Another necessary lineup tweak for Bruins? Finding a way to keep Oskar Steen on 4th line

Serving on a checking unit in Bruce Cassidy’s system is hardly a glamorous gig.

Granted, embracing a sandpaper style of play and carrying out the straightforward task of landing welts against the competition kinda does come with the job title of a fourth-liner. 

But as far as matchups and O-zone ice is concerned, Boston’s checking line is often granted the unenviable task of not only slowing down an opposing top-six unit — but also spending most of their time treading water in the B’s own end of the ice.

If you need proof, look no further than Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner — who were two fourth-line stalwarts on this club when skating together from 2018-21. Over the span of those three seasons, the duo logged 1,402 minutes of 5v5 ice time together, and just 28.5% of their faceoffs were set in the offensive zone. 

That’s a lot of taxing shifts, to say the least. And even though the personnel on that fourth line has drastically changed this season, their role sure hasn’t.

Tomas Nosek — the new man in the middle of that fourth line — has had just 33.1% of his faceoffs set in the O-zone during his 287:21 of 5v5 ice time this season. Another checking-line stalwart in Curtis Lazar? Just 25.1%.  

When it comes to checking off the boxes of what Cassidy is looking for from that fourth line — keeping the opposition off the scoresheet is often fixated at the top. When it comes to capitalizing down the other end of the ice, any and all offensive contributions are pretty much gravy. 

But as we saw on Sunday afternoon in Detroit, even though Boston’s fourth line is far from an offensive conduit — the complexion of this entire B’s depth chart can change if guys further down the depth chart start burying their chances. 

After a third line of DeBrusk-Coyle-Foligno did plenty of heavy lifting during Saturday’s OT win over Buffalo, it was the checking crew that made a dent on the scoresheet against Detroit. 

Trent Frederic finally got off the schenid with his first goal of the season at 7:55 in the third period, firing a second-chance puck into twine off of a Mike Reilly shot. Less than three minutes later, Nosek joined in on the fun — wristing a puck past Alex Nedeljkovic to cap the scoring in Boston’s 5-1 victory.

“Freddy brought a little more today on the wing — good for him,” Cassidy said. “That whole line, I thought Nosek was outstanding. So happy to see him score. Probably doesn't factor much into the game and end result — whether it's 4-1 or 5-1. But for all the chances he's had and worked hard to get, I'm glad he got on the scoresheet as well.” 

As far as charting expectations, both Frederic and Nosek certainly won’t be gunning for the Rocket Richard Trophy any time soon. But finally getting rewarded in the O-zone stands as a major positive for a line that desperately needed more tangible production to counter some of the daunting assignments that they’re regularly given.

And even though he didn’t light the lamp on Sunday, the case could be made that Boston’s most impactful forward on that fourth line was a guy that has only logged seven total games up at the NHL level.  

Oskar Steen’s insertion into the lineup on Sunday was more than justified given the production that the 23-year-old winger has put forth down in Providence this season (10 goals, 20 points in 16 games). But his actual promotion was more a product of circumstance — with Karson Kuhlman placed in COVID protocols on Saturday night and Curtis Lazar ruled out due to injury.

But, as has been the case whenever Steen has been given a shot up in the NHL ranks, the 2016 sixth-round pick absolutely looked the part as a viable NHL contributor when given reps at Little Caesars Arena. 

Over the span of four games this season, Steen has been a productive playmaker in Boston’s bottom-six corps, recording three assists over that small sample size. On Sunday, Steen set up Nosek’s third-period tally with an assertive drive through the neutral zone. 

It was an effective way to cap an impactful performance for Steen, who attempted four shots on goal in the win — two of which came from within eight feet of the Red Wings’ net. 

Even though Steen’s ceiling in the NHL might be that of a 15-goal scorer, there’s a lot to like about how he goes about his business whenever he hops over the boards. He’s far from the biggest body out there (5-foot-9, 199 pounds), but Steen is regularly a willing participant when it comes to throwing his weight around, and has a knack for planting himself in Grade-A when the opportunity presents itself.

Of course, while there are plenty of other forwards currently up on the roster that fit a similar mold as Steen in terms of his straight-line style of play (Kuhlman, for example), Steen’s playmaking ability does make him a guy that deserves a bit of a longer leash up in Boston — especially if it helps draw more offense out of guys like Nosek and Frederic that need to start lighting the lamp at a more consistent rate.

All things considered, giving Steen a longer sample size on that fourth line sure seems like a no-brainer — with his point production making a more compelling argument than anything that could be gleaned from just the basic eye test. 

But it may not be quite that simple, as Cassidy noted postgame. 

“He's come up and played well,” Cassidy said of Steen. “But you've got some depth of our lineup, contract situations, roster issues. So it becomes a little bit of asset management as well. I mean he doesn't need waivers. It happens to certain guys throughout the league at times and eventually you push your way through where you won't get taken out and then you adjust your roster, right?

“So that happens to a lot of different teams. Today it happened to be a situation — Kuhly goes on COVID yesterday. And (Lazar) was — finished the game yesterday but was a little banged up. He could have played if we really needed him to. 

“But we got a fresh guy that's playing while in Providence, young legs, on a back-to-back, so he takes advantage of it. So yeah, we've got a decision to make when it comes to him. Those are good decisions when guys pushed their way up. A little bit of youth in the lineup I think does every team well at times.”

Indeed, Steen’s waiver-exempt status does make him easier to move to and fro from Boston and Providence. 

Such isn’t the case for other guys like Kuhlman, who would need to pass through waivers before getting sent down to the AHL. 

But when it comes to assessing which player offers more value to this current club when it comes to actual O-zone production, Steen’s play sure seems to eclipse what Kuhlman is offering (2 points in 18 games played).

Kuhlman has been a good soldier in Cassidy’s rotation for a few years now. But at this point, what else does a guy like Steen need to do to prove himself up at hockey’s top level?

Whenever the topic of sorting through Boston’s crowded lineup has been brought up this season, Cassidy has often harped on the hurdles that “good problems” present. 

Adding a guy like Tuukka Rask to an improving goalie rotation with Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark in place? Sounds like a good problem to have.

Finding the best possible three-man unit out of an assortment of guys like Nosek, Frederic, Steen and Lazar? Sounds like a good problem to have. 

As far as allocating reps and asset management is concerned, carving out a spot for Steen up in the NHL might not be the simplest maneuver for Cassidy and Don Sweeney to pull off.

But as far as merit is concerned, Steen sure looks ready for a regular spot up with the big club — even in a role as unglamorous as a fourth-line stalwart.

We’ve talked time and time again over the last few seasons about youngsters like Jack Studnicka and the challenge of waiting for an unproven product to show their worth up at the next tier of competition.

But Steen is showing that whenever he’s afforded the few reps that have come his way.

It’s time to reward that.