#fourth-line

#fourth-line

2023 Player ReviewsKevin Labanc is one of the names on the Sharks' trade board, but should he be dealt during the offseason?Hockey players are human too, but sometimes it's hard to separate the person from the product on the ice.This year, it may be best if you take Kevin Labanc's season with a grain of salt.

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Ottawa Senators07:00 PM at Canadian Tire CentreWatch on: CBC, SNO, SNW, SNP
The Leafs last game was at home on March 17 against the Carolina Hurricanes, which Toronto won by a score of 5-2.The Leafs have a record of 41-18-9 so far.The Ottawa Senators last played at home on March 16 against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been linked to virtually every player in the NHL.Be that as it may, the Toronto Maple Leafs interest should be limited to two players:
Timo Meier and Jakob Chychrun.But failing that, there is one good alternative:
Dylan Larkin, of the Detroit Red Wings.Toronto Maple Leafs and Dylan Larkin
Should the Leafs fail to land Timo Meier, Dylan Larkin would be a great fallback option.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are the deepest team in the NHL.It is indisputable.The Toronto Maple Leafs lead the NH L in players taken off waivers over the last several seasons, while they have better players in the AHL than most other teams have on their 4th lines.Look at their forwards: Jarnkork is on the 2nd line, and Kerfoot-Kampf-Engvall are some of the best non-star players alive in the world.

The Washington Capitals had a day off after a tough back-to-back with travel and were back on the ice Friday in preparation for a test against the St. Louis Blues.The Caps suffered several injury scares in their win over the Buffalo Sabes on Wednesday but luckily seem to have escaped any sort of heavy damage.

Nic Dowd continued his excellent season Tuesday night.The fourth-line center scored his 12th goal of the season setting a new career high.The milestone goal came in the second half of the third period after Dowd put a shot on net from the left circle just after the expiration of Washington's power play.

SAN JOSE - Timo Meier said Tuesday that he has not had any talks about a new contract with Sharks general manager Mike Grier, seemingly increasing the likelihood that the forward will be dealt prior to the NHL's trade deadline in less than three weeks.Meier, a pending restricted free agent, entered Tuesday with 51 points, including a team-leading 30 goals.

After playing some really good hockey throughout the postseason, the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights will battle in a series for the right to play in the Stanley Cup Final.The Western Conference Finals started on Friday night at T-Moble Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.Coming into the series, it feels like one that could go the distance.

As the second half of the season is well into its progression, the Toronto Maple Leafs played a home and home, not to mention in back-to-back days where I observed their gameplay.As a team, they are a complete unit to play against with all the tools to win, including the forechecking and great defensive chemistry.

Game Wrap-ups
Whenever the Rangers need a big performance in an elimination game, Big Game Chris Kreider answers the call.With the Rangers down 1-0, Kreider got the biggest goal of the series thus far, redirecting Mika Zibanejad's shot past Akira Schmid just before the first period ended.That goal set the tone for the game, as the Rangers didn't look back.

The Rangers took a break from their pseudo-series with the Penguins host a different Metro rival, the Capitals.Their year has been derailed by injuries, and aside from the regularly scheduled players on IR, they were also without Alexander Ovechkin and Sonny Milano tonight.And this is after selling at the deadline.

The Rockford IceHogs dug themselves a mighty big hole at the BMO Center this weekend.With two chances to grab some momentum in their Central Division Semifinal series with Texas, the Hogs whiffed against the division's top club.Texas returns home with a 2-0 series advantage on the strength of a superior transition game and a knack for capitalizing on IceHogs mistakes.

Banks have three lines of defense for managing risk - and then regulators are the fourth line of defense.In the case of Silicon Valley Bank, all four failed.If banks want to manage risk better, one good place to start is making sure a Chief Risk Officer is in place and a board-level risk committee is in place.

The Bruins look to get back in the win column Thursday night when they welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets to TD Garden.Boston is coming off a disjointed 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators, an opponent the Bruins admitted they took lightly.The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, are in the midst of a two-game losing streak.

Jakub Lauko has made the most of his opportunities with Boston, and it hasn't gone unnnoticed.The 23-year-old forward is dealing with an upper-body injury, but Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery expressed optimism on his status for Thursday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in his news conference Wednesday.

BOSTON - The Bruins clinched the Atlantic Division with 10 games left, and TD Garden witnessed a playoff-like atmosphere Saturday.The action needed nine seconds to get going with Garnet Hathaway and Jakub Lauko setting the tone for Boston.The former scored what ended up being the game-winning goal in the second period, showing he can get it done as a scrapper and through his skill on the ice.

BOSTON - The Bruins look to continue their strong homestand when they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning to TD Garden on Saturday for some matinee hockey.Boston has won its last five games, including a 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.Tampa Bay, meanwhile, has lost three in a row including a 7-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators.

After dropping their last two games, the Boston Bruins returned to the win column by defeating the Winnipeg Jets, 3-0, on Thursday night.Before the game, head coach Jim Montgomery spoke about the team not " playing in the moment," Boston dug deep and returned to the league-leading team that has dominated opponents most of the season.

The Los Angeles Kings haven't made the playoffs in consecutive seasons since they were winning Cups in the early 2010s.They are virtually guaranteed to make it this year, after ending a four-year drought last season.They haven't made it past the first round since they won the Cup in 2014 though, and with the way things are going now, losing in Round 1 would be a big disappointment.

Last week was probably the worst week the Boston Bruins have had during this 2022-23 season: the team lost two games in regulation in a (Sunday-Saturday) week for the first time this campaign and didn't look particularly good doing it.The Bruins squandered a two-goal lead against the Edmonton Oilers and went 1-1 in back-to-back matinee games versus the Detroit Red Wings, where special teams allowed two power play AND two shorthanded goals.

Sunday's matchup between the Rangers and Penguins was the first of three times they play each other this week, making this the best chance the Penguins and their (questionable) deadline additions to close the distance for third place in the Metro.Unsurprisingly, the game eventually got physically, emotionally charged, and chippy.

There's only so much credit to go around for the Boston Bruins.Boston has been the best team in hockey through 64 games, on pace for what would be a record-breaking amount of wins (64) and points (135) in a season.Linus Ullmark is a lock to win the Vezina Trophy and Jim Montgomery is the leading candidate to win the Jack Adams Award as both men have combined with captain Patrice Bergeron, defenseman Charlie McAvoy and leading scorer David Pastrnak to earn the bulk of that credit.

Bruins "We need something to light a spark here."The Bruins' checking unit of Tomas Nosek, A.J. Greer, and Garnet Hathaway isn't exactly the trio Jim Montgomery calls on to land punches in the offensive zone.Rather, their job description usually pivots to doling out pain just about anywhere else on the ice.

BOSTON - The Bruins became the fastest team to reach 50 wins, and it was thanks to the efforts of the team's fourth line.Boston needed 64 games to accomplish the milestone, but it certainly didn't come easy.The Detroit Red Wings took a 2-0 lead after the first period, and it looked as if the B's weren't going to recover from its Thursday loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

The Boston Bruins scored three unanswered goals to come from behind and beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2, this afternoon at the TD Garden.The win earned them their 50th win of the season and set an NHL record to do it in the fewest amount of games (64 games).The Bruins overcame a two-goal deficit after the first period to outshoot the Red Wings, 18-2, in the next frame and tie the game.

Garnet Hathaway just helped the Boston Bruins make NHL history.Saturday afternoon, the former Capitals forward scored the game-winner for the Boston Bruins, his first goal with the team.The marker against the Detroit Red Wings came with less than ten minutes to go with the game tied at two goals apiece.

The Islanders had an extra day to lick their wounds or do a Super Bowl (sorry: "the big game," to respect trademarks) party or something, after dropping games to the Canucks and Canadiens.Tomorrow they have an opportunity to drop one to the Senators, which would complete the Canadian non-playoff trifecta.

Lineup Changes
Per Vince Mercogliano, The NY Rangers lines tonight will have the newly anointed Video Game Line of Artemi Panarin-Mika-Zibanejad-and Vladimir Tarasenko as their top line, as expected.The big news, though, is that Vitali Kravtsov will be back in a top-six role with Chris Kreider and Vincent Trocheck

New-look #NYR lines:
Panarin - Zib - Tarasenko Kreider - Trocheck - Kravtsov Laf - Chytil - KakkoVesey - Leschyshyn/Goodrow - Gauthier
- Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) February 10, 2023

This is as balanced a lineup as we can get right now, and quite frankly, these are some fantastic lines.

Game Thread
Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola make their NY Rangers debuts tonight against the Seattle Kraken.The blockbuster trade went down yesterday, with the Rangers sacrificing nothing of value (aside from the 1st rounder) to land both players.The starting lineup is almost exactly how you would think it should play out, but with Vitali Kravtsov back in the top six and with a fourth line that isn't just spare parts.

Bruins hockey is back.After a week off Boston returns to action when it hosts the Washington Capitals on Saturday afternoon.The Bruins last played Feb. 1 and came away with a win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.The Capitals, also fresh off a week break, won in overtime against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Jan. 31.

Anthony Mantha will not play against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday due to illness.The Capitals announced the news during warmups.#Caps Anthony Mantha (illness) will not play today vs San Jose.- CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) February 12, 2023

Mantha had one shot and two hits in 14:26 of ice time against the Bruins on Saturday.

According to a report, New York Rangers winger and former 9th overall selection Vitali Kravtsov has requested a trade from the organization.The 23-year-old has played in just 28 games this year, with a 3-3-6 line in those contests.The trade deadline is on March 3rd.Chris Drury is going to have his work cut out for him to not lose big on the former top pick.

Bruins Over the span of his seven-year NHL career, Barbashev has fit the mold of a straight-line, scrappy bottom-six skater.Top trade deadline targets like Timo Meier, Patrick Kane, and Jakob Chychrun might steal most headlines during the feeding frenzy ahead of the NHL's March 3 deadline.But if the Bruins want to address legitimate needs with their already stout lineup, shoring up the depth in their bottom-six forward corps might be the most logical move, rather than adding what would essentially be a luxury in Chychrun.

The intensity of this matchup between the top two teams in the Noth Division made for as close to a playoff-type game as we've seen this season.Ultimately, the difference was the play of Erik Källgren and Toronto winning the special teams battle.First Period
The opening frame was a tale of two halves.

State of the Rangers
The New York Rangers have been on fire recently and the vibe around the team has been the best it's been in a long time.The trade for St. Louis Blues superstar Vladimir Tarasenko has seemed to give this team a big shot of energy and they've scored 18 goals in the past three games, all wins.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired Ryan O'Reilly from the St. Louis Blues, along with Noel Acciari, in exchange for their first round pick in 2023, second round pick in 2024, third round pick in 2023 (Ottawa's), prospect Mikhail Abramov, and free agent signee Adam Gaudette.The Minnesota Wild also receive the Leafs fourth round pick in 2025 for retaining salary on O'Reilly.

The Toronto Maple Leafs came into tonight's game with three things in mind.1) Make sure new guys Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari have a good time in their debuts.2) Joseph Woll plays like he does for the Marlies.3) Beat the gosh darn Montreal Canadiens for once this season.The game began with a heartwarming scene.

Hot off a huge comeback against Oilers, the Rangers headed next door to Calgary to take on the Flames.They almost pulled off another, but ultimately fell short in OT.Unfortunately for the Rangers, another subpar start left them trailing by multiple goals.In the first minute.After an offensive zone turnover by the Rangers, Mikael Backlund sprung Andrew Mangiapane.

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Chicago Blackhawks06:00 PM at United CenterWatch on: ESPN+, HULU, TVAS, SNO
The Leafs last game was at home yesterday against the Montréal Canadiens, which Toronto won by a score of 5-1.The Leafs have a record of 34-14-8 so far.The Chicago Blackhawks last played an away game on February 17 against the Ottawa Senators.

Irresponsible Rumormongering
A NY Rangers reunion with Tyler Motte may not be in the cards.Motte is being held out by Ottawa for trade reasons, but a Motte Girl Summer Part 2 is likely to be more expensive than last year's cost, per Larry Brooks.Update: Clearly this is now outdated, with the Rangers trading for Motte.

Lineup Changes
Per Vince Mercogliano, the NY Rangers lines tonight have minimal changes.Tyler Motte is obviously in the lineup, on the fourth line, starting his second go round with the Rangers.Also, Jimmy Vesey and Vladimir Tarasenko have swapped places.Kreider - Zib - Vesey Panarin - Trocheck - Tarasenko Laf - Chytil - KakkoMotte - Leschyshyn - Goodrow
- Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) February 20, 2023

The bottom six are as expected.

Game Thread
The Rangers continue to roll, even with their OT loss in Calgary the other night, with points in 10 straight.Their 7 game win streak may have been snapped in Calgary with the OT loss, but they are still one of the hottest teams in the NHL.The Blueshirts just got more dangerous too, shoring up the fourth line with the Motte/Gauthier swap, adding another shutdown element to the fourth line.

Nic Dowd has been activated from the injured reserve before the Capitals are set to take on the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night.The fourth-line center is no longer listed on the IR on the NHL's media site.To make room for Dowd's return to play, the Caps announced that they have sent forward Aliaksei Protas back to the AHL's Hershey Bears.

Tyler Motte is back with the New York Rangers to help improve what has been an inconsistent fourth line.That doesn't mean the Rangers are done improving though.With just over a week remaining before the NHL's trade deadline, the Rangers still have enough resources to make one final push to improve the roster and go "all-in" on a championship run.

The NHL trade deadline is fast approaching and the Bruins find themselves in an intresting position.Boston sits atop the league standings with a 42-8-5 record and 91 points, 13 points ahead of the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division and seven in front of the Carolina Hurricanes for the top spot in the NHL.

As the 2022-2023 NY Rangers solidify their roster and look to make a run at the Stanley Cup, comparisons to the 2013-2014 team that won the Eastern Conference are going to be made.That team was very good, deep, but lacked the star power to get them over the hump.This year's version has that star power, but how do they compare to that 13-14 team?

Game Thread
All winning streaks eventually come to an end, and the Rangers had theirs ended over the long weekend by Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets.Now the Rangers are in Detroit to face a surprisingly still in it Red Wings team that just isn't going away.Their 7-3-0 run has put them within striking distance of a wild card spot with 4-5 games in hand on teams ahead of them.

The Boston Bruins front office saw reason to add before the NHL trade deadline and that's exactly what they did.Before Boston took the ice against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday, the Bruins made a pre-deadline swap with the Washington Capitals and Minnesota Wild.Forward Garnet Hathaway and defenseman Dmitry Orlov were acquired by Boston in exchange for four future draft selections - one of which went to the Wild - and forward Craig Smith, who is now a member of the Capitals.

The Washington Capitals took the ice for practice on Friday after dropping a sixth consecutive game in regulation to the Anaheim Ducks.It was also the team's first practice since Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway were dealt to the Boston Bruins.The NHL Trade Deadline is on March 3 and it's expected that the Caps will continue to make moves before then.