1.
Ted Lindsay-Sid Abel-Gordie Howe
Red Wings, late 1940s through early '50s.
The Production Line finished 1-2-3 in the league
in scoring in '49-50 and had two of the top
three scorers in three of the next four seasons.
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2.
Toe Blake-Elmer Lach-Maurice Richard
Canadiens, mid-1940s.
The Punch Line, featuring the indomitable Rocket,
went 1-2-3 in scoring in '44-45.
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3.
Esa Tikkanen-Wayne Gretzky-Jari Kurri
Oilers, mid-to-late 1980s.
The Great One and Kurri, the best partnership
since Bogart and Bacall, soared no matter who
rode shotgun. |
4.
Clark Gillies-Bryan Trottier-Mike Bossy
Islanders, mid-1970s through early '80s.
Perfectly constructed No. 1 line: fabulous scorer
(Bossy), dominant two-way player (Trottier)
and a banger (Gillies). |
5.
Woody Dumart-Milt Schmidt-Bobby Bauer
Bruins, late 1930s through mid-'40s.
The so-called Kraut Line was the first to finish
1-2-3 in scoring, doing so in '39-40.
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6.
Steve Shutt-Jacques Lemaire-Guy Lafleur
Canadiens, mid-to-late 1970s.
The Flower's glitz carried this unit, but Shutt
buried his chances, and Lemaire did the dirty
work.
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7.
Vladimir Krutov-Igor Larionov-Sergei
Makarov
Central Red Army, 1980s.
Moscow old-timers might prefer the trio of Valeri
Kharlamov, Vladimir Petrov and Boris Mikhailov,
but no line had a more acute understanding of
hockey's geometry than the KLM. |
8.
Wayne Cashman-Phil Esposito-Ken Hodge
Bruins, late 1960s through mid-'70s.
The line was led by Esposito, who dominated
heavy traffic in the Boston Garden bandbox.
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9.
Rick Martin-Gilbert Perreault-René
Robert
Sabres, mid-to-late 1970s.
Sparked by the underappreciated Perreault, the
French Connection dazzled. |
10.
Busher Jackson-Joe Primeau-Charlie Conacher
Maple Leafs, early to mid-1930s.
Kid Line went 1-2-4 in scoring in '31-32; Jackson
and Conacher won scoring titles three times
in a four-year span. |