Chicago Blackhawks Fourth Line Shuffle-Send In A Kid

One of the secrets to the Chicago Blackhawks success this season has been the ability to roll four lines all game long no matter what the circumstance. Game 4 in Minnesota Joel Quenneville moved away from that philosophy pretty quickly after the very early penalty by Daniel Carcillo. Carcillo the big Game 4 adjustment found the ice for a grand total of 3:55. Yes, there were a lot of power plays in the contest but it was noticeable that the Carbomb was diffused on the bench for most of the game by Q.

Carcillo was in the lineup for Brandon Bollig who has been pretty invisible in the first three games which included a very physical Game #3. Bollig unable to stop the endless physical play by the Wild forced Coach Q’s hands to switch up the lineup, but Carcillo’s early penalty made the change in the lineup nullified.

The fourth line traditionally is full of players like Bollig and Carcillo to muck it up and be the physical presence that gives the big guns rest with any offense an added bonus. The thing is this edition of the Blackhawks isn’t your old school hockey version of a hockey team. The Blackhawks are built around speed and puck possession with every player expected to perform.

With the Hawks up 3-1 in the series and playing in front of the home crowd at the United Center Coach Q should really mix it up in Game 5.  Instead of Bollig or Carcillo playing with penalty killing machines Michael Frolik and Marcus Kruger, Coach Q should reinsert some youth to the lineup. Jimmy Hayes or Jeremy Morin could be placed on the fourth line and produce just what the Hawks need with offensive ability.  Yes you may be a little nervous adding  more youth to the lineup but it can’t be any worse than the production the Hawks have been getting from this spot from Bollig or Carcillo.

Morin scored on his first shift of the season and looked very skilled offensively while still throwing his body around. Hayes filled in on the Patrick Kane line without much of any kind of drop off. Send in the youth they will bring a bigger Hawks punch than The combo of Bollig and Carcillo are providing!

What do you think? Do you want to see the roster stand pat or do you want to see Quenneville add a young gun to the fourth line?

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