Quote:
Originally Posted by Diemenz
What exactly do you want a 4th line to do? Because if its put in 6-8 minutes a game and not give up goals then the 4th line is doing its job. If its work some hard shifts and tire out the D then again, the 4th line is doing its job.
If you want the 4th line to score 1-2 goals a game you might want to temper your expectations.
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I disagree with anyone who doesn’t think we need an upgrade on our 4th line. When your goaltender has as many points as your 4th line center, that’s kind of a problem. Gulutzan tends to roll all 4 lines as well so they end up playing 10-12 minutes which is more than enough time to produce some offense. We can’t rely on the 1st and 2nd line to score every single game, that’s just unrealistic.
Just look yesterday’s game as an example. Johnny Gaudreau snapped his 7 game point streak against the Jets that coincided with us ending our 7 game winning streak. If his line doesn’t score or if the 2nd line doesn’t score then there’s a good chance we lose.
I’ve seen teams lower than us in the standings who have had their 4th lines come in and singlehandedly beat us (i.e. Canadiens, Flyers, Maple Leafs and etc). Forward depth in this league can be the difference between a good team and an elite team and If we had a 4th line that could provide a positive goal differential, than maybe we would be in comfortable playoff position battling the Knights for tops in the division instead. There’s a standard set for every player on this team and the current 4th line just isn’t meeting those standards.