Assuming you’re running McDavid, MacKinnon and Crosby as your top three centres, the 4th line wouldn’t wouldn’t get the minutes necessary to be a true matchup/shutdown line (nor would you want the 4th line to be sucking up too many minutes from the top three lines). Under Babcock the 4th line typically played 2-3 shifts per period and helped on the PK, while the matchup/shutdown line (the Toews line) got 2nd line minutes. No reason to believe that wouldn’t be the case in 2022.
I think the Marchand/Crosby/Bergeron line should be matched up against the opposition’s best line. The McDavid and MacKinnon lines will need some defensive balance as the other top nations are loaded at forward. And we’ll have the depth advantage whenever the 4th line hits the ice.
Stamkos / McDavid / Point
Marchand / Crosby / Bergeron
O’Reilly / MacKinnon / Marner
Couturier / Scheifele / Stone
Horvat, Huberdeau
The MacKinnon line played well together at the Worlds a couple of years ago. McDavid gets Canada’s best triggerman/finisher on one side and Point, who has the motor, offensive skillset and defensive commitment to complement McDavid, on the other (not to mention Point’s chemistry with Stamkos). Scheifele and Stone also played well at the Worlds a few years ago. Couturier takes a regular shift with those guys and leads the PK with Stone, while Huberdeau mixes in when some additional offense is needed (or someone up the lineup gets injured).
that’s how I’d structure the forward group. I think it’s a well balanced group with a good amount of chemistry throughout the four lines.