Alain Vigneault cut off the question before it could be completed, even as it steered toward complimenting the play of his fourth line.
“I wouldn’t know which line [that is],” Vigneault said following the Rangers’ Game 4 win over the Canadiens.
The coach wasn’t just being diplomatic, by refusing to label any of his players as lower-tier. In Tuesday night’s series-tying win at Madison Square Garden, Vigneault rolled his four lines fairly evenly, showcasing a tweaked, turbo-charged fourth line featuring Oscar Lindberg, Jesper Fast and Michael Grabner.
Before the Canadiens could silence the crowd as they did in Game 3, the speedy line set the building ablaze, with Fast scoring the game’s opening goal in the first period, and continuing the line’s stellar play throughout the first four games of the series.
“Playing as a team that has four lines, that makes it tough on you, that’s a lot better than just having three lines going and just having a fourth line you can put in here and there,” Lindberg said Wednesday. “I think it’s important to have four lines going to make it tough on their ‘D’ and their forwards. I think that’s key, in the playoffs especially, to have every guy contributing.”
By inserting rookie Pavel Buchnevich into the lineup, Grabner replaced physical forward Tanner Glass, allowing Vigneault’s speed-based attack to excel.
“For me, it was important to play at a high pace. To do that, you’ve got to be able to roll four lines,” Vigneault said. “With that move, we were able to do that.”
Lindberg has been the constant at center, and one of the team’s most consistent players throughout an up-and-down series for the Rangers. The 25-year-old has one point and has a plus-two rating for the series.
“I think me and the whole line has been going pretty well,” Lindberg said. “End of the season coming into the playoffs, these four games, I think we’ve been contributing some forechecks and getting their ‘D’ to make some mistakes and get some offensive time.”
Soon, though, Lindberg’s time with the Rangers may be over. He is a prime candidate to be left exposed in the upcoming Expansion Draft for the Vegas Golden Knights. Lindberg said he thinks Sin City is a “special city,” but he is he just focusing on his play with the Rangers.
It now matters more than ever.
“I haven’t thought about it that much, at all,” Lindberg said of possibly being selected by Vegas. “It’s nothing that you can think about or even control. Just let it be and see what happens.”