User:Tavix/NHLlines

The New York Ranger's famous "Bread Line" that existed between 1926-1937. It consisted of Hall of Famers Bill Cook, Bun Cook and Frank Boucher.

The three forwards – the centre, right wing and left wing – operate as a unit called a line. The tradition of naming the threesomes who compose the hockey teams' lines of attack extends back to the 1920s when Bun Cook, Frank Boucher and Bill Cook of the New York Rangers formed the Bread Line.

Key

bold	Active in the NHL
	Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame
	The line won a Stanley Cup together

Famous NHL lines with nicknames

This is a list of famous NHL lines. To be included in this list, a line must have played with each other for at least three years and/or won the Stanley Cup or other notable feat together.

Name	Team	Years	Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes	Ref
The A Line	New Jersey Devils	1999–2003	Patrik Elias	Jason Arnott	Petr Sykora	led the Devils to the Stanley Cup in 2000 and to the finals in 2001
The AMP Line	Colorado Avalanche	1999–2004	Alex Tanguay	Peter Forsberg	Milan Hejduk	An acronym for Alex Milan Peter that led the Avalanche to a President's Trophy and Stanley Cup in 2001
The Banana Line	New York Islanders	1978–1984	John Tonelli	Wayne Merrick	Bob Nystrom	Named because of the yellow bibs or jerseys the players wore during practice
The Bread Line	New York Rangers	1926–1936	Bun Cook	Frank Boucher	Bill Cook	a reference to "Bun" Cook's nickname. Also called the "A Line" as a reference to the train that ran under Madison Square Garden
The Bulldog Line	New York Rangers	1972–1977	Steve Vickers	Bill Fairbairn	Walt Tkaczuk	This complemented the Ranger's high-scoring GAG line of Jean Ratelle, Rod Gilbert, Vic Hadfield
The CASH Line	Ottawa Senators	2005–2009	Dany Heatley	Jason Spezza	Daniel Alfredsson	The name was an acronym of Captain Alfredsson Spezza Heatley. Also known as the "Pizza Line" after a promotional giveaway at home games. All three were named to the 2009 NHL All-Star game, a feat last achieved in 1980s with the "Triple Crown" line.
The Century Line	Pittsburgh Penguins	1970–1979	Lowell MacDonald	Syl Apps, Jr.	Jean Pronovost	also known as "The Bicentennial Line"; scored 100+ goals and 200+ points for 4 straight seasons (1972–76)
The Clydesdales Line	Chicago Blackhawks	1984–1987	Curt Fraser	Troy Murray	Ed Olczyk	each player weighed in at or around 200 pounds
The Crash Line	New Jersey Devils	1993–1996	Mike Peluso	Bobby Holik	Randy McKay	the line was known for its crunching checks and ferocious forchecking; led the Devils to the Stanley Cup in 1995
The Dynamite Line	Boston Bruins	1928–1932	Dutch Gainor	Cooney Weiland	Dit Clapper	This dynamite trio led Boston to its first Stanley Cup
The Dynasty Line	Montreal Canadiens	1972–1979	Steve Shutt	Jacques Lemaire	Guy Lafleur	This line sometimes used Peter Mahovlich as the center in place of Lemaire
The EGG Line	New Jersey Devils	2002–2007	Patrik Elias	Scott Gomez	Brian Gionta	Also known as the "Deviled Egg Line," named for each of the players' last names
The Espo Line	Boston Bruins	1967–1976	Wayne Cashman	Phil Esposito	Ken Hodge	also known as "The Nitro Line" and "The Dogs of War Line"
The Firing Line	Pittsburgh Penguins	2011–2014	James Neal	Evgeni Malkin	Chris Kunitz	the Penguins top three scorers all on one line that season scoring 40% of the teams goals.
The Flying Frenchmen	Montreal Canadiens	1910–1919	Didier Pitre	Newsy Lalonde	Jack Laviolette	They were the top line in the first NHL game
The French Connection	Buffalo Sabres	1972–1979	Rick Martin	Gilbert Perreault	Rene Robert	made up of three French-Canadian players
The GAG Line	New York Rangers	1964–1975	Vic Hadfield	Jean Ratelle	Rod Gilbert	short for "Goal-a-Game Line", later dubbed the "TAG (Two-a-Game) Line"
The GEM Line	Toronto Maple Leafs	1987–1990	Mark Osborne	Ed Olczyk	Gary Leeman	The line is an acronym of their first names
The Grind Line	Detroit Red Wings	1995–2004	Kirk Maltby	Kris Draper	Darren McCarty Joey Kocur	McCarty replaced Kocur after 1998. The line was briefly reunited in 2008.
The HEM Line	Toronto Maple Leafs	1958–1962	Billy Harris	Gerry Ehman	Frank Mahovlich
The Hound Line	Toronto Maple Leafs	1985–1989	Wendel Clark	Russ Courtnall	Gary Leeman	all three had played for the Notre Dame Hounds
Hull & Oates	St. Louis Blues	1990s		Adam Oates	Brett Hull	A play on the musical duo Hall & Oates
The HUM Line	Detroit Red Wings	1960s	Paul Henderson	Norm Ullman	Bruce MacGregor
The Kid line	Toronto Maple Leafs	1929–36	Charlie Conacher	Joe Primeau	Busher Jackson
The Kraut Line	Boston Bruins	1936–42, 1945–47	Milt Schmidt	Woody Dumart	Bobby Bauer	all three players were born in Kitchener, Ontario, which was called Berlin before World War I, and whose citizens are mainly of German descent
The LAPD Line	Los Angeles Kings	2001-2004	Jason Allison	Ziggy Palffy	Adam Deadmarsh	combining "LA" with the players' initials (APD) and referencing the Los Angeles Police Department
The LCB Line	Philadelphia Flyers	1970s	Reggie Leach	Bobby Clarke	Bill Barber	after the initials of the players' surnames
The Legion of Doom	Philadelphia Flyers	1994–97	Eric Lindros	John LeClair	Mikael Renberg
The LILCO Line	New York Islanders	1975–77	Billy Harris	Clark Gillies	Bryan Trottier	named after the Long Island Lighting Company, the local utility company (because they caused the goal light to go on so often)
The Mafia Line	New York Rangers	late 1970s	Don Maloney	Phil Esposito	Don Murdoch	Nicknamed for a "Godfather" (Esposito) with two "Dons"
The Merlot Line	Boston Bruins	2011–2014	Shawn Thornton	Gregory Campbell	Daniel Paille	Named for the merlot-colored practice uniforms they are seen in. The linemates insist they not be called a "fourth line."
The Million Dollar Line	Chicago Blackhawks	1950s–60s	Bobby Hull	Murray Balfour	Bill Hay	also known as "The Million Dollar Babies"
The MPH Line	Chicago Black Hawks	1960s	Pit Martin	Jim Pappin	Dennis Hull	after the initials of the players' surnames; it also stands for "miles per hour", a unit of speed.
The MVP line	Tampa Bay Lightning	2001–03; 2005–08	Martin St. Louis	Vincent Lecavalier	Vaclav Prospal	stands for Marty, Vinny, and Prospal.
The Olympic Line	Winnipeg Jets	1992–96	Teemu Selanne	Alexei Zhamnov	Keith Tkachuk	Named because each member was an Olympian: Selanne Finn, Tkachuk American, and Zhamnov from Russia.
The Pappy Line	Chicago Black Hawks	1958–1959	Ed Litzenberger	Tod Sloan	Ted Lindsay	From the ages of the players especially Sloan & Lindsay. The top scoring line of '58–'59.
The Party Line	Chicago Black Hawks	1980s	Denis Savard	Al Secord	Steve Larmer
The Pony Line	Chicago Black Hawks	1945–48	Max Bentley	Doug Bentley	Bill Mosienko
The Production Line	Detroit Red Wings	1947–52	Sid Abel	Gordie Howe	Ted Lindsay	later with Alex Delvecchio; because they were such productive scorers, also a pun that references the booming automotive industry in the Detroit area.
The Production Line II	Detroit Red Wings	1960s	Alex Delvecchio	Gordie Howe	Frank Mahovlich
The Punch Line	Montreal Canadiens	1943–48	Hector "Toe" Blake	Elmer Lach	Maurice "Rocket" Richard
The Russian Five	Detroit Red Wings	1990s	Sergei Fedorov	Igor Larionov	Vyacheslav Kozlov	along with defensemen Vladimir Konstantinov & Viacheslav Fetisov, also known as the "Red Army"
The S Line	Montreal Maroons	1920s	Nels Stewart	Babe Siebert	Hooley Smith	after the common initial "S" of the players' surnames
The Scooter Line	Chicago Black Hawks	1960s	Doug Mohns	Stan Mikita	Kenny Wharram
The Sky Line	Pittsburgh Penguins	1990s	Mario Lemieux	Jaromir Jagr	Kevin Stevens
The Speedball Line	Montreal Canadiens	1927–34, 1937	Howie Morenz	Aurel Joliat	Johnny "Black Cat" Gagnon	an intelligent play on words that refers to the speed (more Morenz and Joliat) and cleverness (more Gagnon) of its members
The Stastny Brothers	Quebec Nordiques	1980s	Peter Stastny	Anton Stastny	Marian Stastny
The Swedish Five	Detroit Red Wings	2000s	Nicklas Lidstrom	Niklas Kronwall	Henrik Zetterberg	Along with Mikael Samuelsson and Tomas Holmstrom. All five represented the Red Wings at 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, with Kronwall, Lidstrom, and Zetterberg scoring all of Team Sweden's goals against Finland in the gold medal game. Also, in the final game, Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Kronwall, and Samuelsson all accounted for five points between themselves.
The Trio Grande	New York Islanders	1977–1980s	Clark Gillies	Bryan Trottier	Mike Bossy	in five seasons as full-time linemates from 1977–82, combined for 668 goals and 1498 points
The Triple Crown Line	Los Angeles Kings	1970s–80s	Dave Taylor	Charlie Simmer	Marcel Dionne	a reference to the Kings' logo, which features a crown; this was the first line in NHL history where each player scored 100 points or more in the same season 1980–81
The Uke Line	Boston Bruins	1957–61	Bronco Horvath	Johnny Bucyk	Vic Stasiuk	referring to the players' Ukrainian ancestry
The West Coast Express	Vancouver Canucks	2000–2006	Markus Naslund	Brendan Morrison	Todd Bertuzzi	reference to local commuter rail service of the same name
The ZZ Pops Line	New Jersey Devils	2007–2011	Zach Parise	Travis Zajac	Jamie Langenbrunner	Named because of the two young "Z"'s and Langenbrunner, being the seasoned veteran, is the "Pop". This is a play on the rock group ZZ Top

Famous non-NHL lines with nicknames

• "The Army Line"—HC CSKA Moscow Soviet league (1970s)—Valeri Kharlamov (LW), Boris Mikhailov (RW), Vladimir Petrov (C)
• "The Black Aces"—Quebec Aces QSHL (1940s)—Herb Carnegie, Ossie Carnegie and Manny McIntyre. Hockey's only all-Black line.
• "The BBC Line" -- Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975-76 Season) -- Curt Brackenbury, Bill Butters and Jeff Carlson, the Fighting Saints all-goon line.
• "The Carlson Brothers"—Johnstown Jets NAHL (1970s)—Jeff Carlson, Steve Carlson, and Jack Carlson, all real-life brothers. While still active players, Jeff and Steve would join with David Hanson to portray the fictional "Hanson Brothers" in the 1977 movie Slap Shot (Jack, having been called up to the WHA, was unavailable at the time).
• "The Coneheads Line"—USA Hockey, 1980 Winter Olympics, "Miracle on Ice" team — Mark Pavelich, John Harrington, Buzz Schneider; after the famous Saturday Night Live sketch series Coneheads. Coach Brooks felt the three played best together on the same line because all three grew up playing shinny hockey on ponds in the Iron Range of Northeast Minnesota, which gave them—particularly Pavelich—a unique (i.e. alien) playing style amongst their other teammates on the USA squad.
• "The DDT Line"—Ice hockey at the 2003 World Championships, 2004 World Championships, & 2004 World Cup of Hockey (for Canada)—Kris Draper, Shane Doan, Joe Thornton; after the initials of the players' surnames
• "The KLM line"—Soviet national ice hockey team (1980s)—Vladimir Krutov, Igor Larionov, Sergei Makarov; after the initials of the players' surnames; also known as "The Green Line" because they wore green jerseys in practice.
• "Les Trois Denis"—Montreal Juniors (late 1970s) —Denis Cyr, Denis Tremblay, Denis Savard; A line that featured three players who all were named Denis, all were born on February 4, 1961, and all grew up in the same neighbourhood in Verdun, Quebec. Was dominant in the QMJHL for a couple of years.
• The Hanson Brothers—see "The Carlson Brothers" above.
• "The "Headache Line"—Vyacheslav Anisin, Alexander Bodunov and Yuri Lebedev. USSR 1972 Canada-USSR series
• "The Hot Line" -- Bobby Hull, Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg, 1970s Winnipeg Jets.
• "The Jönsson Gang"—Färjestad BK, Sweden (2000s)—Jorgen Jonsson, Peter Nordstrom, Pelle Prestberg and for a while instead of Prestberg, Hannes Hyvonen; Named after a series of films with the same name.
• "The Huey, Dewey, and Louie line"—Team Finland (1994–1995)—Ville Peltonen, Saku Koivu, Jere Lehtinen.
• "The Blueline"—Team Czech (1996)- Martin Prochazka, Pavel Patera and Otakar Vejvoda (Left Wing); a play on the line on they ice they crossed into the attacking zone and the jersey colour of HC Kladno, for whom they all played.
• "The Shark Line"—Team Canada (2010)—Joe Thornton (C), Dany Heatley (RW), and Patrick Marleau (LW), all of whom played for the San Jose Sharks of the NHL (Dany Heatley was traded to the Minnesota Wild in 2011). They are known sometimes as "The Olympic Line" among San Jose fans.
• "Price Club Line", Michigan Wolverines (2003–04) T. J. Hensick, Milan Gajic and Brandon Kaleniecki (because they score in bulk)
• "SBP line", HC Fribourg-Gottéron (2000s) Julien Sprunger, Andreï Bykov, and Benjamin Plüss.
• "The KLM line"—Skellefteå AIK (2014) Joakim Lindström, Oscar Möller and Melker Karlsson. Best scoring line on the 2014 Le Mat Trophy winning team and a reference to the more famous KLM line.

Current, short-lived and/or novelty lines

• "The 7-8-9 Line" (La ligne 7-8-9)—Quebec Nordiques—Robbie Ftorek, Marc Tardif, Real Cloutier, first few seasons after the Nordiques joined the NHL.
• "The Two Kids & An Old Goat line"—Detroit Red Wings—Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Brett Hull, originally with Boyd Devereaux in place of Zetterberg. Third incarnation appeared in 2012 season with Justin Abdelkader, Darren Helm, and Todd Bertuzzi.
• "The 700 Pound line"—Boston Bruins—Joe Thornton, Glen Murray, Mike Knuble
• "The ABC line"—Chicago Blackhawks—Tyler Arnason, Mark Bell, and Kyle Calder
• "The American Express Line" —Vancouver Canucks (2011-)—David Booth, Ryan Kesler, and Chris Higgins; a reference to all line mates being American born, also a reference to the earlier West Coast Express line and the charge card of the same name.
• "The Ash Line"—New York Islanders—Arron Asham, Alexei Yashin, Oleg Kvasha; after the common string "ash" in their last names
• "The Battery Line"—New York Rangers (2010–2012)—Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Ryan Callahan. Named for the players initials, which recall the names of battery sizes: D-AA-C
• "The Bay Street Bullies"—Toronto Maple Leafs—Shayne Corson, Darcy Tucker, Gary Roberts
• "The BBC line"—Carolina Hurricanes (2000s)—Bates Battaglia, Rod Brind'Amour, Erik Cole
• "The Big Line"—Minnesota Wild (2000s)—Brian Rolston, Pavol Demitra, Marian Gaborik; Line consisting of the Wild's top scorers, though rarely play together, hence the "Big" line.
• "The Blackhawk Down Line" —Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)– Jeremy Roenick, Tony Amonte, Alexei Zhamnov. All three had played for the Chicago Blackhawks previously.
• The BOW Line—Boston Bruins (1963)—Johnny Bucyk, Murray Oliver, and Tommy Williams
• "The BOZ line"—Toronto Maple Leafs—Bill Berg, Mark Osborne, Peter Zezel
• "The Brat Line"—Toronto Maple Leafs (late 1970s)—Tiger Williams, Jack Valiquette, and Pat Boutette
• "The Brothers Line"—Vancouver Canucks (2000s)—Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Anson Carter; the Sedins are the only twins picked one right after the other (Daniel went second and Henrik third in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft), and Carter is black and is known as "Soul Brother".
• "The Bulldog Line"—New York Rangers—Steve Vickers, Walt Tkaczuk, Bill Fairbairn
• "The Burger Line"—San Jose Sharks—Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau — an online poll conducted by Sharks play-by-play announcer Randy Hahn resulted in the nickname Jumbo Heated Patty, or The Burger Line. (Also known as the HTMLine, from the initials of their last names.) With the addition of defensemen Dan Boyle and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, also of the Sharks, The Hockey News dubbed them "Boiled Jumbo Heated Patty with Pickles."
• "The CBGB Line"- New Jersey Devils (2012-) Ryan Carter, Steve Bernier, Stephen Gionta- Carter Bernier Gionta's Brother
• The "Center City Line"—Philadelphia Flyers (2008–09)—Scott Hartnell (LW), Jeff Carter (C), Joffrey Lupul (RW). Named because all of the members live in Center City (Philadelphia)- also called "Wig Line" or "Hair Line" – referring to Scott Hartnell's hair & the resulting wig giveaway at a recent home game.
• "The CPR line"-St. Louis Blues (2012-)-Adam Cracknell, Chris Porter, and Ryan Reaves (bonus: all graduates of the Peoria Rivermen)
• "CVS Line"—Hartford Whalers—Andrew Cassels, Pat Verbeek, Geoff Sanderson; Named for the first letter of each player's surname.
• "The Crazy Eights Line"; Philadelphia Flyers (1992–1995) Eric Lindros, Mark Recchi, and Brent Fedyk – wore jersey numbers 88, 8 and 18, respectively
• "Czech-mate line"—New York Rangers—Jan Hlavac left wing, Radek Dvorak right wing, and Petr Nedved center.
• "Czechs-Mex line"—Edmonton Oilers—Raffi Torres, Petr Sykora and Ales Hemsky. (Named because the latter two are Czechs, and Torres is a Canadian of Hispanic descent.)
• "The Dan Line"—Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)—Dan Kordic (LW), Daniel Lacroix (C), and Scott Daniels (RW); Also known as "The Fighting Dans", obviously because they all had "Dan" involved with their name. They were a rough checking line for the Flyers in the 1996–97 season.
• "The Deuces Wild Line"—Philadelphia Flyers (2005–2007)—Simon Gagne, Peter Forsberg, and Mike Knuble; so named because they wore the uniform numbers 12, 21, and 22 respectively.
• "The Dice Line"—Calgary Flames—Colin Patterson, Richard Kromm, and Carey Wilson; so named because their uniform numbers were 11, 22, and 33 respectively.
• "The ESP Line" New Jersey Devils (2011–12)-Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora, and Zach Parise; named for each of the players' last names, but also a play on ESP, or extrasensory perception.
• "The Finnish Sandwich"—Edmonton Oilers—Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, and Esa Tikkanen (Kurri and Tikkanen are Finns)
• "The FLY line"—New York Rangers—Theo Fleury, Eric Lindros, and Mike York
• "FTD Line" (They always delivered) —Hartford Whalers—Ron Francis, Sylvain Turgeon, Kevin Dineen
• The "G Line"-Philadelphia Flyers (2011–12)—Claude Giroux, Jaromir Jagr, Scott Hartnell
• The "GAS line"—Boston Bruins (2000s)—Bill Guerin, Jason Allison, Sergei Samsonov & New York Rangers (2011)— Marian Gaborik, Artem Anisimov, Derek Stepan
• "The GEM Line"—Atlanta Flames (late 1970s) —Guy Chouinard, Eric Vail, and Bob MacMillan
• The "Greek God line"—Atlanta Thrashers—Eric Boulton, Jim Slater, and Chris Thorburn
• "The Grumpy Old Men line"—Dallas Stars (2000–01)—Kirk Muller, John MacLean, and Mike Keane. The line was named for the veteran status each player had, and was a play on the film "Grumpy Old Men". Between them, they had 104 years and 5 Stanley Cup wins.
• The GST Line-Winnipeg Jets (2011–2012)-Tanner Glass, Jim Slater, Chris Thorburn. The line's name comes from the last initial of each member's names (Glass, Slater, Thorburn), and is a pun on Canada's normally maligned Goods and Service Tax. The line's play has been said to be taxing on opponents.
• The "Capital Punishment" Line—Ottawa Senators (late 1990s) -consisted of Alexei Yashin, Shawn McEachern, and Andreas Dackell, who were one of the NHL's highest scoring lines at that time.
• The "HBO Line"—New York Rangers—Ryan Hollweg (LW), Blair Betts (C), and Colton Orr (RW). Named for the three players surnames, and is a play on HBO.
• "The Helicopter Line"—San Jose Sharks—Joe Pavelski, Kyle Wellwood, Torrey Mitchell. The reference to a helicopter is in opposition to an airplane, as the former has "no wings" and this line has no career left or right wings. Each person has predominately played their career as a center.
• "The Hi-Speed Line"—Philadelphia Flyers (Early 1980s) —Ray Allison, Ron Flockhart, Brian Propp
• The "HMO Line"—New York Rangers (2005–06)—Ryan Hollweg, Dominic Moore, Jed Ortmeyer
• "The HuLK Line"—Boston Bruins (2010–2013)—Milan Lucic, David Krejci, and Nathan Horton
• "The Ikea Line" Vancouver Canucks (2000s)—Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Markus Naslund. Each person is from Sweden and refers to the IKEA company originating from Sweden
• "The JAM Line"-Colorado Avalanche (2000s)-Joe Sakic, Alex Tanguay, Milan Hejduk. This line got its name because of the first letter of each players first name.
• "The JET Line" - Carolina Hurricanes (2010–2011) - Rookie Jeff Skinner, Erik Cole, and Tuomo Ruutu. Named by Hurricanes TV play-by-play announcer John Forslund and the Caniacs after their first initials and their speed on the ice.
• The "Kid Line" / "PPG Line"—Anaheim Ducks (2006–07)—Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Dustin Penner
• "The Kid Line"-St. Louis Blues (2008–present)-David Perron, T. J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund. The line got its name because Oshie and Berglund were rookies in the 2008-09 season and Perron was only in his second year as an NHL player
• "The Kid Line"-Ottawa Senators (2012–13)-Cory Conacher, Mika Zibanejad, Jakob Silfverberg. Named after the fact that all three players were rookies in the 12-13 season.
• "Kids and the Hall" Edmonton Oilers line of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, and Taylor Hall; Named after the television show The Kids in the Hall, making reference to the youth of Nugent-Hopkins (19) and Eberle (22), and the last name of Taylor Hall (21). Also known as "Baby Oil".
• "The KIL line"—Boston Bruins—Milan Lucic, David Krejci, Jarome Iginla This line got its name because of the first letter of each players last name. (Krejci Iginla Lucic).
• "The KLS line"—Pittsburgh Penguins—Alexei Kovalev, Robert Lang, Martin Straka
• "The LSD Line"-Cincinnati Stingers (WHA) (1977–78)--Rich Leduc, Dennis Sobchuk, Rick Dudley. This line got its name from the first letter of each player's last name, and was clearly a play on the name of a popular recreational drug of the time
• The Little White Russian line—Atlanta Thrashers (2008–2010)—Bryan Little, Todd White, and Slava Kozlov
• "The Life Line"-Winnipeg Jets (1982) Brian Mullen, Paul MacLean and Dale Hawerchuk; also Vancouver Canucks - Geoff Courtnall, Cliff Ronning and Trevor Linden
• "The Lord of the Rings Line"—Toronto Maple Leafs (2006)—Alexei Ponikarovsky, Kyle Wellwood, Nik Antropov. (Frodo and the Two Towers)
• "The Lucky 7's Line"—New York Islanders (2001–2003)—Shawn Bates, Michael Peca, and Mark Parrish; highly productive line. Name coined by Islanders broadcaster John Weideman because each of the linemate's uniform numbers ended in a 7 (Bates 17, Peca 27, Parrish 37).
• "Mac & the U.S.S.R."—Toronto Maple Leafs (2010–2013)—Clarke MacArthur, Mikhail Grabovski, and Nikolai Kulemin. Mac is in MacArthur and U.S.S.R. as Grabovski and Kulemin are of Russian ancestry. Play on The Beatles song Back in the U.S.S.R..
• "The MAD Line"—Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–04)—Mats Sundin, Alexander Mogilny, and Darcy Tucker
• "The Maginot Line"—Buffalo Sabres (2004)—J.P. Dumont, Danny Briere, Jochen Hecht; Two French Canadians and a German from the border city of Buffalo.
• The "Masterton line"—Anaheim Ducks (2010—present)—Jason Blake, Saku Koivu, Teemu Selänne; each has been awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
• "The Mattress Line"—Vancouver Canucks (2003–04)—Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, and Jason King; after mattress sizes: "Two twins and a king."
• "The Minnesota Line"—Philadelphia Flyers—Shjon Podein (LW), Joel Otto (C), Trent Klatt (RW); the three players are all from Minnesota and were known for their tenacious defensive play as the Flyers made the Stanley Cup Finals in 1997
• "Monty Babcock's Flying Circus"—Detroit Red Wings (2006–2011)—Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Tomas Holmstrom; named arose from a line naming contest on a popular hockey website.
• "The Munchkin Line" -Montreal Canadiens (2009)-Mike Cammalleri, Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta. Named for the small height of the trio (not one of them topping 5'10).
• "The Mutt and the Mullets/Hustle and Flow" -Chicago Blackhawks (2014–present)- Andrew Shaw, Brandon Saad, Patrick Kane. Named for Shaw's nickname of "The Mutt" and the mullets that Saad and Kane have been known to grow for the playoffs.
• "The 'OMG' Line"—Phoenix Coyotes—Oleg Saprykin, Mike Zigomanis, and Georges Laraque
• ”The ‘OMG’ Line”—Calgary Flames—Olli Jokinen, David Moss, and Curtis Glencross; named for their names: The Olli, Moss and Glencross line
• "The Option Line"—Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91)—John Cullen, Mark Recchi, and Kevin Stevens; the line came together when all three players were in the option year of their respective contracts
• "The 'Ov' line"—San Jose Sharks—Johan Garpenlov, Igor Larionov, and Sergei Makarov
• "The PB&J (Peanut-Butter and Jelly) Line—Montreal Canadiens, Alexander Perezhogin, Radek Bonk, and Mike Johnson. All three players left the team in 2007 to Free Agency but they were a decent shutdown trio.
• The "Peach Fuzz Line"—Boston Bruins (2008–2009)—Milan Lucic (LW), David Krejci (C), Phil Kessel (RW). So-called due to the young age of all three players (Lucic, 20; Kessel, 21; Krejci, 22).
• "The Ph.D. Line"—Montreal Canadiens (2010–2011)—Jeff Halpern (Princeton), Mathieu Darche (McGill), and Benoit Pouliot (school of hard knocks).
• "The Plumbers"—Washington Capitals—Greg Adams, Craig Laughlin, Alan Haworth; named for their hard working efforts, and, of course, Richard Nixon's White House "plumbers"
• "The Golden Triangle" line—Pittsburgh Penguins—Mario Lemieux (LW), Jaromir Jagr (RW), Ron Francis (C)
• "RAV line"—Buffalo Sabres (2005–2009)—Thomas Vanek (LW), Derek Roy (C), Maxim Afinogenov (RW). Named for the initials of their surnames.
• The Redemption Line—Philadelphia Flyers (2010–2011)—Danny Briere, Scott Hartnell, Ville Leino; formed during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs and became the most potent line in the playoffs, Briere leading the league in points and Leino tying an NHL playoff rookie record for points; so named due to Briere having missed most of the 2008–09 season and having a subpar 2009–10 season, Hartnell's disappointing 2009–10 regular season, and Leino having largely been a healthy scratch since being acquired from Detroit up until late in the first round of the playoffs. Broken up after the 2010–11 season when Leino signed with the Buffalo Sabres as a free agent.
• "The RPG Line" -Anaheim Ducks-(2009–present) Bobby Ryan, Corey Perry, and Ryan Getzlaf.
• "The RPM Line"—Edmonton Oilers—Marty Reasoner (C), Fernando Pisani (RW), and Ethan Moreau (LW); after the players' surnames.
• The "RPM Line"—Colorado Avalanche (2007–2009)—Ryan Smyth (LW), Paul Stastny (C), Milan Hejduk (RW).
• The "RPM Line" —Vancouver Canucks (2009)—Ryan Kesler (LW), Mats Sundin (C), Pavol Demitra (RW).
• "The Sesame Street Line"—Philadelphia Flyers (1970s)—Dave Schultz (Grouch), Orest Kindrachuk (Oscar or Ernie), Don Saleski (Big Bird)
• "That 70s Line"—Los Angeles Kings (2014)—Tanner Pearson (LW), Jeff Carter (C), and Tyler Toffoli (RW), so named due to the players' sweater numbers, 70, 77 and 73 respectively, and as a reference to That '70s Show.
• "The Shamrock Line"—New York Rangers (2006–07)— Brendan Shanahan (LW), Matt Cullen (C), and Ryan Callahan (RW); in reference to the strong Irish heritage held in each player, Sean Avery was used as center instead of Matt Cullen when the Rangers acquired him from the Los Angeles Kings.
• "The Slovak Pack"—St. Louis Blues 1999–2000—Pavol Demitra, Michal Handzus, and Lubos Bartecko
• "The Smiley Twins"—Calgary Flames (2000-2004)—Craig Conroy, and Jarome Iginla, due to the pair's constant smiling when talking in interviews
• The "Smurf Line"—Montreal Canadiens—Saku Koivu (C), Valeri Bure (LW) and Oleg Petrov (RW); after their relatively small height.
• "The 'SOB' Line" Washington Capitals—Alexander Semin, Alex Ovechkin, and Nicklas Backstrom.
• "The 'SOB' Line" St. Louis Blues (2012–present)—Alexander Steen, T. J. Oshie, and David Backes
• The "SOS Line" - Los Angeles Kings (2011)-Brad Richardson, Kyle Clifford, Wayne Simmonds. During LA's 2011 playoff run against the Sharks, "SOS" standing for "Save Our Season".
• "The Skyline"—Toronto Maple Leafs—Joe Nieuwendyk (C), Nik Antropov (RW), and Alexei Ponikarovsky (LW) (Named because of each of the players is above average height; Nieuwendyk is 6-feet-2-inches, Ponikarovsky is 6' 4" and Antropov is 6' 6")
• "The Slovakian Trio"—Minnesota Wild (2000s)—Branko Radivojevic, Pavol Demitra, Marian Gaborik; all come from Slovakian descent. Used early in the 2006–2007 regular and post-season. Also: The "Super Slovaks"; "The Trencin Trio"
• The "S-MAC-K Line"—Anaheim Ducks—(2007)—Teemu Selanne, Andy McDonald and Chris Kunitz.
• The "STL Line"—St. Louis Blues—(2014–Present)—Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Tarasenko and Jori Lehtera Proficient scoring line for the St. Louis Blues. The last name initials spell out STL which is a common abbreviation for the city of St. Louis.
• "The Sunrise Express"—Florida Panthers—(2008-)—Stephen Weiss, Nathan Horton, and David Booth; after the Panthers' home in Sunrise, Florida. Also referred to as "the Sunshine Express."
• "The Special K Line" - Mighty Ducks of Anaheim - (1995) - Paul Kariya, Todd Krygier and Chad Kilger
• "The Speed Team"—Columbus Blue Jackets—Manny Malhotra (C), Jason Chimera (LW), Dan Fritsche (RW).
• The "Steel City Line"—Pittsburgh Penguins—Ryan Malone (LW), Evgeni Malkin (C), and Petr Sykora (RW). Named because of the "Steel City" connection between Malkin and Sýkora, two former Metallurg Magnitogorsk (of the Russian Super League) teammates, and Pittsburgh native Malone.
• The 'SWAT' Line (SWT)—Toronto Maple Leafs (2000s)—Mats Sundin, Kyle Wellwood and Darcy Tucker. Named for their first initials.
• The "Team USA Line"—St. Louis Blues—Keith Tkachuk (LW), Doug Weight (C), and Bill Guerin (RW); also "American Pie" line
• "Two and a Half Men"—Montreal Canadiens—Max Pacioretty (LW), David Desharnais (C), and Erik Cole (RW). Named so because of the difference in size. While Cole and Pacioretty are 6' 2" (1.88 m), Desharnais stands just 5' 7" (1.70 m) tall.
• "Two Blondes and a Brunette" (2B&B)—Minnesota Wild (2008–present)—Mikko Koivu (C), Antti Miettinen (RW), Andrew Brunette (LW). Named for Koivu and Miettinen's hair color and Brunette's last name.
• The Two-Headed Monster—Pittsburgh Penguins—Sidney Crosby (C) paired with Evgeni Malkin (RW). Term coined by FSN Pittsburgh broadcasters Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey.
• The "United Nations Line"—Colorado Avalanche—Valeri Kamensky (Russian), Peter Forsberg (Swedish), Claude Lemieux (Canadian); also "Barrage-A-Trois"
• "Vowel line"—Nashville Predators (2001–02)—Martin Erat (LW), Vladimir Orszagh (RW), Denis Arkhipov (C). Named for the first letter of each player's surname.
• "VHS Line"—Phoenix Coyotes (2007)—Radim Vrbata (RW), Martin Hanzal (C), Fredrik Sjostrom (LW). Named for the first letter of each player's surname.
• "The White Line"—Minnesota Wild (2006–07)—Brian Rolston (LW), Todd White (C), Pierre-Marc Bouchard (RW)

Famous forward combinations without acknowledged nicknames

• Atlanta Thrashers—Marian Hossa, Marc Savard, and Ilya Kovalchuk
• Carolina Hurricanes—Cory Stillman, Eric Staal, and Erik Cole
• Chicago Blackhawks—Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews, and Marian Hossa
• Detroit Red Wings—Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk (the "Euro twins")
• Detroit Red Wings—Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Tomas Holmstrom
• Florida Panthers—Valeri Bure, Viktor Kozlov, and Pavel Bure
• Dallas Stars (Late 1990s)—Brett Hull, Mike Modano, and Jere Lehtinen
• Dallas Stars (Late 1990s)—Jamie Langenbrunner, Joe Nieuwendyk, and Pat Verbeek
• Dallas Stars (Late 1990s)—Grant Marshall, Guy Carbonneau, and Mike Keane
• Dallas Stars—(Late 2000s)—Loui Eriksson, Brad Richards, and Jamie Benn
• Dallas Stars—(Late 2000s)—Brenden Morrow, Mike Ribeiro, and James Neal / Steve Ott
• Detroit Red Wings (1930s)—Herbie Lewis, Marty Barry, and Larry Aurie
• Los Angeles Kings—Wayne Gretzky, Tomas Sandstrom, and Tony Granato
• Mighty Ducks of Anaheim—Paul Kariya, Steve Rucchin, and Teemu Selanne
• Montreal Canadiens—Jean Beliveau, Dickie Moore, and Bernie Geoffrion
• New York Rangers—Adam Graves, Mark Messier, and Alexei Kovalev
• New York Rangers—Martin Straka, Michael Nylander, and Jaromir Jagr
• Pittsburgh Penguins—Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, and Ron Francis (sometimes called the Great Line)
• San Jose Sharks—Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, and Devin Setoguchi
• San Jose Sharks—Ryane Clowe, Logan Couture, and Dany Heatley
• Tampa Bay Lightning—Martin St. Louis, Brad Richards, and Fredrik Modin
• Tampa Bay Lightning—Ryan Malone, Steven Stamkos, and Martin St. Louis
• Tampa Bay Lightning—(2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs), Steven Stamkos, Vincent Lecavalier, and Martin St. Louis
• Toronto Maple Leafs—(late 1970s) Lanny McDonald, Darryl Sittler, and Errol Thompson
• Vancouver Canucks—Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin (the Sedin Twins, identical twin brothers). Played with Trent Klatt (2000–03);Jason King (called the "Mattress Line")(2003–04); Anson Carter (2005–06); Taylor Pyatt (2006–07); Alexander Burrows (2008–12); Ryan Kesler (2013-).
• Washington Capitals—Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Knuble
• Washington Capitals—Ulf Dahlen, Jeff Halpern, and Steve Konowalchuk
• Winnipeg Jets (WHA)—Bobby Hull, Anders Hedberg, and Ulf Nilsson (sometimes called "the Hot Line")
• Springfield Indians (AHL)—Joe Day, Yvon Corriveau and Dale Henry (sometimes known as the Piranhas)
• Team Finland (1998, 2004, 2006)—Jere Lehtinen, Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne
• HPK (Finland, 2002–03)—Antti Miettinen (LW), Tommi Santala (C) and Eero Somervuori (RW)
• HPK (Finland), 2000s)—Jukka Hentunen, Niko Kapanen and Timo Parssinen (sometimes called "The Teletubby-line")
• Jokerit (Finland), 1970s)—Timo Turunen, Pentti Hiiros, Timo Kyntölä ("Cap Gun line")
• Team Slovakia, Dukla Trencin—Marian Hossa, Pavol Demitra, Marian Gaborik
• HC CSKA Moscow, Soviet Championship League, (1980s)—Alexander Mogilny (LW), Pavel Bure (RW), Sergei Fedorov (C)
• Avangard Omsk, KHL—Alexander Perezhogin, Roman Cervenka, Jaromir Jagr

Notes

See also: List of ice hockey nicknames

References

• Legends of Hockey
• Hockey's All-time Classic Lines

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