Big Birds A More Physical Threat
Fourth Line Bangers Will Play Key Playoff Role
By Bob Grove

Even by today's escalating standards in the National Hockey League, the Penguins' Wayne Primeau is no average-sized forward. But on the first day the 6-3, 225-pound center practiced with his new team, he needed a mirror to reassure himself about that.

"Here I am playing on a line with two guys that are bigger than me. I'm 6-3 and I thought I was big. These guys," Primeau said, "are huge."

Acquired by the Penguins from Tampa Bay in a February trade for Matthew Barnaby, Primeau had been plopped down between left wing Steve McKenna (6-8, 255) and right wing Krzysztof Oliwa (6-5, 235) in coach Ivan Hlinka's version of a crash-and-bang fourth line.

They also became exhibit A in general manager Craig Patrick's efforts to recast the Penguins as a skilled team with a zero-tolerance policy on nonsense.

Twelve minutes into his Pittsburgh debut, McKenna picked a fight with Kevin Sawyer of Anaheim. Oliwa took a slashing penalty on his first shift in a Pittsburgh uniform and literally demanded to trade punches with Atlanta's Denny Lambert before the night was over.

Less than 24 hours later, in the first period of a highly-contentious game against Philadelphia, McKenna got himself ejected and Oliwa picked up another fighting major during a get-acquainted session with Flyers Chris McAllister and Luke Richardson. Sticking to the theme, Primeau celebrated his first game with the Penguins by taking unsportsmanlike conduct and slashing penalties in the third period of a blowout of the Flyers one week later.

"They were trying to win their teammates over, trying to win the fans over. They want to find a home," said Patrick, who had acquired McKenna from Minnesota and Oliwa from Columbus in January. "We, as a team, were a little over-exuberant. We all felt a little stronger the first few games.

"All this year we've been at a disadvantage, I think, because teams were taking liberties with our better players. You need a special kind of person to be on your team to be a deterrent to that. We looked around at all the better teams, and they all have that element in their lineup - not just one guy, but two or three guys that add that element. I think you just have to have that in today's game to be successful."

The spasm of violence that resulted from Patrick's mid-season moves left the Penguins in unfamiliar territory: ranked third in the NHL in penalty minutes, an interesting counterbalance to the brilliance of Mario Lemieux (17 goals in his first 17 games), Jaromir Jagr (back on top in the NHL scoring race) and Alexei Kovalev (who briefly led the NHL in goals after recording back-to-back hat tricks).

"And since we've gotten those guys, there really hasn't been anybody taking liberties with Ace and Jags, and if they have, it's been addressed immediately," said Ian Moran. "That's a big difference right there."

While Patrick's acquisitions were good for the Penguins in the short term, there is little doubt the importance of Primeau, Oliwa and McKenna come playoff time will be reflected in their ability to cause havoc in a legal way. There are very few fights in the playoffs, and yet the ability of fourth-liners to contribute is often an important factor in post-season success.

"It's one thing to be tough and fight and all that, but the way the game is now, you can't have a guy sitting on the end of the bench to go out and fight once every 3 periods," said McKenna. "You've got to get out there and be physical, do a lot of hitting, do a lot of dumping, try to change the tempo, change the tone of the game your way."

Hlinka's fourth line already has demonstrated that ability. In a 6-3 victory at Atlanta Jan. 30, the hard work of that line ignited a Pittsburgh rally from a 2-0 deficit, and in a 5-4 overtime victory against New Jersey Feb. 10, the line punished the Devils not with punches but with strong forechecking and a simple, effective approach.

"It's very important. When our line doesn't play well, you don't have to be scared to put them out on the ice," Jagr said. "Plus, they can score goals. When they forecheck and they're taking the body, it's tough for the other five guys to do something. Because they're always looking around because they're scared to get hit."

Hlinka also had done some mixing and matching of his fourth and third lines, moving Oliwa to the third line in place of Aleksey Morozov Feb. 11 in Minnesota. If Patrick trades Robert Lang or Jan Hrdina in an effort to add a goaltender or a defenseman by the March 13 trading deadline, Primeau could find himself moving up the depth chart, too.

Wherever those guys are deployed, however, they still will be asked to play the same game: keep it simple and make the opposition work for every inch of ice.

"We know our role is to get the puck in deep and try to create some chances by cycling it or just keeping the puck down low," said Primeau, who is a great addition in the faceoff circle. "We have to use our size to our advantage and get the guys going by maybe finishing a check or making a good play."

Or, for now, maybe even dropping the gloves a little more.