The battle for the fourth line hasn’t necessarily been a major talking point this offseason, but it hasn’t been an insignificant story either. Jim Montgomery is still figuring out who will start the season on Team Grit, but he has some (business speak voice) Key Performance Indicators that he’s looking for:
“They got to build momentum for the next people coming over the boards,” Montgomery said. “That’s true for every line, but it’s so important that they do it. If they have a great shift in the offensive zone, they’re being relentless, they’re creating turnovers, they’re getting opportunities and pucks to the net, creating offensive zone faceoffs or drawing penalties, that’s what a fourth line needs to do.