Fourth line boosts energy with Cullen
Rutherford raves about momentum off bench
Garrett Wilson and Zach Aston-Reese called it.
When they found out Tuesday they’d take the same car service to meet the Penguins in Washington, the two decided to have a talk in the backseat.
“We knew what was expected of us,” Aston-Reese recalled, “So we said, ‘Let’s just keep it simple, try to put pucks behind their defense, play in their zone and get minutes in the offensive zone,’” AstonReese said.
Perhaps Wilson and Aston-Reese should play the lottery, because that’s pretty much exactly what they and Matt Cullen did.
Although the group did not score, it was one of the fourth line’s best games of the season — among only a handful of times when they were noticeable.
“The fourth line that we had the other night played the way you need a fourth line to play,” general manager Jim Rutherford gushed before a practice Friday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. “Gives you energy. Creates some scoring chances. They were hard to play against. I thought that both Aston-Reese and Wilson played very good games.”
Expect that line to stick together Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes.
All of the Penguins lines, really. They practiced again Friday with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel on different lines, and that seems to be the approach for now — to diversify the attack and play a more straight-ahead game.
That leaves the fourth-line work — and probably less scoring — to a group that isn’t going to get overly complex with its game plan.
“On the fourth line, your main goal is to create energy and play in the opponents’ end and wear them down,” Wilson said. “I thought for the most part our line did that. We were able to create a few good looks. We just have to find a way to put it in the back of the net.”
Nobody knows that better than Wilson, once Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s captain and a former Florida Panthers player who wound up with a breakaway chance (thanks to Kessel) that Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby stopped.
But this group doesn’t necessarily have to score to succeed. The Penguins have other people they pay to do that.
Their game is about sustaining the momentum and energy that they created against the Capitals every night.
“I thought they had an impact,” coach Mike Sullivan said of his fourth line. “They had some really good offensivezone time. They were physical when they had an opportunity. They were harder on pucks. … I thought they helped us with momentum and energy.”
Wilson and Aston-Reese credited Cullen for the balance he brought. Wilson admitted he “had some nerves out there in the first,” the result of this being his first NHL game since 2016.
Aston-Reese, meanwhile, only has played 17 and remains very much in awe of the whole thing. Cullen helped both of them relax. He also talked to Aston-Reese and Wilson about the impact they could have on the game.
“A guy like that who’s a veteran, who sticks around for that long, he knows the role of a fourth line,” Aston-Reese said. “It was nice having him. He’s just such a calm presence there. … I thought we played pretty well.”
The Penguins fourth line has been ineffective for much of this season. The result has been Crosby, Malkin and Kessel hopping over the boards without the puck and having to face a fresh defense.
When Wilson, Cullen and Aston-Reese do their jobs, they set up things nicely for the Penguins scorers — even if that contribution isn’t always obvious. A good fourth line plays a similar role to a good fullback or a guy who takes a lot of pitches and wears down the starter.
“For the top lines, physically and mentally, it gives them rest,” Aston-Reese said. “It gives our defensemen rest not having to chase the puck around the defensive zone the whole time.
“The other lines seeing that, it’s this visceral thing that you feed off of. On top of that, you’re grinding them down. While they’re scrambling to try to get a change, we’re coming back with a head full of steam.
“It’s a lot of components.”
A lot of components that the Penguins have been missing as they’ve repeatedly shuffled their bottom-six.
It also has been tough, Rutherford said, because until Wednesday, they had been basically asking players to play out of position. Daniel Sprong isn’t a fourth-line right winger and the Penguins know it. Maybe he produces on a scoring line, but on the fourth line, he’s out of place.
Not anymore, it seems.
“In the first dozen games, we were trying to fit certain people in that probably didn’t fit in the right situations,” Rutherford said. “In order for this team to be successful and the coach to roll the lines the way they’re supposed to, we need a fourth line the way we had the other night.”