The Third Line and the Maddening Caps

Joel Ward impressed me in the playoffs last year for Nashville because he had 13 points - 7 goals, 6 assist in his 12 playoff games and played +4 hockey. In 80 games during the regular season, Ward garnered 29 points and played -1 hockey. Clearly, this is a guy that picks up his intensity in the playoffs. He's a hard working forward that battles for pucks along the boards and I was excited that GMGM picked him up this summer.Now, he's joined with Jason Chimera and Brooks Laich as part of the Caps checking line and the chemistry is evident based on how well this line has performed while playing against the top lines of their opponents. That line had 2 goals and 1 assist against Carolina and Chimera got the 3rd star. Then, Chimera had 2 goals and that line had 4 points against Tampa Bay while keeping their top line of Ryan Malone-Steven Stamkos-Martin St. Louis to 1 point. Malone got the lone point for an assist without Stamkos and St. Louis. Nhl.com awarded Chimera the ...