Vegas Golden Knights Fourth Line Providing A Major Spark

The Vegas Golden Knights fourth line has been a major force in these Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Well here we are, the Vegas Golden Knights are in the Western Conference finals. Think about that; we are one of the final four teams left competing for the Stanley Cup. Keep in mind; it’s just our first season in the league, and they aren’t not going away anytime soon.

There are many reasons why this team is where it is today. Many contributions up and down the lineup starting with the goaltending of Marc-Andre Fleury. The shutdown pairing of Nate Schmidt and Brayden McNabb have done a fantastic job since Head Coach Gerard Gallant put the duo together. And the production from the top line of Reilly Smith, William Karlsson, and Jonathan Marchessault continues.

However, if there’s anything the Vegas Golden Knights have had all season long, it is a strong fourth line. It’s definitely not because they go out and goon it up against other teams best players. And it’s not because they score a ton of goals, but they make responsible decisions and have earned Gallant’s trust.

Each player on the Golden Knights fourth line brings something different to the table. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare is the leader on that line, and he’s one of the best defensive forwards in the game. Bellemare doesn’t usually put up offensive stats but he does have a knack of scoring in big moments, and that’s crucial in the playoffs.

It’s crazy that Bellemare doesn’t have a single point in these playoffs, but again that’s not the type of player he is. The Le Blanc-Mesnil, France native, plays a significant role on the penalty kill and shuts down the top offensive players on the opposing team. As long as he keeps doing his specific job, I have no problem with him being held scoreless.

Tomas Nosek is another player like Bellemare. The Pardubice, Czechoslovakia native is a great penalty killer and thrives in one on one battles. Nosek likes to possess the puck most on the fourth line which means he creates the most scoring chances.

The 25-year old has the potential to put up a few points during this playoff run. However, I do think Nosek is playing with some sort of injury as he has only one assist in eight playoff games. Which is why I think he deserved to get scratched in these past few games. Gallant loves to use his depth and has utilized almost every player on the roster in the playoffs at least once.

And that’s where William Carrier comes in. Carrier has provided perhaps one of the biggest impacts on the entire team. Carrier doesn’t carry any offensive skill whatsoever but he plays like a pest and Gallant loves what he brings.

First, he tortured Kings defenseman Drew Doughty so much that he forced him into a costly one-game suspension. Next, he kept wailing away at Sharks defenseman Brent Burns and totally threw him off his game as well. He also leads the entire Stanley Cup Playoffs in hits with 52 with McNabb only trailing by three.

Unfortunately, Carrier is day to day with an upper-body injury, and hopefully, he’ll make a return in the conference finals. The speed that allows him to draw penalties mixed in with his physicality is a rare breed, and the Golden Knights are very lucky to have him. Till he returns, Ryan Reaves certainly fills his role with ease.

Sure, Reaves does not have the same type of explosive speed that Carrier has, but he delivers a ton of size and the same physicality level, if not more. I like Reaves when he stays out of the box and when he doesn’t take penalties. If he can stay out of the box and provide the boom that he brought in game six against San Jose, the Golden Knights will be just fine without Carrier for a little while.

In Reaves first bit of playoff action with the Golden Knights, he racked up eight hits, cycled the puck well and provided more offensive zone time than defensive zone time. He may have played only ten minutes, but those were huge minutes against the top forward group of San Jose.

Ryan Carpenter also looked great in his series against his former team. The Oviedo, Florida native took hits to make plays, and that speaks volumes of the kind of player Carpenter is.

One of the best moments of the entire series against San Jose was when Carpenter had a clear shot of an empty net goal instead makes the unselfish play and passes it to Cody Eakin for the assist. That just goes to show the amount of respect Carpenter has for his teammates. That’s been the Vegas Golden Knights story all season long.

No egos, all about business.

Next: Vegas Golden Knights Take Out San Jose Sharks In Six Games

All in all, if the Vegas Golden Knights fourth line continues doing their job and gets under the opposing teams’ skin, they will have a great shot during the rest of this tournament. A lot of things will have to go right, but this is just one of the few things that need to happen if the Golden Knights want to win the Stanley Cup. They’re only halfway there now with a matchup against the Nashville Predators or Winnipeg Jets coming up next.