Boyd and Caps Fourth Line Continue to Shine against Detroit

Three nights after scoring his first NHL goal, there he was again, flinging his arms in the air as he rounded the edge of the glass, celebrating another goal in the Capitals eventual 6-2 win over Detroit on Tuesday.

"It felt just as good," Travis Boyd said after scoring his second goal in as many games "The first one was more of a relief. (Tuesday night) it was just a great play by my linemates."
Boyd's second goal of the season capped another gem from Washington's fourth line, as the unit traditionally tasked with playing defense continues to contribute on offense. The latest scoring play was textbook.

Leading 1-0, Dmitrij Jaskin chased the puck down to avoid an icing call and instead create an opportunity. He found Nic Dowd, who flipped it to an open Boyd for a quick wrist shot.
"As soon as [Dowd] got it, I started screaming as loud as I could and Dowder made a great play," Boyd said. "Great play by [Dimitrij] Jaskin and Dowder all around. I was just the one who was sitting there with a wide-open net. But I'll take it - that was awesome."
The Capitals have reconfigured their fourth line more than any other, a result of losing a guy to free agency and promoting other players. They had to look for outside help in the offseason. Considering the NHL's high-scoring trends, they sought to fill the spots with guys who had shown ability to generate offense. Enter Dowd and Jaskin, two young players who struggled to establish themselves with their previous teams but have since carved out roles with the Capitals.
Dowd, who signed on July 1, has seven points in the last nine games (3g, 4a). He had four points (3g, 1a) in 56 games with two different teams last year. And Jaskin, a former second-round pick for the Blues who Washington claimed off waivers on Oct. 10, has five points in the last seven games (1g, 4a). Together with Boyd, they've made Washington a threat to score at all moments of the game.
"The days of having a fourth-line guy to be just your tough guy, that's kind of gone away in the last three years," said coach Todd Reirden. "[The trend] became that your fourth line had to be good checkers and good penalty kill guys. Now, [the idea is to] get offensive production from that line."
"You don't have top two lines that are heavy point-producing lines, and then the third and fourth that are defensive-minded," echoed Dowd. "A lot of fourth lines in the NHL now can play. Only six can play on the top two lines and those are some of the most elite in the world. But now with the 11 or 12 minutes we get every night, we must produce, too."
Coaches constantly adjust lines and look for the best matchups, but Reirden said they weren't about to disrupt this trio's momentum. "They're feeling it," he said. "They're playing the offensive zone, which is ideal, making the other team defend. But now we're starting to get numbers from them as well."

Boyd has provided much of that spark, something the Capitals had envisioned when he was lighting up the AHL as a member of the Hershey Bears. After a couple of health setbacks in his first season and a half with the Capitals, Boyd returned for his first game this season on Nov. 5 against Edmonton, where he assisted two goals in the 4-2 win. Since Nov. 21, he has seven points in his last nine games (2g, 5a), and is currently on a three-game streak (2g, 2a).
An injury in the preseason delayed his arrival but it didn't hurt his game. Boyd trained hard to get back into form, Reirden said, and has since been grinding it out on the ice in fewer minutes, strengthening the Capitals fourth line.
"The way he's been able to add offensively - I wouldn't say it's surprising but it's not really the norm for most players in those situations," Reirden said, referring to Boyd's place on the fourth line as opposed to the power play. "He's done it the hard way and earned it and taken advantage of opportunities. His growth has been a great thing to watch this year."