• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
San Jose Sharks

Sharks Finally Find Competent Fourth Line

By Andrew Bensch November 14th, 2014

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Fab Fourth

They didn’t play a whole lot, Tyler Kennedy skated only 9:33 and Tye McGinn skated his second lowest total of the season at 7:20 but the Sharks fourth line Thursday, rounded out by Andrew Desjardins, put in a tremendous performance.

For the first time all season, the Sharks featured a fourth unit without Mike Brown, Adam Burish, or John Scott, three players more known for racking up penalty minutes than anything else. And surprise, surprise, it paid off. Kennedy ended up scoring what turned out to be the game winning goal (Tyler Kennedy, game winning goal, where have I heard that before?) in a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lighnting on a pretty stretch pass from Brent Burns.

McGinn, Desjardins, and Kennedy would all finish plus-1 for the night with the latter pumping four shots on goal in his 9:33. The trio cycled down low in the offensive zone and were able string passes together on the breakout. Yet it is puzzling to note that while this trio played great in a win, their ice time was significantly lower than the previous night’s fourth line featuring Scott and Burish. Despite being on the ice for two goals against and miserably failing to execute on a couple of offensive chances they did get, Burish and Scott each skated over 12 minutes in the 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.

Certainly that amount of ice time can be attributed to the lopsided score, but Scott playing 12 minutes and McGinn playing just seven minutes is a head scratching discrepancy to say the least. McGinn has 12 points in 46 career NHL games, Scott has 7 points in 242 career games. There is no reason to trust Scott defensively over McGinn either as Scott is a career minus-20, McGinn just a minus-2. The lack of ice time for McGinn and especially Kennedy who has played great since returning from injury (1g, 1a, plus-2, 13 SOG in five games) is a depressing sign that this line will get broken up quickly in favor of Scott, Burish and when healthy, Brown. With the way this fresh new unit played against the Lightning, one would have expected to see double digit ice time totals for all three players. They are all quality hockey players.

(Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports)

(Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports)

Even without penalty kill time, a McGinn, Desjardins, Kennedy line is a trio that can be consistently relied upon to play 10 plus minutes per night. Whereas it is no surprise why Scott and Brown normally play only around five or six minutes a night. With the young talent in today’s NHL and the parity around the league, teams cannot afford to over tax top players and have a limited fourth line. Teams need fourth lines playing 9-12 minutes per night on a regular basis. Scott, Brown, Burish don’t help in this regard. If the Sharks are wise, they will keep the same 12 forwards from Thursday’s win in the lineup for the next few games barring any injuries.

  • Tags
  • Andrew Desjardins
  • John Scott
  • Tye McGinn
  • Tyler Kennedy
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 26th 12:15 PM
NHL Expansion

Kraken Expansion Draft Targets on Maple Leafs Roster

Jan 26th 12:05 PM
Edmonton Oilers

Oilers’ Yamamoto Off to Strong Start in 2020-21

Jan 26th 11:55 AM
Colorado Avalanche

Avalanche Weekly: A Slow Start From Depth Forwards

Jan 26th 11:45 AM
Boston Bruins

Bruins’ Fourth Line Needs to Be Part of Winning Formula

Jan 26th 11:35 AM
Calgary Flames

Flames’ Tkachuk Not At Fault in Latest Controversy Despite Reputation

Jan 26th 11:25 AM
NHL Goaltending

Wild’s Backup Goaltender Kahkonen Stands Tall

Jan 26th 11:15 AM
Los Angeles Kings

Kings’ Kopitar’s Red Hot Start to the 2020-21 Season

Jan 26th 11:05 AM
Edmonton Oilers

Oilers Need Breakout Seasons From Younger Core to Be Successful

Jan 26th 10:55 AM
Colorado Avalanche

Avalanche’s Byram Already Making a Case to Stay in the Lineup

Jan 26th 10:45 AM
Nashville Predators

Predators Need to Re-Examine Line Combinations

Editor’s Picks
Test Your Wayne Gretzky Knowledge With Our Quiz

Test Your Wayne Gretzky Knowledge With Our Quiz

2021 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini's Top 75 Rankings

2021 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini's Top 75 Rankings

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information