Penguins activate struggling forward off injured reserve

The Pittsburgh Penguins have activated forward Noel Acciari off the injured reserve and he is in their lineup Thursday night as they take on the Montreal Canadiens. The 32-year-old has missed the past six games after suffering a concussion back on Feb. 6 in a game against the Winnipeg Jets. Acciari was hit up high in the neutral zone by Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon in a scary incident that led to a match penalty and game misconduct for Dillon.

Like many Penguins forwards, Acciari has struggled to produce much in the way of offense this season. He has spent most of the season as the team’s fourth-line center and is back there tonight sandwiched between Jansen Harkins and Jeff Carter. Acciari has dressed in 39 games this season and has three goals and one assist. Last season the Johnston, Rhode Island native posted 14 goals and nine assists in 77 games.

While his offensive production has been the lowest of his career, Acciari has been good defensively and on the penalty kill. He has had nearly 90% of his zone starts in the defensive zone and has been one of the few Penguins who has been consistently physical. Acciari has also been solid in the faceoff circle which has been a key contributor to Mike Sullivan using him for so many defensive zone faceoffs.