Meet Colorado’s fourth line, the underrated heart of the Avalanche

There’s almost nothing in hockey more romanticized than the fourth line. Made up of a healthy mixture of youth and experience, the same barrier is true for almost all guys on the fourth line: they simply aren’t good enough to play higher in the lineup.

Because of this, you typically find defensive specialists on fourth lines around the league as teams save the legs of their better offensive talents by getting their penalty killers from the guys who will only play about eight minutes per night at even strength.

Enter Colorado, where one of the league’s most dangerous fourth lines exists. Unlike the vaunted fourth line in New York (the Islanders version, not the bad guys), Colorado’s fourth line consists of guys who do a lot more than just hit everything that moves and creates chaos.

They get to work.

The trio of Matt Nieto, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Matt Calvert consistently was among Colorado’s most consistent during their training camp and will be a linchpin to the Avs’ hopes of making a deep run.

This hasn’t even gotten to Tyson Jost, who currently appears to be the 13th forward in a 12-forward lineup. That’s the same Jost whose best hockey came in last year’s playoffs and after the trade deadline this year.

While both are small samples, the rest of his career is enough of a positive (and still improving) body of work that he’d be an easy choice at forward on most of the playoff rosters around the league.

How important are fourth lines?

Consider that Colorado came up just short last year against San Jose in a one-goal loss in Game 7. Because Calvert was injured, the Avs were so thin at forward they ran an 11-forward lineup and played 11th forward Gabe Bourque just 9:43.

Jost was the 10th forward and played just 11:56 but scored a goal while playing up next to Alex Kerfoot and Colin Wilson. 9th forward Derrick Brassard played just 12:21.

Nieto, who is the 12th guy this time around, played 16:56 in a game that decided Colorado’s season. That’s no knock on Nieto but, to a man, even he might say that’s a little much for a team with Stanley Cup aspirations.

That depth took too much of a hit last year but is back with a vengeance.

Matt Calvert – 50 GP, 12 G, 13 A, 25 Pts

Find someone who doesn’t love Matt Calvert, and you’ve either found a Red Wings fan (gross, run away) or Tyler Bertuzzi himself (my advice stays the same). Everyone else loves the guy, especially the guys inside the Avalanche locker room.

He’s the ultimate heart and soul player who excels at killing penalties, trying harder than other guys, and pissing off the other team. He’s perfect for the postseason…except for his distinct lack of durability.

Injuries have marred his entire career and that continued this year. When he’s healthy, though, he’s a difference-maker in the bottom six.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – 69 GP, 9 G, 13 A, 22 Pts

Bellemare arrived in Colorado specifically to be the fourth-line center and, voila! Bellemare has a career year, although it’s a little misleading just because nine of those points came across just four games.

Bellemare wasn’t brought in to score a lot, though, and instead be an improvement in the faceoff circle and assist the penalty kill.

Bellemare produced a 53% win rate in the dot and helped a penalty that kill that started off porous but finished among the top half in the league as it consistently improved throughout the season.

His ability to play an effective and physical game will be a huge step forward on the fourth line and the trust he’s built with the coaching staff means he will be a key player on the ice when the Avs are trying to protect a lead.

If the Avs see Vegas, well, good luck with that, Golden Knights.

Matt Nieto – 70 GP, 8 G, 13 A, 21 Pts

Nieto has had an interesting Avalanche career since being claimed off waivers from the Sharks back in the 2016-17 season. He was fresh off a run to the Stanley Cup Finals and found himself needing to re-establish himself as a legit NHL player.

Fast forward to today and he’s done such a solid job of that he’ll likely price himself out of coming back in his upcoming unrestricted free agency.

What stands between Nieto and that payday is another playoff run where he’ll be relied upon on the penalty kill and to provide energy with his speed and tenacity. He’s a heady defensive player who has carved out a spot in the lineup as a reliable player coaches can lean on in many situations.

Tyson Jost – 67 GP, 8 G, 15 A, 23 Pts

I’ve written more about Jost than any other credentialed media member out there. If you’ve been a subscriber at any point in the last three years, there’s a good chance you’ve read something I’ve written about Jost and his mercurial career to this point.

There are a couple of facts that have led him to be the odd-man-out if Colorado opens the postseason healthy: Jost has been solid but inconsistent, the players ahead of him fit their roles better, and Jost simply ran out of runway to secure a job on a team that rapidly improved around him.

Jost will play for the Avs in the postseason at some point. Whether he sticks, who knows?