Ryan Warsofsky values his fourth line\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cBig, heavy, physical, hunts pucks, creates momentum, changes momentum,\u201d the San Jose Sharks head coach said before the Olympic break. \u201cWe like what our fourth line brings. That\u2019s [the] identity of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s center Zack Ostapchuk, flanked by wingers Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Reaves, for most of this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to trust them in the defensive zone. I have a lot of trust in those three players,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cThey gain your trust by what they do on the ice and how they practice and what they\u2019ve done in their careers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Between Reaves and Goodrow, that\u2019s over 1,800 regular season and playoff NHL games, over a dozen deep playoff runs, and two Stanley Cups for Goodrow. They\u2019re also, even in this advanced stage of their careers, constantly praised for their leadership and defensive positioning and character and work rate.<\/p>\n
Enforcer Reaves also adds an intimidation factor, a truly rare thing \u2014 yes, I know some will say for a reason \u2014 in today\u2019s game. That\u2019s clearly valued in San Jose though, as it\u2019s GM Mike Grier who traded for Reaves over the summer. Goodrow is a go-to penalty killer.<\/p>\n
As for Ostapchuk, it\u2019s truly impressive that he\u2019s stuck with the San Jose Sharks since his November recall.<\/p>\n
Ostapchuk is still waiver-exempt, so like young Collin Graf earlier in the season, the fact that the 22-year-old has stuck around, when it\u2019s more convenient for a deeper-than-ever Sharks organization to send him down, is a true tribute to his development as a bona fide NHL center.<\/p>\n
All this may not be what some Sharks fans \u2014 who are wondering why Pavol Regenda or Adam Gaudette or Ethan Cardwell or fill-in-the-name aren\u2019t playing \u2014 want to hear. They may want more offensive potential, size and\/or youth be damned, on the fourth line. They may wonder why this current fourth line\u2019s publicly-available metrics \u2014 something that the Sharks are aware of \u2014 aren\u2019t getting them sat.<\/p>\n
To that point, we know the \u201cbad\u201d stats \u2014 this line, per Natural Stat Trick, is among the worst in the league in 5-on-5 Goals For %, for example. Their Expected Goals For % is markedly better though, suggesting they can use a little more finishing luck, that they are getting scoring chances.<\/p>\n
Also, guess who\u2019s top-three among Sharks forwards in 5-on-5 High-Danger Chances Against Per 60? Reaves leads San Jose in this category, Alex Wennberg is second, and Goodrow is third, suggesting that the fourth line is holding up their end, at least defensively.<\/p>\n
But anyway, this fourth line\u2019s identity is a Warsofsky philosophical decision, at least with the options available to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t have it, [they] can give us an identity of a shift, to just simplify our game a little bit,\u201d he said. \u201cI think, even though they\u2019ve made some mistakes, and they had a little dip in their game, in LA and that Columbus game, but they got right back on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jack Han<\/a> and I had a discussion about the Sharks\u2019 fourth line here!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n San Jose Sharks (27-24-4)<\/p>\n Yaroslav Askarov will start.<\/p>\n This is how the Sharks lined up at 5-on-5 and the power play the last two days.<\/p>\n Regenda, Gaudette & Mukhamadullin look like scratches<\/p>\n \u2014 Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) February 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n #SJSharks<\/a> power play groups, same as yday\u2026 <\/p>\n PP1: Klingberg-Celebrini-Smith-Sherwood-Wennberg <\/p>\n PP2: Orlov-Misa-Eklund-Kurashev-Toffoli<\/p>\n \u2014 Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) February 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Calgary Flames (23-27-6)<\/p>\n Optional morning skate for #Flames<\/a> in San Jose.<\/p>\n Northern California native Dustin Wolf is in the starter\u2019s net ahead of tonight\u2019s game against Macklin Celebrini and #TheFutureIsTeal<\/a>. pic.twitter.com\/wB3val5LK5<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Derek Wills (@Fan960Wills) February 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Where To Watch<\/p>\n Puck drop between the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames is at 7 PM PT at SAP Center. Watch it live on NBC Sports California. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t