There is no doubting that the league is changing, with teams focusing on filling their third and fourth lines with faster, more skilled players than years before. Even before the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup this most previous season featuring four lines that are a threat in the offensive zone, other teams had started to drift in that direction. The Stanley Cup Final the year before between the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning a prime example of that (Penguins’ General Manager Jim Rutherford even said he wanted to built his team like Tampa’s).
Derek MacKenzie: Style of Play a Wildcard For Panthers’ Bottom Six
