The New Jersey Devils had everything go right for them in the 2012 postseason. The fourth line playing well is one of those things.
The New Jersey Devils had a lot of awesome players help them in their run to the 2012 Eastern Conference Title. They were defeated in the 2012 Stanley Cup Final by the Los Angeles Kings in six games, but it was still one of the most memorable years in team history. Players like Zach Parise, Ilya Kovalchuk, Adam Henrique, and Martin Brodeur stood out in that run to the Final but nobody should forget how good their fourth line was for them.
The trio on the fourth line of Ryan Carter, Steve Bernier, and Stephen Gionta was as good as there was in the league. They made many big plays throughout the playoffs that really helped provide nice depth for the stars of the team. They were the perfect unit to be the depth of a really good forward group. They accepted and executed their roles to perfection.
In order to go deep in the playoffs, you need everybody in. That is what happened with the Devils in 2012 thanks in part to this fourth line. They were good at keeping the opposition from scoring and good enough at scoring some goals themselves along the way. They deserve a lot of credit for the way they played that playoff season.
Ryan Carter had five goals and two assists for seven points in 23 playoff games. Steve Bernier had two goals and five assists for seven points in 24 playoff games. Lastly, Stephen Gionta had three goals and four assists for seven points in the 24 playoff games. It is interesting that the trio all had seven points throughout the playoffs. They combined for 10 goals and all 10 of them were at even strength. They provided a good amount of offense for literally never playing on the power play.
Every year, we always remember the Henrique goal against the Rangers, Brodeur playing out of his mind at 40, and the way Parise and Kovalchuk elevated this team, but not many remember how good the fourth line was. It was incredible to watch and something the modern-day Devils should aspire to have. You need every player on the team to carry their weight in order to win and that 2012 team showed it.