San Jose Sharks coach Bob Boughner has talked at times during training camp about wanting his fourth line to have an identity — something he felt his team lacked last year with so many players coming in and out of the lineup.

He's looking for guys that are not just reliable, but also hard to play against.

Maybe Jeffrey Viel and Adam Raska can fit the bill

Thursday, Viel got into a fight on the game's first shift and his goal at the 9:05 mark of the second period proved to be the difference as the Sharks beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 in a preseason game at Honda Center.

On the go-ahead goal, Raska chipped the puck into the Ducks' zone and swept it over to Viel, who redirected it past goalie John Gibson for a 2-1 Sharks lead.

Defenseman Ryan Merkley had a first-period goal and an assisted on Kevin Labanc's goal in the third, and goalie James Reimer finished with 22 saves as the Sharks won their second game of the exhibition season. San Jose hosts Anaheim on Monday.

Viel made his presence felt right away, knocking former Sharks defenseman Greg Pateryn down eight seconds into the game and dropping the gloves with Simon Benoit two seconds later. Viel later tussled with Sam Carrick on a couple of occasions.

The Sharks don't have a true enforcer on their roster, or at least one on a one-way contract. Mario Ferraro fought Los Angeles Kings tough guy Jacob Doty on Tuesday, but the Sharks would probably rather not see one of their top defensemen do that on a regular basis.

Maybe that's how Viel can make the Sharks' roster out of training camp. With Kurtis Gabriel now in Toronto, perhaps there's a need for a depth player who won't hesitate to mix it up.

"I'd love to," Viel said Thursday morning. "I think it's a part of my role and obviously if I make the team, I know that sometimes that's what I have to do and just try to protect my teammates. I've always been the guy that wants to protect his teammates when they need it, and if I can do that, I'm going do it for sure."

Viel might not start the season with the Sharks, but he can go back and forth between the AHL and the NHL without issue. If the Sharks want to go with a slightly more physical lineup they can by inserting Viel, but Sharks coach Bob Boughner feels he can do more than just fight.

"We're looking for those guys that can provide some kind of identity and he again checks that box that we don't really have up front," Boughner said. "The other night in Vegas he was in on every pile-up, he was effective, players on the other bench were yelling at him.

"He's a guy that we feel comfortable with in the lineup too, as well, from his play. So he's got a chance. Yeah, he's got a good chance. There's going to be some hard decisions on those last two or three guys, but he's definitely in the mix."

Reimer stopped 18 of 21 shots in the Sharks' 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. Thursday's game was may have been his last of the preseason, as Adin Hill is set to start the final two games.