Fourth line leaves its mark

There are a couple of small cuts on his forehead, his right eye is bloodshot and his cheek and nose are several shades of bruise.

Boyd Gordon plays a physical brand of hockey for the Washington Capitals, and he has the face to prove it. Most of the damage was done when Carolina’s Jeff Hamilton caught him with a stick late in the Caps’ 4-1 win a week ago, but Gordon always has bruises and cuts as reminders of the price he pays to be a successful fourth-line center.

For the past few weeks, Gordon has centered a line with the Caps’ heavy hitters, Donald Brashear and Matt Bradley. While those two always earn notice for work done with their fists, the unit has meshed well and been productive, even if the success isn’t always measured in goals.

“We try to be a physical part of our team,” Brashear said. “We can also play defensively. Sometimes we go a couple of shifts against the other team’s big guys to give our guys a rest. We do a little bit of everything.”

The trio of Gordon, Brashear and Bradley has been a top defensive group for the Caps during this seven-game winning streak, with none of them having a minus night. But more often than not, the line’s best defense has been an attacking offense.

No one would mistake any of the three for a goal scorer — they have combined for 19 this season — but they spend as much time in the offensive zone as the team’s top two lines do. Their work on offense is all about grit and determination; they dump the puck in from the neutral zone, and then they go get it.

“They’re obviously great in their own end, but part of their best defense is they can play 30 or 40 seconds in the offensive zone and hold the top line in their own end where they don’t want to play,” said Caps forward Matt Cooke, who plays with a similar edge to his game. “It is contagious when they go and have a shift like that for the other lines to try and follow it up.”

There is plenty of strategic value to what the line does, even if all of the hard work doesn’t result in a goal. While they are cycling the puck along the wall, the other team’s defensemen are chasing them.

If they spend an entire shift in the offensive end, it can tire out the opposing defensive tandem and force them to the bench for a break. That cuts down on the opposing coach’s options for matching defensive pairs and puts Caps coach Bruce Boudreau at an advantage.

“Obviously we want to be physical on their ’D’ and tire them out a bit,” Bradley said. “If we can get out there against the top pair and keep them in their own end, maybe the next shift out [Alex Ovechkin] is going against their No. 5 and 6 ’D,’ so that can be a big help.”

Added defenseman Mike Green: “Sometimes when you play against the third and fourth lines, it is harder than playing against the first line just because they always finish their checks and put pressure on you. Anytime I’m out there with them, I am standing [at the blue line] in the offensive zone, so I get some rest.”

The Caps open their first trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2003 on Friday against the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday at Verizon Center. The Flyers have earned a reputation for being one of the most physical teams in the league in past years, and a string of suspensions and controversial hits earlier in the year did little to dispute that.

It should be a tough, bruising series — just the style Gordon, Brashear and Bradley are looking for.

“They are physical, and we are too. We’ve played against physical teams, but this is probably just going to be a step higher,” said Brashear, who spent parts of three seasons helping to continue Philadelphia’s tradition of pugilism as a member of the Flyers. “It is fun for us. Those are the fun games to play, and this is a fun team to play against.”