortunate luck at the expense of the fourth line after an otherwise strong game.

"It was a couple of bounces here and there," Acciari said of the Penguins not being able to close out the game. "One went off Glass' stick which was unfortunate. The last one, I blocked it and it just dropped right down. We were better, I think, than the previous nights. We need to build off that."

There's certainly things to build on here. Even if one takes away Acciari's goal, he played his best game this season. He led the Penguins in hits (5), blocked shots (5) and had a tidy 77.78% night in faceoffs, and it played a part in his line's success. When all three were on the ice together, they were the Penguins' best line at controlling shot attempts (64.71%), unblocked shot attempts (72.73%), high-danger chances (100%), expected goals (96.41%) and ranked second behind the top line in shots on goal share (66.67). And as always, that came despite that line receiving the fewest offensive zone starts of them all.

"Our line was holding onto pucks," Hayes told me. "Making simple plays. A little unlucky, but overall it went pretty well."

Mike Sullivan lauded that line's "simple game" -- exactly what one would want for their role.

"They had good energy," Sullivan said. "They play straight ahead. They play hard. The goal they got was a huge goal for us. They had given one up earlier in the period, and I know they pride themselves in the team defense. I was happy for them, but it was a hard-working shift, and that's the type of momentum I think they're capable of building for our group. It's great to see (Acciari) score. They play an invaluable role for our team."

It'd be silly to call them "moral victories," but it's early enough in the season that the lone lost point isn't yet wildly costly, and it's possible to take away some positives -- like tightening up defensively and not allowing 30-plus shots after the terrible start to the season defensively, and the power play actually looking functional. But the fourth line was one of the brightest spots -- Acciari more than anyone else -- and that's something that's going to be needed if this team is going to turn things around and actually contend for a playoff spot.