Inside the Cage: Fourth-Man's Ice

A trend that was a point of emphasis from Day 1 of training camp continued Thursday as the Sharks seized Game 1 of a best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff series with a 3-0 win at Anaheim.
San Jose received key offensive contributions from its defense in the form of a goal, two points and 13 of the team's total of 34 shots on goal. The statistics, however, only represent results of a lot of hard work and a detailed strategy.
With the noticeable shift in how today's NHL is more about speed and skill, the Sharks are among the forerunners in incorporating a system that not only looks for but demands everyone on the blue line adding to the offense.

"I think it's been huge," Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon said. "It's something Pete's got as a great system for the six of us. We can skate and we can be mobile."
In Thursday's opener - and following Evander Kane's 5-on-3 power-play goal to break a scoreless tie in the second - San Jose's defense played a key role in generating the next two scores.

Dillon's vision of the ice spotted Joe Pavelski skating free through the neutral zone on the opposite side. The defender's precise cross-ice pass from behind the San Jose blue line banked off the boards at center right onto the stick of the Sharks' captain, who led a 2-on-1 that Kane finished with a backhand goal and a 2-0 lead.
Then, just 1:24 later, Brent Burns settled a bouncing puck rolling his way at the right point and threaded a wrist shot through several bodies to beat Ducks goalie John Gibson for an insurmountable three-goal edge before the second intermission.

"It's been a priority from Day 1 when I got here," said coach Peter DeBoer, who noted the Sharks got great production from the blue line two years ago before tailing off when the team got off to a slow start last season. "We really relied on our defensive game to get back into the hunt. And then never really got our offensive game back again.
"This year we wanted to make sure we got out of that mind set and got back to what we had been good at, which is getting our defensemen as part of the offense on a regular basis," he added.
Coming off a Norris Trophy-winning campaign, Burns again was prolific in his offensive contributions. His 332 shots led all NHL defensemen, and were third most in the league overall. But the key to the system was convincing all six who dressed to contribute, not just one.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic (161) and Dylan DeMelo (67) produced career-high shot totals, Justin Braun cranked off his second most with 115 and Dillon's 88 shots were nine short of his career high. Vlasic finished with a career-best in goals with 11. DeMelo had a career-high 20 assists.
Even rookies Joakim Ryan and Tim Heed, healthy scratches for Game 1, contributed with 79 and 51 shots in 62 and 29 games, respectively. The rooks combined for 23 points, too.
"Everybody enjoys that part of the game, everybody enjoys contributing when they can," Vlasic said.
The system doesn't simply encourage defensemen to join the rush every time down the ice. It's all about reading the situation and reacting to what the opponent allows. San Jose has as term for when a defenseman jumps in to play almost as a forward - it's the "fourth-man's ice". While a new hockey term to most, it's been part of the Sharks' vernacular for three years now.
"You watch other teams and guys are jumping in," Braun said. "We know we can do that, we can support the fourth-man's ice. The guys have got the hang of it more this year. We find those holes, and not just skate aimlessly."
Braun emphasized the importance to recognize what's the smart play and what's needed when taking the score and time remaining in a game. If the Sharks are leading there's a more conservative approach, but if San Jose needs a goal the attack is more aggressive. Either way, defensemen have a responsibility to create offense.

"You can't play timid, you've still got to jump up because it helps the break-out," Braun said. "Maybe you're not leading the rush. Get the puck to the middle, move it up then support as the fourth man. If you're down you might be driving that puck up the middle a little bit, kicking out and driving the net. If you have that lane you've got to take it. You can't just skip to the red line, dump it in and give the puck away."
And the numbers bare Sharks' defenders didn't back off in Game 1. Burns attempted 13 shots and put a team-high nine on net. Paul Martin, Vlasic, Dillon and DeMelo all had a shot on goal while Braun had an attempt go wide. All six blue liners combined for 22 attempts.
"Every game is going to be different," Braun said. "Sometimes they'll do a good job taking that away and sometimes you'll be able to get above them and get some room.
"It's something we're going to have to continue to do in the playoffs for sure because the games are so tight and so good defensively we're going to help out as well," Dillon added.