It’s been a while since the Calgary Flames had a fourth line that could hold its own at both ends of the ice.

Whether by coaching preference or organizational design, the Flames have often trotted out an old, slow quaternary unit that has struggled to keep pace with even the most feeble competition, much less produce or drive play.

In recent years, the Flames have often used their fourth line almost exclusively as a dumping ground for declining veterans to play out the final years of their regrettable contracts. We won’t name names here, but surely it won’t take long for you to recall a former Flame who matches that description. (There have been a few).

This year has been a little different. The Flames certainly have a few overpaid forwards who could stand to pull a little more weight, but their fourth line has looked fast, physical, and hungry — and the underlying numbers back it up.

Much has been made of what Justin Kirkland has brought to this Flames team since being recalled in early October. The 28-year-old “rookie” has benefited from extremely favourable on-ice shooting luck over his 18 games this season, but he’s also been legitimately impactful as a forechecker, penalty killer, and shootout specialist.

Kirkland’s on-ice numbers at 5-on-5 have generally been among the weakest on this Flames team across the board, but his current line with Kevin Rooney and Ryan Lomberg has been much greater than the sum of its parts — after all, neither Rooney nor Lomberg has a particularly strong track record of driving play, either.

In the 55:58 those three players have played together over parts of 10 games heading into Monday’s outing in Ottawa, the Flames have outscored their opposition 3-1, controlled 52.56 per cent of the expected goals, and generated 10 high-danger chances to their opponents’ six. That trio has also started just 39.53 per cent of its shifts in the offensive zone.

This Flames team has been winning games primarily on the strength of its goaltending tandem, with its new-look defensive group also faring much better than expected. But it’s been extremely valuable for head coach Ryan Huska to be able to deploy his fourth line in relatively unfavourable conditions and still have them come out ahead more often than not.

Beyond his shootout snipes, Kirkland is on pace for approximately 36 points over a full 82-game season. He almost certainly won’t continue scoring at that pace, but on the flip side, Lomberg is due to start chipping in a bit more. The 5’9″ sparkplug is sitting at just two points (both assists) through 21 games; he scored 12 goals in Florida two seasons ago.

Nevertheless, while their on-ice shooting and save percentages are unsustainably high, the Flames’ fourth line still looks like it’ll be effective even after regression inevitably hits. Rooney may not stick around past the trade deadline, but Kirkland and Lomberg should be able to keep things going with a new running mate — Sam Morton, perhaps?

Long-run speculation aside, it’s been nice to see Rooney finally settle into a consistent role with this Flames team after an unbelievably rocky start to his Calgary tenure. He never found his rhythm under Darryl Sutter, but Rooney just kept battling through AHL demotions and injury woes before his return to prominence.

The real X-factor here is Lomberg, who has certainly lived up to his billing as an effective agitator in the early goings but has yet to truly hit his stride in his return to Calgary. Dating back to his days with the AHL’s Stockton Heat, Lomberg has always been able to hold his own offensively while also acting as an agent of chaos. S0 far, the goals (and the shots) haven’t been there.

It certainly remains to be seen whether the Flames will be able to build upon their impressive start and potentially even return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in three years. They’re hardly a perfect team, but their fourth line embodies the workmanlike attitude and next-man-up mentality that has made them so much fun to watch in the early stages of the season. Both those qualities are even more valuable in a seven-game series.

Exactly a decade ago, the Flames fought their way to a surprise playoff berth with the help of overperforming depth players and exciting young talent. With the help of their new-look fourth line, they might just shock the hockey world once again.