‘He’s a playoff player’: Why the Panthers consider Noel Acciari’s return to be a big deal
Andrew Brunette didn’t need to see much Sunday to know the Florida Panthers’ lineup wasn’t quite working against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Panthers went nearly 15 minutes without a shot on goal in the beginning stages of the first period and he quickly started to tinker.
Long before he moved Jonathan Huberdeau up from the second line to the top trio, Brunette tried to tinker with the No. 2 combination by looking to an unexpected source. Noel Acciari, in only his second game of the year after he tore a pectoral muscle in the preseason, jumped all the way up from the fourth line to play with Huberdeau and Sam Bennett.
“It looks like the Acc that we’ve grown accustomed to,” Brunette said Sunday, explaining his decision to give Acciari such a big responsibility so quickly. “He’s a very trustworthy player on both ends of the ice.”
Acciari stayed at right wing on the second line for the rest of the game and logged 12:27 of time on ice, including 49 seconds on the penalty kill. He fired three shots at star goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, recorded two hits, went 1 of 2 on faceoffs and even scored his first point of the season with a primary assist on rookie center Anton Lundell’s empty-net goal to clinch the 5-2 win in Chicago.
Ultimately, there was nothing too flashy about his performance, which also made it exactly what the Panthers (35-10-5) wanted. He’s a true-defensive minded forward — he blocked 26 more shots than any other Florida forward last season — and it makes him a versatile player, capable of fitting right in with a checking fourth line or sliding in as a complementary piece on a scoring second line. He will mostly play on the wing, but he has spent the vast majority of his career as a center and is actually the Panthers’ only right-handed faceoff man, which means he will take plenty from the right circle. He’s also an experienced postseason performer, who has played in 35 playoff games, logged 310 hits and blocked 78 shots.
As games get more physical and potentially lower scoring down the stretch, Brunette has full trust in Acciari.
“He’s a playoff player,” Brunette said. “He’s proved it over his career and it’s a nice little piece to add to our arsenal.”
Where he will slot into the lineup Tuesday when Florida hosts the Nashville Predators (28-18-4) at 7 p.m. at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise isn’t exactly clear. He might stick with Bennett and fellow forward Carter Verhaeghe on the second line if Brunette wants to keep Huberdeau up top or he might slide out of the lineup altogether if Brunette decides he wants to get winger Frank Vatrano back in.
“We’re spoiled. We’re a really deep team,” Brunette said, but Acciari, he points out, is going to be a valuable role player, no matter how much ice time he gets. “He fits in nicely. He’s a little bit of a piece that we don’t have.”
Ever since he took over in the first month of the season, Brunette has liked to ride the hot hand. Usually, something like three of four lines qualify and then some combination of extra forwards — lately Vatrano, Joe Thornton and Maxim Mamin — rotate it in, either based on health or to add some sort of different dimension.
Vatrano brings a reliable shot. Mamin provides some skill. Thornton, 42, is all size and veteran savvy. Acciari, who averages only 0.2 points per game in his career, will be an option whenever Brunette feels a line needs an injection of defensive effort.
In the Stanley Cup playoffs, scoring usually drops and forwards like Acciari become more valuable role players.
“He’s been a key player for us,” defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said Sunday. “He’s physical out there, he’s protecting the puck a lot, he’s playing with confidence.”
His first point Sunday was a nice reward at the end of two solid performances and a long road of recovery just to get back to make his season debut Thursday against the Minnesota Wild.
He spent the last few months mostly watching from home while the Panthers stormed into first place in the Eastern Conference. He saw just how deep they were and, even though it meant less certainty of his role when he returned, he couldn’t wait to rejoin them.
“I was jealous,” he said Saturday.
After two games, he’s mostly just happy thankful to be back, no matter what Brunette will ask of him in the coming months.
“It was great just to be out there with those guys,” he said. “Just to sit on that bench was awesome.”
