Penguins getting significant contributions from 4th line

Entering this season, the Pittsburgh Penguins knew they would be missing some major components of their roster with franchise centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin sidelined as they recovered from offseason surgeries.

That led them to bring in steady veteran Brian Boyle to training camp on a tryout basis. By mid-October, he earned a one-year contract for a league minimum for $750,000 and was tasked with helping offset — certainly not replace — the absences of Crosby and Malkin.

Four months later, he still is trying to fill a void in the middle.

The only difference is he’s been deployed as a substitute on the team’s fourth line for Teddy Blueger, currently on injured reserve with a broken jaw.

And, as of late, Boyle has been a major reason why that line, which includes Zach Aston-Reese at left wing and Dominik Simon on the right wing, has been generating offense.

“Offensively, they’re all a little bit different in what they bring,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “Sometimes, the complementary skill sets, because they’re different, can make a line effective offensively.”

During Sunday’s 4-2 road win against the New Jersey Devils, the line had a hand in two goals.

At 13 minutes, 16 seconds of the first period, Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson scored his team’s first goal thanks to the fourth line’s efforts.

Under pressure from a forecheck by Aston-Reese and Simon, Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler flicked a poor backhanded pass attempt from his own left corner that was stolen by Boyle in the left circle. Settling the puck, Boyle fired a quick wrister that was blocked by Devils forward Jimmy Vesey. The rebound caromed off the right-corner boards and was claimed by Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel at the right point. From there, Ruhwedel fed a pass to center point for Matheson, who chopped a slapper past goaltender Jon Gillies glove.

Boyle accounted for the winning goal at 6:58 of the third.

Pushing the puck up the right wing of the offensive zone, Matheson pulled up on the half wall, retreated to the right point and chucked a wrister at the cage. Gillies kicked out a rebound above the crease, and Boyle was able to outbattle Devils defenseman Ty Smith for position to claim the puck and fire a quick wrister past Gilles’ right leg.

“We want to contribute,” Boyle said after the contest in Newark, N.J. “We know exactly what we have to do. If we can start in our end or even (create) a faceoff in the other end, we get (Crosby, Malkin, forward Jeff Carter) and their lines on the ice in the offensive zone, that’s success for us. It’s nice to chip in. We practice with those guys every day, so we try to pick up some stuff from them. You play hockey because you want to score goals.”

That notion held true two days later.

During a 5-4 home win against the rival Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, Simon scored the team’s first goal 14:09 into regulation.

From the right wall of the offensive zone, Aston-Reese dished a pass to the center point for Boyle. Faking a slapper, Boyle then distributed a pass to the left-half wall for defenseman Marcus Pettersson. Surveying for a lane, Pettersson snapped a pass to the front of the crease. Simon spun off a check from Bunnaman in the slot and leaned forward to re-direct the puck off the crossbar and into the cage behind Flyers goaltender Carter Hart.

“Dominik is a very good playmaker. He’s really stiff on the puck. He’s good on the forecheck,” Sullivan said. “Brian is really good at the net front (with) his size and his strength. He’s got a good stick that can deflect pucks. The rebound goal he gets in (New) Jersey is an example of it. Zach is just a good traffic player. He’s good in the corners. He’s good at the net front.

“When they can generate offense for us, it helps us create the balance that we’re looking for on both sides of the puck. When we get that balance throughout the lineup, we get contributions throughout our lineup on both sides of the puck, we’re that much harder to play against.”

Offensive contributions certainly are a positive by any metric. But the metric that means the most for any sturdy fourth line is not being scored against.

“We’re getting chances,” Boyle said. “It might may be not as many chances, but we can’t give up (more). We just want to have more chances for than against. We’ve got to continue to keep momentum. We can’t give up a goal.”

This line most likely is a temporary arrangement, at least until Blueger returns.

In the meantime, they’ve done quite a bit to earn their coach’s confidence in just about any situation.

“They’re different in some ways but the one common denominator between the three of them is I think all three of them are conscientious defensively,” Sullivan said. “They have good awareness away from the puck. They’re strong in puck battles. They’re good on the walls. They’re good on the walls. They’re willing to blocks shots. From that standpoint, I think they’re a line that we can rely on to defend for us. I have no problems putting them on the ice in the defensive zone with a defensive start against the other team’s top players because they’re very capable of defending hard.”

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