List of ice hockey line nicknames

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 beginnings of the NHL when Didier Pitre, Jack Laviolette, and Newsy Lalonde of the Montreal Canadiens formed the Flying Frenchmen line.

Famous NHL lines with nicknames

• "The A Line"—New Jersey Devils (1999–2002)—Jason Arnott, Patrik Elias, and Petr Sykora; led the Devils to the Stanley Cup in 2000 and to the finals in 2001
• "The AMP Line"—Colorado Avalanche (2000–2004)—Alex Tanguay, Milan Hejduk, and Peter Forsberg. 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 (1978–1980s)—John Tonelli, Wayne Merrick, Bob Nystrom. Named because of the yellow bibs or jerseys the players wore during practice.
• "The BBC line"—Carolina Hurricanes (2000s)—Bates Battaglia, Rod Brind'Amour, Erik Cole
• "The Bread Line"—New York Rangers (1920s)—Frank Boucher, Bill Cook, and Bun Cook; a reference to "Bun" Cook's nickname.
• "The Brothers Line"—Vancouver Canucks (2005–2006)—Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, and Anson Carter. Colloquial nickname based on the Sedins being identical twins and Carter's Barbadian descent. The Vancouver Canucks' second line all had the most productive season of their careers to that point, with Carter recording a career-high 33 goals, and the Sedins surpassing their previous best seasons in total points scored by 17, and 33 points respectively.
• "The Bulldog Line"- New York Rangers 1970's Walt Tkaczuk, Bill Fairbairn, and Steve Vickers. This complemented the Ranger's high-scoring GAG line of Jean Ratelle, Rod Gilbert, Vic Hadfield.
• The CASH Line^[1] – Ottawa Senators (mid-to-late 2000s) Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley. The name was an acronym of Captain Alfredsson Spezza Heatley. Also known as the 'Capital Punishment Line' for their high scoring and the team being in the capital of Canada. It was also known as 'The Pizza Line' because Pizza Pizza would give away a free slice of pizza to a ticket stub holder from the home game if the Senators scored five goals or more, and so this trio thereby provided many slices for Ottawans. All three were named to the 2009 NHL All-Star game, a feat last achieved in 1980s with the "Triple Crown" line.
• "The Centers Line"—Tampa Bay Lightning—(2011 Stanley Cup playoffs), Steven Stamkos, Vincent Lecavalier, and Martin St. Louis. Named because all 3 were originally centers.
• "The Century Line"—Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–76)—Syl Apps Jr., Lowell MacDonald, and Jean Pronovost; also known as "The Bicentennial Line"; scored 100+ goals and 200+ points for 4 straight seasons
• "The Clydesdales Line"—Chicago Blackhawks (1984–1987)—Curt Fraser, Troy Murray, and Ed Olczyk; each player weighed in at or around 200 pounds.
• "The Crash Line"—New Jersey Devils (mid-1990s)—Bobby Holik, Randy McKay, and Mike Peluso: average weight of linemates was 215 pounds
• "The Crazy 8's Line" — Philadelphia Flyers (1990s) — Eric Lindros, Mark Recchi, and Brent Fedyk because the players jersey numbers were 88, 8, and 18 respectively (this line was also unique at the time because the left-handed Recchi played right wing and the right-handed Fedyk played left wing).
• "The Dynamite Line"—Boston Bruins (1928–33) Cooney Weiland, Dutch Gainor, and Dit Clapper
• "The Dynasty Line"^[2]—Montreal Canadiens (1970s)—Guy Lafleur, Jacques Lemaire, and Steve Shutt; also with Peter Mahovlich in place of Lemaire; bonus fact: Shutt once called the Lafleur/Mahovlich/Shutt Line the "Donut Line" (because it had no centre)
• "The EGG Line" New Jersey Devils (2003–06) – Patrik Elias, Scott Gomez, and Brian Gionta; named for each of the players' last names.
• "The Espo Line" Boston Bruins (1967–75)—Wayne Cashman, Phil Esposito, and Ken Hodge. One of the few lines in league history named after its leader and most dominant player. Also known as "The Nitro Line";^[2] and "The Dogs of War Line"
• "The Firing Line" Pittsburgh Penguins (2011–14)—Evgeni Malkin, James Neal and Chris Kunitz the Penguins top three scorers all on one line that season scoring approx 40% of the teams goals. also known as the "Strelki" which is Russian for shooters.
• "The Fly Line"—New York Rangers (2002)—Eric Lindros, Theoren Fleury, and Mike York; the Rangers top three scorers that season.
• "The Flying Frenchmen Line"—Montreal Canadiens (1917–19)—Didier Pitre, Jack Laviolette, and Newsy Lalonde
• "The French Connection"—Buffalo Sabres (1972–1979)—Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin, and Rene Robert; made up of three French-Canadian players
• "The French Line"—Philadelphia Flyers (1968–1971)—Jean-Guy Gendron, Andre Lacroix and Simon Nolet, all of French-Canadian descent.
• "The GAG Line" (Goal-a-Game Line) —New York Rangers (1964–75)—Jean Ratelle, Vic Hadfield, and Rod Gilbert; later dubbed the "TAG (Two-a-Game) Line"
• "The GEM Line"—Atlanta Flames (late 1970s) —Guy Chouinard, Eric Vail, and Bob MacMillan
• "The GEM Line"—Toronto Maple Leafs (late 1980s) —Gary Leeman, Ed Olczyk, and Mark Osborne
• "The Grind Line"—Detroit Red Wings (1990s)—Kirk Maltby, Kris Draper, and Darren McCarty; also with Joey Kocur in place of McCarty
• "The GQ Line"—Dallas Stars (2015-2016) —Jamie Benn, Patrick Sharp, and Tyler Seguin; an allusion to GQ magazine due to the physical attractiveness of each player^[3]
• "The HBK Line"—Pittsburgh Penguins (2016 Stanley Cup playoffs)—Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino, and Phil Kessel – after the initials of the players' surnames, also a play on the acronym made famous by professional wrestler Shawn Michaels, who went by the name "The Heartbreak Kid", often shortened to HBK
• "The HEM Line"—Toronto Maple Leafs (1960s)—Billy Harris, Gerry Ehman, and Frank Mahovlich
• "The Hot Line"—Winnipeg Jets (1970s)-Bobby Hull, Ulf Nilsson, and Anders Hedberg
• "The Hound Line"—Toronto Maple Leafs (1980s)—Wendel Clark, Russ Courtnall, and Gary Leeman – all three had played for the Notre Dame Hounds
• "The Hull & Oates Line"—St. Louis Blues (1990s)—Brett Hull and Adam Oates—a play on the musical duo Hall & Oates.
• "The HUM Line"—Detroit Red Wings (1960s)—Paul Henderson, Norm Ullman, and Bruce MacGregor
• "The JET Line"—Carolina Hurricanes (2010–11)—Jeff Skinner, Erik Cole, and Tuomo Ruutu; Named by Hurricanes TV play-by-play announcer John Forslund and Hurricanes fans after their first initials and their speed on the ice.
• "The Kid line"—Toronto Maple Leafs (1929–36)—Composed of Hall of Famer members Charlie Conacher, Joe Primeau, and Busher Jackson. Named due to the young age of all three men when the line was first conjured.
• "The Kraut Line"—Boston Bruins (1936–42, 1945–47)—Milt Schmidt, Woody Dumart and 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. During World War II, the Bruins would sometimes refer to them as the "Kitchener Kids" in an attempt to downplay their German heritage.
• "The LAPD Line"-Los Angeles Kings (2001–2004)—Jason Allison, Zigmund 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, and Bill Barber; after the initials of the players' surnames
• "The Legion of Doom"—Philadelphia Flyers (1994–97)—Eric Lindros, John LeClair and Mikael Renberg
• "The LILCO Line" ("Long Island Lightning Company Line")—New York Islanders (1975–77)—Billy Harris, Clark Gillies and Bryan Trottier; after Long Island Lighting Company, the local utility company (because they caused the goal light to go on so often)^[2]
• "The Life Line"-Winnipeg Jets (1980–82) Dale Hawerchuk, Paul MacLean, and Brian Mullen
• "The Mafia Line"^[4]—New York Rangers (late 1970s) —Don Maloney, Phil Esposito, and Don Murdoch. Nicknamed for a "Godfather" (Esposito) with two "Dons."^[4]
• "The MC² line" – Islanders 4th line (2013–present) – Consists of Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas, and Cal Clutterbuck. Also referred to as the best fourth line in hockey.
• "The Merlot Line"—Boston Bruins (2011–2014)—Shawn Thornton, Gregory Campbell and 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, and 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; acronym for "Marty, Vinny, and Prospal."
• "The Olympic Line"—Winnipeg Jets (1992–96)—Teemu Selanne, Alexei Zhamnov, and Keith Tkachuk. Named because each member was an Olympian: Selanne Finn, Tkachuk American, and Zhamnov from Russia.
• "The PAP Line"—Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–1973)—Greg Polis, Syl Apps and Jean Pronovost
• "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, and Steve Larmer
• "The Pony Line"—Chicago Black Hawks (1945–48)—Max Bentley, Doug Bentley, Bill Mosienko^[5]
• "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 and Maurice "Rocket" Richard
• "The Russian Five"—Detroit Red Wings (1990s)—Sergei Fedorov, Igor Larionov, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Vladimir Konstantinov, and 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)—Ab McDonald then Doug Mohns, Stan Mikita, Kenny Wharram
• "The Sky Line"—Pittsburgh Penguins (1990s)—Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, and 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 and Marian Stastny
• "The Swedish Five" —Detroit Red Wings (2000s)- Nicklas Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall, Henrik Zetterberg, Mikael Samuelsson, and Tomas Holmstrom. All five represented the Red Wings at 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, with Kronwall, Lidstrom, and Zetterberg scoring all of Sweden's goals against Finland in the gold medal game. Additionally, in the final game, Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Kronwall, and Samuelsson all accounted for five points between themselves. (The Red Wings also featured two other Swedes on their roster at the time of the 2006 Olympics in Johan Franzen and Andreas Lilja.)
• "The Trio Grande"—New York Islanders (1977–1980s)—Clark Gillies, Bryan Trottier, and Mike Bossy – in five seasons as full-time linemates from 1977–82, combined for 668 goals and 1498 points^[2]
• "The Triple Crown Line"—Los Angeles Kings (1970s–80s)—Dave Taylor, Charlie Simmer and 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 Triplets"—Tampa Bay Lightning (2014–present) Nikita Kucherov (RW), Tyler Johnson (C), and Ondrej Palat (LW). All three players, who were once overlooked by scouts from many NHL teams, possess similar speed, skill, chemistry, and production to become one of the proficient scoring lines in the NHL.
• "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, and Todd Bertuzzi; reference to local commuter rail service of the same name
• The "ZZ Pops" line New Jersey Devils (2007–2011)—Zach Parise (LW), Travis Zajac (C), and Jamie Langenbrunner (RW) (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"—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.^[6]
• "The BBC Line"—Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76)—Curt Brackenbury, Bill Butters and Jeff Carlson, the Fighting Saints all-goon line.^[7]
• "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.^[8]
• "The DDT Line"—Ice hockey at the 2003 World Championships, 2004 World Championships and 2004 World Cup of Hockey (for Canada)—Kris Draper, Shane Doan, Joe Thornton; after the initials of the players' surnames^[9]
• "The KLM line"—Soviet men's 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 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for multiple seasons.^[10]
• 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.^[11]
• "The Jönsson Gang"—Färjestad BK (2000s)—Jörgen Jönsson, Peter Nordström, Pelle Prestberg and for a while instead of Prestberg, Hannes Hyvönen; named after a series of films with the same name.
• "The Huey, Dewey, and Louie line"—Finland (1994–1995)—Ville Peltonen, Saku Koivu, Jere Lehtinen.
• "The Blueline"—Czech Republic (1996)—Martin Procházka, Pavel Patera and Otakar Vejvoda; 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 for.
• "The Shark Line"—Canada (2010)—Joe Thornton (C), Dany Heatley (RW), and Patrick Marleau (LW), all of whom played for the San Jose Sharks of the NHL. 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; the line was said to "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. Top-scoring line on the 2014 Le Mat Trophy-winning team, as well as a reference to the more famous KLM line.
• "Team Disco"—Adelaide Kings (2016)—Sean Kelly, James Burford and Luke Burford. Flamboyant and high scoring offensive line.

Current, short-lived and/or novelty lines

• "The 7-8-9 Line" (La ligne 7-8-9)—Quebec Nordiques—Robbie Ftorek, Marc Tardif, Réal 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 A Line"—New Jersey Devils—Patrik Elias, Jason Arnott, and Petr Sykora
• "The ABC line"—Chicago Blackhawks—Tyler Arnason, Mark Bell, and Kyle Calder
• "The ACE line"—Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)—Paul Kariya, Joe Sakic, and Teemu Selänne. Named after the last letter in each player's last name.
• "The American Express Line"—Vancouver Canucks (2011)—David Booth, Ryan Kesler, and Chris Higgins; a reference to all line mates being American born, as well as 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 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 VCR Line"—Edmonton Oilers—Shaun Van Allen, Dan Currie, and Steven Rice
• "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 Barbadian, 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 CASH line", "The Pizza Line"—Ottawa Senators—Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley, Daniel Alfredsson; named "CASH line" for the initials of the players and the Scotiabank Place arena; also named "Pizza Line' for the fact then if the Senators scored five or more goals on home ice, everyone in attendance would win a free slice of pizza. The promotion was eventually changed to six or more goals.
• "The CBGB Line"—New Jersey Devils (2012–2014)—Ryan Carter, Steve Bernier, Stephen Gionta; Carter Bernier Gionta's Brother.
• "The CBS Line"-University of North Dakota (2015-2016)-Drake Caggiula, Brock Boeser, Nick Schmaltz; led their team to the 2016 NCAA D1 men's hockey championship
• "The CCM Line"-University of Michigan Wolverines (2015–2016)-Kyle Connor, J.T. Compher, and Tyler Motte.
• 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 Hartnell's hair and 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 AHL's Peoria Rivermen)
• "The Crash line"—New Jersey Devils—Mike Peluso, Bobby Holik, and Randy McKay
• "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 (LW), Radek Dvorak (RW), and Petr Nedved; all linemates are from the Czech Republic.
• "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 Deuces"—Buffalo Sabres (2016)—Johan Larsson, Marcus Foligno, and Brian Gionta; so named because they wore the uniform numbers 22, 82 and 12 respectively, and because the line was the number-2 line for the team for most of that year.^[12]
• "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 Doghouse Line"—San Jose Sharks (2001–2002)—Patrick Marleau, Teemu Selanne, and Alexander Korolyuk; named for the fact that all three players had spent time in coach Darryl Sutter's doghouse.
• "The EGG line"—New Jersey Devils—Patrik Elias, Scott Gomez, and Brian Gionta. (The Devils had great success with this line, winning the Stanley Cup with them in the 2002–03 season.)
• "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—Theoren 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 "Ginger Line"-Philadelphia Flyers–Claude Giroux, Jakub Voráček, Wayne Simmonds, named due to Giroux's and Voracek's red hair color. The line name originates from 2012, when Scott Hartnell also played on the same line, making all forwards "gingers".
• 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"—Buffalo Sabres (2014–present)—Zemgus Girgensons, Tyler Ennis, and Matt Moulson; Though all three players were with the team for portions of the 2013/14 season (Moulson was traded at the deadline in 2014 before returning in the 2014 off-season), the three were not on a line together previously.
• The "Greek God line"—Atlanta Thrashers—Eric Boulton, Jim Slater, and Chris Thorburn
• "The Grumpy Old Men line"^[13]—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 five Stanley Cup wins.^[13]
• The GST Line-Winnipeg Jets (2011–12)—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 Services 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 Heartbreak Kids (HBK)"—Pittsburgh Penguins (2016–)—Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino, and Phil Kessel; both an acronym for Hagelin, Bonino, Kessel and a reference to former WWE wrestler Shawn Michaels' nickname, "The Heartbreak Kid". The line combined for 56 points during the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, en route to Pittsburgh's fourth Stanley Cup title.
• 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"^[14]—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 centre.
• "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
• "Hrkac Circus". The 1987 University of North Dakota line consisting of Tony Hrkac and his wingers. The rhyme aided pronunciation of the foreign name.
• "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
• "KaneGB"—Chicago Blackhawks (2015—)—Patrick Kane, Artem Anisimov, and Artemi Panarin. A play on the KGB referencing Patrick Kane and the line's two Russians (Panarin and Anisimov).
• The "Kid Line" / "PPG Line"—Anaheim Ducks (2006–07)—Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Dustin Penner
• "The Kid Line"—St. Louis Blues (2008–2013)-David Perron, T. J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund. The line got its name because Oshie and Berglund were rookies in the 2008–09 season while Perron was only in his sophomore year.
• "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 2012–13 season.
• "Kids and the Hall"—Edmonton Oilers—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 player's last name. (Krejci Iginla Lucic).
• "The Killer B line"—Florida Panthers—(2014)—Sean Bergenheim, Aleksander Barkov, and Brad Boyes; all three have last names that start with the letter B.
• "The KLS line"—Pittsburgh Penguins—Alexei Kovalev, Robert Lang, Martin Straka
• "The LAPD Line"—Los Angeles Kings (2001–02)—Jason Allison, Zigmund Palffy, Adam Deadmarsh
• "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 Vyacheslav 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 Mannheim.
• The "Masterton line"—Anaheim Ducks (2010–12)—Jason Blake, Saku Koivu, Teemu Selanne; 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
• "The Merlot Line"—Boston Bruins—Shawn Thornton (LW), Gregory Campbell (C), Daniel Paille (RW); Boston's 4th line, who wear a merlot-colored practice jersey and prefer not to be referred to as a "4th" line.
• "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 (2014–15)—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 MVP line"—Tampa Bay Lightning (2001–03; 2005–08)—Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Vaclav Prospal; stands for Marty, Vinny, and Prospal.
• "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 PB&K Line-Chicago Blackhawks, Patrick Kane, Brad Richards and Kris Versteeg
• 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 (2010–11)—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^[15]—Philadelphia Flyers (2010–2011)—Daniel 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-(2009–2013) 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 SARS line – 2004 Eastern Conference All-Star Team – Mats Sundin (C), Daniel Alfredsson (RW), Gary Roberts (LW) ; after the players' surnames (SAR) and because of the SARS outbreak in Ontario in 2004
• "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.
• "That 70s Line 2.0"—Los Angeles Kings (2015–present)—Dwight King (LW), Jeff Carter (C), and Tyler Toffoli (RW), similar to the original line listed above but with King at Left Wing who's number is 74.
• "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 (2012–2015)—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–)—Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Tarasenko and Jori Lehtera; proficient scoring line for the St. Louis Blues. The last name initials spell out STL, 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 Swedish Connection"—Vancouver Canucks—Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Markus Naslund; also "The Swedish Triple"; "IKEA line"; "Torpedo Line"
• "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 Sykora, 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 Swedish Five"—Detroit Red Wings/Team Sweden Olympics 2006 (2000s)—Mikael Samuelsson (RW), Henrik Zetterberg (C), Tomas Holmstrom (LW), Niklas Kronwall (RD), and Nicklas Lidstrom (LD); all got points for team Sweden in the gold medal game. Also the first NHL line assembled with all Swedish players. Name is reminiscent of Russian Five.
• The "Team USA Line"—St. Louis Blues—Keith Tkachuk (LW), Doug Weight (C), and Bill Guerin (RW); also "American Pie" line
• The "Tre Kronor" Line—Washington Capitals (2015-present)—Andre Burakovsky (LW), Nicklas Backstrom (C), Marcus Johansson (RW). The Tre Kronor or "Three Crowns" are the emblem of the Sweden men's national ice hockey team. Also sometimes known as the IKEA Line (see above).
• "The Triplets"—Tampa Bay Lightning (2014–present) Nikita Kucherov (RW), Tyler Johnson (C), and Ondrej Palat (LW). All three players, who were once overlooked by scouts from many NHL teams, possess similar speed, skill, chemistry, and production to become one of the proficient scoring lines in the NHL.
• "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. Also used by the Buffalo Sabres during their 2010–2012 seasons to refer to the line of Nathan Gerbe (LW), Paul Gaustad (C), and Patrick Kaleta (RW) due to Gerbe's small size combined with the large size and gritty playing style of Gaustad and Kaleta.
• "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, 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
• 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); Alexandre Burrows (2008–12); Ryan Kesler (2013–14); Radim Vrbata (2014-).
• 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
• HV71, SHL—Johan Davidsson, Martin Thörnberg, Jukka Voutilainen. During regular season they scored a total of 604 points (247 goals and 357 assists) between the 2006/2007-season to 2010/2011-season. And at the playoffs they scored a total of 185 points (75 goals and 110 assists). Often referred to as "The Davidsson-line".

Notes

References

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