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Blake Lizotte gets deeply honest about Dan Muse and his coaching
Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Blake Lizotte is talking like a very confident Penguins player, and has his coach to thank.
His quote about Dan Muse is blunt, he gets to play through mistakes, and that changes a season.
Lizotte knows how the league treats a depth guy after one bad turnover.
He basically said Muse does not coach scared.
That matters because Lizotte’s whole value is detail, low-risk touches, and clean defensive reads.
The post with the full quote is here.
What jumped out to me is the "throws you back out there" part.
That is trust with teeth, because you still have to make the next shift count.
Lizotte has played 42 games and put up 6-7-13, and you can feel the confidence in his routes and his forecheck timing.
He is not freelancing, he is just not gripping the stick.
Blake Lizotte and the Pittsburgh Penguins feel steadier
Penguins fans have been begging for this, less bench paranoia, more honest shifts, because the bottom-six can’t help you if it is terrified.
Muse letting him reset after a mistake also keeps lines from getting scrambled every five minutes.
That stability shows up on the penalty kill, where Lizotte’s reads look quicker and his clears look calmer.
It also helps the blue line, because predictable support makes breakouts cleaner.
Pittsburgh just gave Lizotte a three-year extension at a $2.25 million cap hit, which tells you the organization buys what he brings nightly.
If you pay a guy like that, you also have to keep sending him over the boards when one play goes sideways.
Thursday’s next game is the real measuring stick, because one ugly bounce is coming.
If Muse keeps the same leash, Lizotte’s quote stops being a nice story and becomes an identity.
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