They don’t get the spotlight. They don’t score the goals. But their job is just as important as any other line in an NHL lineup. The fourth line is predominately tasked with facing the opposition’s top line and sees a majority of their shift starts in the defensive zone.
The Capitals fourth line was performing at a really high level under the Hagelin-Dowd-Hathaway era. The line was very strong defensively, all while posting positive (above 50%) possession metrics. Simply put, they were stopping the League’s best stars and flipping the ice, and generating offense. You really couldn’t ask for more. Unfortunately, Hagelin sustained a serious eye injury in the waning days of the 2021-22 season, and would require surgery.
The Capitals answered the Hagelin absence with a series of varied lineups, beginning with the Conor Sheary-Nic Dowd-Garnet Hathaway line on opening night against the Bruins. The Capitals also went with Joe Snively and Aliaksei Protas at the “Hagelin Spot” for a couple of games. The audition for the left wing spot was in high gear.
The Capitals then recalled Beck Malenstyn on October 19. The move came after right-wing Connor Brown sustained a lower-body injury in the team’s 6-4 win over the Vancouver Canucks the previous night. Malenstyn would get his shot at the Hagelin spot. The line worked, positing very similar metrics to the Hagelin version of the line. Problem solved? Nope.
As the 2022-23 season would ultimately go for the Capitals, Malenstyn appeared in five games, recording two points (1g, 1a) before he was injured blocking a shot in the first period of the game against the Vegas Knights on November 1. The Capitals announced on November 4 that Malenstyn had surgery to repair a fractured finger and would miss 6-8 weeks.
Enter Aliaksei Protas. Protas settled in at the “Hagelin Spot” and also did well on the fourth line during the Malenstyn absence. So much so the Capitals didn’t rush Malenstyn back from his conditioning stint in Hershey.
Adding to the mix, the Capitals claimed Nicolas Aube-Kubel off waivers on November 5. Aube-Kubel was tried throughout the lineup and showed positive results in several line combinations, but more specific to this story, was solid in his work on the fourth line, ultimately replacing Garnett Hathaway after Hathaway was dealt ot the Boston Bruins at the trade deadline.
THE DECISION
Solid, convincing arguments can made for Aliaksei Protas, Beck Malenstyn and Joe Snively starting at left wing on the fourth line on opening night. It’s a great problem to have but a tough decision to make.
Malenstyn did really well at spot at the beginning of the season, but then so did Protas and even Snively. In addition, the decision can’t be a cogent one without looking at other position needs/openings, and whether one of the aforementioned Caps forwards could help elsewhere in the lineup.
Protas has the most flexibility, as he can play on any line and even play center. That may be key, particularly when the season gets underway, and temporary lineup needs begin to surface. Snively is very similar in that he can play on any line.
The decision will ultimately need to be made between Malenstyn and Protas. Protas needs to be in the lineup, so if he can work his way to another wing position, Malenstyn should begin the season at left wing on the fourth line.
A lot can change between now and mid-October. Capitals general manger Brian MacLellan said his primary goal this off-season will be to upgrade the top six forwards, and that will most likely impact the bottom six. However, one thing that seems fairly apparent, the fourth line will be the least of the Capitals concerns entering the 2023-24 campaign.
By Jon Sorensen