Fourth Line Acts As Physical Scoring Machine

Will Carrier rates the various fashion choices of assembled media.
Ryan Reaves interrupts any interview within striking distance.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare has that in-your-face honesty we all want in a friend but which also makes us cringe from time-to-time.
They are referred to by their coach as the "so-called fourth line" and Thursday, they combined for a pair of third period goals in a 5-3 win against the Ottawa Senators and now have nine on the season, which ranks them second as a unit in Vegas.

William Karlsson's line, which includes Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith, has combined for 13 goals. They average north of 20 minutes per night as a line and get lots of power play time.
Bellemare leads his line in ice time at 12:24 and only Reaves gets regular action on the power play.
The fourth line is doing a lot with a little. They have become efficient scoring machines.
"We didn't do anything magic. We just put the puck behind them and won those battles," said Bellemare of his line's performance Thursday. "It's fun to be able to help the team offensively for once."
Bellemare is being a little modest about his line. They have combined for five 5v5 goals which ranks 24th in the NHL. All the lines ahead of them are first and second lines in terms of ice time with other teams.
In Thursday's win, Vegas allowed a three-goal lead to evaporate as the Senators stormed back to even the game at threes midway through the first period. Gallant threw out the fourth line and was quickly rewarded with a goal from Carrier to give his club a 4-3 lead. So pleased with the group's effort and results, the coach began to double shift the Bellemare line.
"That doesn't happen very often. But we were playing the right way. They wanted use to be out there for the big plays and we showed up," said Carrier.
A hockey dressing room is full of personalities. It's rare that one line is brimming with humor and enthusiasm such as Bellemare's trio.
After the game, Bellemare held court at his locker giving colorful and thoughtful answers to media.
Carrier and Reaves barked at one another across the locker room arguing over which of the two was getting the bigger head due to their recent scoring exploits.
Reaves may be the alpha male of the NHL, but Carrier stands in no one's shadow.
While the trio is adding offense to their game, they haven't forgotten what got them to the NHL. Reaves fought Ottawa's Mark Borowiecki in the second period to add another win to his career total.
Carrier hammered Ottawa's Thomas Chabot along the wall at one end of the ice and then drilled Bobby Ryan at the other.
The duo sit one and two in the NHL in hits with Carrier tops at 75 and Reaves just back at 62. In the middle is Bellemare acting like a playing coach giving directions on the ice and making consistently responsible puck management decisions.
Offense is key to winning games and some players have the green light to risk a turnover in order to create a scoring chance. But Bellemare's hockey DNA won't allow it. And he runs his lines.
He's the center and the captain and the boss. He charts the course and hiw wingers happily set the sails.
The mixture of scoring and controlled violence has become a thing of hockey beauty. The goal is to get the puck low in the offensive zone, chase it down and dislodge it from the opposition. Once back in their possession, it's get to the net.
Playing against this line has become bruising to the bodies and plus/minus numbers of whoever draws the short stick against them.
Gallant is unafraid to use his fourth line against whoever his counterpart has on the ice. He doesn't shelter them. It leaves skill players shaking their heads and wincing as they slump off the ice after a shift against the Bellemare unit.
The only untouchable line in Vegas used to be Karlsson's. There's room for two, however, as right now it's also unimaginable that Gallant would tinker with Bellemare, Reaves and Carrier.