Please help me.
It’s well understood around both the Rangers organization and fan base that some serious changes to the team are going to be necessary if the squad hopes to be a serious contender this time next year, although obviously what changes will be made remain to be seen. Most of the focus immediately goes to the defense, and rightly so given the Rangers’ struggles with shot suppression and breakout passes this season, but something that’s flown somewhat under the radar is the state of the fourth line.
The Rangers’ fourth line was one of their strengths two years ago when they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, so it’s a little disheartening that these days it’s considered one of their weaknesses. Consider that season, when the fourth line consisted of Dominic Moore, Brian Boyle, and either Dan Carcillo or Derek Dorsett. That season the fourth line was crucial in the Rangers’ success, helping to shut down opponents’ top competition, put the other three lines in a position to succeed on the ice, and score the occasional goal. Not surprisingly, their possession numbers in the 2013-2014 season were pretty solid, with the fourth line posting a CF% of 49.21% with Carcillo and 52.52% with Dorsett.
This year we’ve seen four different fourth line combinations, all of which have included Dominic Moore, typically included Tanner Glass, and from there involved some combination of Daniel Paille, Viktor Stalberg, Jarret Stoll, and Jesper Fast. The most common of these was Glass/Moore/Stalberg, whose CF% 45.20%, indicating that if this line was AV’s shutdown line it’s unclear what exactly they were shutting down, given that the Rangers controlled less than half of the offense when they were on the ice.
This year’s fourth line looked just the opposite of the fourth line we saw when the Rangers went to the Cup Finals, struggling to gain possession of the puck and get it out of the zone, generally allowing grade-A scoring chances, and failing to make life difficult for other teams’ top players.
Although the Rangers’ struggles on the back end are well documented on this website and on others, I think it’s reasonable to say that the Rangers’ lack of a cohesive, viable fourth line is a large part of why they struggled this season. A good fourth line puts the rest of the team in a position to score, getting the puck from the defensive zone to neutral ice or the offensive zone, taking away puck possession from opponents, and especially in the Rangers’ system, forechecks hard and creates turnovers to gain possession. This can include physicality, as Viktor Stalbeg demonstrated time and time again with his forechecking ability, but must include offensive skill and hockey IQ.
Which leads me to Tanner Glass. While he certainly isn’t the only problem with this team he’s most definitely a problem on the fourth line, and the fourth line is a major issue for the team as a whole. He brings little to the fourth line in terms of hockey sense or offensive skillset, instead relying on speed alone and the dubious ability to finish unnecessary checks.
While this may sound like harping on a guy who takes a lot of flack to begin with consider that maybe that criticism is there because of the problems he causes the team. If that doesn’t sway you the consider this instead: across the eight teams that made it through to the second round there were 23 points scored by fourth liners as of Mother’s Day. Aside from Dominic Moore’s point in the Rangers’ elimination loss to Pittsburgh on April 23rd, the Rangers’ fourth line previous had a point on March 21st, coming from Viktor Stalberg.
This year’s playoffs are a prime example that a fourth line capable of scoring, or at least setting up scoring chances and putting the other three lines in situations where they can score, is essential to a deep playoff run. If the Rangers hope to turn this team around in time for next year’s playoffs they need to not only focus on the blueline, but make sure to build a formidable fourth line again.
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