Stars and Sticks
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Capitals Top Players From The First Half Of The Season

ByCJ Witt|
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 31: John Carlson (74) of the Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin (8) of the Washington Capitals on ice during warmups prior to their game against the New York Islanders at Capital One Arena on December 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Geoff Burke/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 31: John Carlson (74) of the Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin (8) of the Washington Capitals on ice during warmups prior to their game against the New York Islanders at Capital One Arena on December 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Geoff Burke/NHLI via Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 07: Capitals right wing Garnet Hathaway (21) skates before the Ottawa Senators vs. Washington Capitals NHL game on January 7, 2020 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 07: Capitals right wing Garnet Hathaway (21) skates before the Ottawa Senators vs. Washington Capitals NHL game on January 7, 2020 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The 4th Line

The trio of Brendan Leipsic, Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway has been absolutely tremendous this season for the Capitals. While they might not have the best stats, in terms of goals and points you can’t really expect that anyways. You don’t need much hockey smarts to tell you that this has been possibly the best and most consistent line on the Capitals this year.

The stats will tell you this. Their shot attempts percentage is by far the best line this season at 61.22%. Their scoring chance percentage is even better at 62.58% and their high danger attempts percentage is even better than that at 63.64%.

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 13: Brendan Leipsic #28 of the Washington Capitals skates on the ice in the second period against the Carolina Hurricanes at Capital One Arena on January 13, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 13: Brendan Leipsic #28 of the Washington Capitals skates on the ice in the second period against the Carolina Hurricanes at Capital One Arena on January 13, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

It’s a fast line, it’s a physical line and I dare you to find a better one. It’s lines like this that can turn good teams into great teams, and great teams into Stanley Cup winning teams. You need your depth to contribute and this line has done it nearly all season. They have scored nine goals as a line and allowed only four. On top of the pressure they put on you they are also scoring more than double of what they allow.

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 07: Nic Dowd #26 of the Washington Capitals warms up with pride tape on his stick in honor of Pride Night before a game between the Ottawa Senators and Capitals at Capital One Arena on January 7, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 07: Nic Dowd #26 of the Washington Capitals warms up with pride tape on his stick in honor of Pride Night before a game between the Ottawa Senators and Capitals at Capital One Arena on January 7, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)

Maybe even better for the future, two of the three guys are signed past this season. Hathaway and Dowd are signed past this year, Leipsic is the only guy who will need a new contract for next season. It’s possible this fourth line can cause some trouble for teams for a long while.

But, again, we’ll worry about that later. As of right now this trio has been one of the bright spots of the first half of the season.

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