COLUMBUS, Ohio -- NHL coaches typically resist putting a number on any of their forward lines, leaving those classifications to fans and media. Columbus Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason pushed back Thursday when asked about the luxury of having a "bottom six" that can score.
"What is the bottom six?" Evason queried.
As ridiculous as that feigned confusion can seem, Evason might have a point so far this season, especially this past week.
In Tuesday's comeback 4-3 win in Buffalo, fourth-line wingers Miles Wood (two goals) and Yegor Chinakhov (one goal, one assist) took part in three of the four goals.
Wednesday, in a 6-3 rout of the Toronto Maple Leafs, center Charlie Coyle (0-4-4) and wingers Cole Sillinger (2-1-3) and Mathieu Olivier (1-3-4) -- that is the third line -- carried the mail offensively, each setting one or more career highs offensively.
For many, the Blue Jackets' first full offseason under general manager Don Waddell was a disappointment, considering he wanted to go big-game hunting with his abundance of draft picks and salary-cap room.
But the moves he was able to make in a tight market -- Coyle and Wood via a trade with the Colorado Avalanche, fourth-line center Isac Lundeström via free agency -- have let Evason build his lines the way he's wanted.
"That's what Don and his guys upstairs did, is go get players who can not only score goals, but they all can defend," Evason said.
Evason and his staff saw all last season that a line with Sean Monahan centering Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko was among the best in the NHL in their almost half-season together. Even though Evason wouldn't say this, we will: That's the Blue Jackets' No. 1 line.
The other three lines have shuffled frequently as Evason kept looking for the right mix. He appears to have settled on the other lines almost two weeks ago, and the Blue Jackets have won five of their past six games heading into Saturday night's game versus the St. Louis Blues in Nationwide Arena.
Every line must be able to check and defend, Evason said. Scoring is inevitable if they play the right way, Evason believes, but a line won't be broken up simply for its offensive woes. At the same time, they won't stay together long if they aren't competing and defending, he said.
Earlier this month, when Chinakhov made his season debut after a series of healthy scratches, fans began pining for him to join Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson on the second line, loading up the No. 2 line with offensive skill and relegating Boone Jenner, the captain, to a bottom-six role.
But that line would make it difficult for the Blue Jackets to simply roll four lines as they're doing now. Offensive-zone starts would be a blast, but that line might be problematic in other settings.
As a former player, Evason doesn't like to change lines after a rough game or a rough period, he said. That's especially true now in his second year, when he knows these players well. He'd rather they work through their struggles, either individually or as a line, than get involved himself.
"We are comfortable playing any one of our lines against anybody," Evason said. "Obviously, (Leafs star Michael Nylander) wasn't in the lineup the other night (for Toronto), but (Auston) Matthews was, and he's a pretty special player, and we were confident that whoever played against his line would be able to, you know, do the right things.
"Not necessarily get the job done (entirely). Special players are going to have their opportunities; they're going to score. But our team feels comfortable playing whatever line against whoever, the best players in this league. That's exciting for us. We're not worried about matchups."
Evason said the Blue Jackets rely on assistant coach Steve McCarthy to match their defensive pairs against the other club's top forward lines more than they try matching forwards. (You might have noticed Zach Werenski shadowing Matthews on Wednesday.)
It's working, too. At five-on-five play, the Blue Jackets have outscored opponents 26-17 through their first 10 games. That plus-9 margin was second only to the Carolina Hurricanes (plus-10) heading into Friday's games.
The Blue Jackets, at 3.4 goals per game, are middle-of-the-pack in the NHL in scoring, even though Fantilli's line (with Jenner and Johnson) has yet to click offensively. Monahan has yet to score a goal this season, though he does have a plus-7 rating.
Over the last four games, only Johnson has tallied a point (an assist).
"We're starting to figure each other out as a line," Fantilli said. "Obviously, we want pucks to go in, and it sucks right now because you want to have a good start offensively. I like where we're at, we just have to start capitalizing on chances, it's that simple."
Fantilli, who is notoriously competitive and his own strongest critic, then snarled and said: "I've got to f -- ing score."
Evason preached patience. It helps, of course, that the other three lines are firing.
"Somebody the other day said ... that people were questioning (Werenski) at the start of the year, like, where are his points and all?" Evason said. "Were we worried about Z scoring goals and points? No. Are we worried about Fantilli and Kent Johnson and Boone Jenner scoring goals? No.
"So a line or a guy doesn't score for a few games. It's OK. We'll see where it ends up at the end of the year, and the most important thing is us taking that first step and making the playoffs. We're not trying to get 30 goals out of guys. We're striving to make the playoffs."