I actually posted this yesterday…on the Laker blog. No joke. And it only took me several hours to figure it out! Anyway, it’s still relevant, so here goes:

I tried to push Marc Crawford a little on the fourth line today, to see who he might be leaning toward, but he didn’t give much. In fact, he resisted the tag “fourth line” a bit, but then, a few minutes later, referred to Ivanans as a “fourth-line player.” Hmmm…oh well. Anyway, here’s what he had to say about it.

“You like every line to be different,” Crawford said. “We’re trying to see which combinations work well together. In terms of who is going to round out our lineup, we’ve got a lot of options. It makes it easier when you have more depth. If we play against a team that’s more physical, we can put a physical line out there. If we play against a team that’s more skilled, we can put a skilled line out there. We have a lot of people who can fit into those roles.”

Which makes it likely that the 13th and 14th forwards (if they keep 14) on the Kings’ roster will get a good share of work this season.