When it comes to generating consistent offense, Connor Dewar has some thoughts on how goals and assists usually come to be.
“Putting up offensive numbers, I think it’s almost kind of a perfect storm,” the Pittsburgh Penguins winger said. “You’ve got to have some puck luck, you’ve got to have some confidence and you have to have some opportunities. You just try to get as many pucks in the net as you can.”
Little of Dewar’s output has appeared due to luck this season, as the 26-year-old, in his first full and second overall campaign with the Penguins, has unlocked a new level of offense.
Through 55 games, he’s already set career-highs in points (23) and goals (13), along with 10 assists.
His previous high-water mark of 19 points (11 goals, eight assists) came in a split 2023-24 season between the Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs.
In 2022-23, he played 81 games with the Wild and scored six goals with 12 assists.
But in Pittsburgh, under first-year coach Dan Muse, Dewar has reached uncharted heights as an offensive contributor.
“He’s a really good hockey player,” Muse said. “He plays the right way. For me, it’s not surprising. Just watching him through training camp early on, he’s a guy who doesn’t take any nights off. He’s a great example of playing the right way all the time. He’s got a good skill set.
“He’s got a good shot and I think he’s getting to those areas — he’s a guy who’s going to create some greasy offense. When the time and space is there, too, he can also create skill plays and create that way.”
Along with linemates Noel Acciari and Blake Lizotte, few Penguins (or forwards across the NHL, for that matter) would have a more viable excuse for limited offensive production.
That is due to the role the trio plays as the Penguins’ fourth line.
So far this season, per NaturalStatTrick, Dewar (12.6%), Acciari (9.1%) and Lizotte (7.4%) own the three lowest offensive zone start percentages among NHL players who have skated at least 30 minutes this season.
In other words, no players are beginning their shifts away from the offensive zone with more frequency than Acciari, Dewar and Lizotte.
But neither the defensive-oriented deployments, nor heavy nightly details on the penalty kill, have slowed Dewar’s linemates from chipping in at the other end of the rink.
Acciari, through 42 games, already has 15 points (six goals, nine assists), more in all departments than he produced in 2024-25 (five goals and seven assists in 79 games).
Lizotte through 46 games has 17 points (six goals, 11 assists), three shy of the 20 he managed a season ago in 59 contests.
“It starts with those two,” Dewar said of Acciari and Lizotte. “They hardly lose a faceoff. Right off the hop, we’re out of the (defensive) zone and through the neutral zone. We forecheck really well together, we recover pucks and when there’s time and space, we can enter with possession, too.”
In 17 games under the Mike Sullivan-led Penguins after being acquired from Toronto in early March last season, Dewar quickly demonstrated some scoring touch, finishing with four goals and three assists.
This season, he’s seeing nearly a minute less (13:36) than he did in 2024-25 (14:27).
Despite that, Dewar is on pace to exceed his career-high in shots (80) from 2022-23 in about two-thirds as many games.
Following Tuesday’s overtime loss to the New York Islanders, Dewar is at 82 shots.
Among Penguins forwards, Dewar is also the club’s leader in hits by a large margin (106), with Justin Brazeau ranking next with 54. Defenseman Parker Witherspoon leads the club with 114.
“It’s something I’ve always had in my game,” Dewar said. “It’s a way for me to be engaged every night whether or not the puck comes to me or I’m not getting my touches. I can always have an impact that way.”
With 27 games to play in the regular season, the story of Dewar from a statistical standpoint has been one centered around offensive blossoming.
But Dewar, hungry to help the Penguins end their three-year postseason drought, recognizes the overall role he’s being asked to play each night.
“I feel like one of my biggest roles is being part of the penalty kill here and keeping us near the top of the league in that regard,” Dewar said. “Our line has an important line playing against other top lines most nights, taking (defensive) zone draws — Blake and Noel have been great with doing that.
“We know where we are in this playoff race. It’s February now. Every game matters now. As a group, we’re really looking to get in and make some noise.”
Notes: The Penguins placed netminder Filip Larsson on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination Tuesday. After clearing waivers at 2 p.m. Wednesday, he became a free agent and quickly signed with Leksands IF of the Swedish Hockey League, for whom he played in 2023-24. … The NHL’s trade freeze for the Olympic break goes into effect at 3 p.m. Wednesday and will last until 11:59 p.m. Feb. 22.
