When Lukas Sedlak got hurt, we all thought it would just be a minor bump in the road. Sedlak is the fourth line centre and hypothetically shouldn’t have been too difficult to replace. As it turns out Sedlak was the glue that held the fourth line together and without him it’s been a complete mess. John Tortorella has lost all faith in the line, giving them less and less ice time in each game since Sedlak’s injury. This hit the pinnacle last game as Tortorella abolished the fourth line completely, opting to use seven defencemen and 11 forwards.
This has forced the Jackets to rely even more on their top players, to cover the extra minutes. Nick Foligno has taken on a lot of extra ice time; he played over 20 minutes in each of the last five games, including 25:30 against the Bruins. Foligno hasn’t played more than 24 minutes in a game since 2014-15 and he did it just once that season. He has already surpassed that twice this season. For a team that wants to make a deep run in the playoffs they do not need to be wearing their top end players down this early in the season.
The Jackets brought up Tyler Motte after a good start in the AHL, and he made his debut as one of the 11 forwards against Boston. It was assumed he would get a spot on that fourth line, but after scoring in that game it looks like he is going to get a look in an expanded role.
Losing Cam Atkinson has also put a lot of stress on the forward group. Players have been getting cycled around seeing who could fill in in absence of Atkinson. Dubois had one of the first chances to move up in the line-up but his play hasn’t warranted that. He still only has the one goal, scored on opening night. Dubois has been a really strong possession player, sitting at 56.05% on the season, per
Natural Stat Trick. The points are coming.
I think Sonny Milano should get a shot, but thus far Tortorella has not had that same idea.
Milano has been consistently on the fourth line and he's a player who has seen his ice time drop considerably. He was the forward who was scratched on Monday despite having five goals and six points in 11 games. Milano has scored four of his goals at even strength, giving him an elite 2.36 goals per 60. That ranks as the sixth best in the NHL among players who have played at least 50 minutes, just behind John Tavares and Alexander Ovechkin. This is one of the reasons Milano ranks among one of the games most underutilized forwards.
Chart via Sean Tierney (
@ChartingHockey)
Milano’s ice shouldn’t be getting cut it should be increasing. Milano like all offensive players is going to have hot and cold streaks. Milano is going to heat back up but he needs to be playing, He can’t score goals from the press box.
The Jackets don’t have a prototypical fourth line with big players who crash and bang. They have a skilled fourth line with two of their top prospects. The line has its flaws but these players need ice time to be effective. The identity of this Jackets team should once again be their depth. With four skilled lines they should be a match-up nightmare for the opposition. Right now they are not, as teams only have to worry about three lines.
On this road trip, the Jackets need to spread out the ice time much more evenly. Relying on Nick Foligno as much as they have is not a good long-term strategy. It’s not even a very good short-term one. Milano and Dubois have shown they can play in the NHL, Milano has put up the points and Dubois has been a possession monster. Something needs to be done about the fourth line, and its give them more ice-time.
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