Lost in the Bruins’ 6-5 overtime loss to Chicago in Game 4 was the lack of playing time for their fourth line. Part of the problem there was the dicey play of Kaspars Daugavins. Boston coach Claude Julien may have an answer for that in Game 5.
Rookie forward Carl Soderberg, he of all of six games played in his NHL career, skated on the fourth line at practice today with Rich Peverley and Shawn Thornton signaling the possibility he gets the call tomorrow night. Julien told reporters today, as shared by NHL.com’s Matt Kalman, that he was giving things a different look.
“Just trying something else here,” Julien said before boarding the bus in front of a throng of fans outside the Garden. “Again, I’ll make that decision [Saturday]. But just get a different look at what that would look like, that’s all.”
In his six games this season, Soderberg has no goals and two assists as well as six penalty minutes. He played third line type minutes averaging nearly 15 minutes of ice time per game, but he’s yet to appear in the playoffs.
Limiting minutes for fourth line players isn’t hard to do, but Julien may be looking to give his three better lines more of a break by having a better fourth.