George Richards, FHN Publisher
When the Panthers need someone to fill a gap in their lineup or play a certain role, they usually look no further than Noel Acciari.
Whether it is centering the fourth line, moving over to wing or, as was the case Tuesday night, filling in for the injured Sasha Barkov, Acciari is Florida’s Mr. Fix-It.
Or, as Joel Quenneville described him earlier this season, he is the Swiss Army Knife of the Panthers.
“You know, whether it is the first, second, third or fourth, I am going to do whatever I can to help the team,” Acciari said following Florida’s 3-2 loss to the Blackhawks on Tuesday night.
“With it being the first (line), I tried to play a little like Barky and have some hands there and make that pass.”
That pass he is referring to was a Barkov or Huberdeau-esque dish to Anton Stralman trailing a play in the second period Tuesday which not only put the Panthers on the board but got their game in gear.
With Barkov a late scratch due to a lower body injury Quenneville described as day-to-day, Acciari was moved up from his spot on the fourth line to center Anthony Duclair and Carter Verhaeghe.
The first period turned out to be one of the worst periods the Panthers had played all season, with Quenneville going as far as describing it as “hard to watch.”
He wasn’t lying.
It was.
When the second period opened, Quenneville had everything jumbled up with Acciari starting with a line that looked like Florida’s fourth although as the period rolled on, he was back up with Jonathan Huberdeau and Duclair.
To be fair, hoping anyone could replace a player like Barkov — especially this season — is a huge ask.
Acciari did his best impression of the big center, showing off his hands and putting up the points.
Not only did he have the primary assist on Stralman’s goal, but Alex Wennberg’s goal in the third which pulled Florida within one came off his stick as well.
That one wasn’t as pretty, but whatever. They can’t all be gold.
“He can fill in any role,” Stralman said to Fox Florida during the second intermission.
“He is filling in for Barky right now which is hard to do, but he actually looked like Barky on that goal.”
When told of Stralman’s comments, Acciari laughed.
“That’s a huge compliment, being able to play like Barky,” Acciari said. “But you can’t replace that guy, he is very valuable to us. You know, we definitely missed him out there.”
Acciari will not be confused with Barkov very often but he has shown, at least since he has been in Florida, that he can perform when needed.
Last year, of course, he recorded his first NHL hat trick upon being promoted to Vincent Trocheck’s second line — and then followed it up the following game with his second.
“He is the best guy in the world,” Trocheck said at the time.
“Having back-to-back hat tricks could not have happened to a better guy. It has been so much fun watching him turn into Gretzky out there.’’
This season, Acciari came into Florida’s game with Nashville on March 6 with no goals in 14 games.
He got a hat trick in that one as well and now has a grand total of (checks notes) three goals with eight points this season.
The Panthers, for sure, did not sign Acciari for his goal-scoring ability. In parts of four seasons in Boston, he scored 18 goals; last year, he poured in 20.
It was, the Panthers swore, a bonus.
They just wanted him for his toughness, for his play around the net, his defense on the back end, his ability in the face-off circle.
Honest, the goals, when they come, are an added extra to everything else Acciari gives the Panthers.
But every hockey player wants to score goals.
That is, after all, the name of this game.
Acciari scored 31 goals as a high school senior in Connecticut. His 20 goals last season with the Panthers are the most he has scored in a single season — at any level — since.
“It was a very exciting time,” Acciari said last summer. “It felt like everything I threw on net went in.
“Being able to play with all those different guys, having the confidence of Coach Q to be up with those guys like Huby, Troch, Barky, Conns … they are very skilled and talented guys. Being able to capitalize when with them was an awesome feeling.
“Every guy in the NHL was the top scorer on his team growing up but to make it, a lot of times, you have to find your niche.
“Mine was as a fourth-line grinder, a banger who played defensive hockey. In Florida, I got to play with some offensive guys and the scoring touch came out. I just ran with it.”