USA Hockey Magazine

36 // AUGUST 2021 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM and Perreault had 100 points. W h o w a s m o r e s u c c e s s f u l ? They all were. The key to that, and other great lines, is that one person's skills complement the other's, or make up for a certain skill another linemate doesn't have as much of. That's the big thing, getting all of the skills together on the line working together well.'' The Punch Line in Montreal consist- ed of Toe Blake, Punch Imlach (who later coached the French Connection in Buffalo) and Maurice "Rocket" Richard. "The intangible key factor is chemis- try," said the late Ralph Backstrom, who was part of a number of great Montreal teams during his playing career. " T h a t 's w h a t h a p p e n s w h e n t h r e e maybe average guys are put together and play so well as a unit." Though Jean Beliveau was far from average, he did team with Bert Olmstead and Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion to form an incredibly solid line that Backstrom remembers watching as a kid at the Forum in Montreal. " T h a t w a s a t r e m e n d o u s line," Backstrom recalled. "Olmstead was the digger, Beliveau the playmaker and on the right side was Geoffrion, who was a tremen- dous shooter. "Again, though, I think chemistry was the key, because it seemed like those guys had eyes in the back of their heads. What they did was so spectacular that you wondered how they did it." The shift to defensive-minded hockey in the era of the neutral zone trap took some of the focus away from g etting offensive firepower assimilated on the same line. Things were different in Detroit, where the Russian Five brought their own style to the NHL after dominating on the inter- national stage for so many years. "We played a different type of hockey [in Detroit]," said former Red Wings assistant coach Barry Smith, who worked with the legendary Scotty Bowman in Motown. "We were more of a puck-pos- session team, so we weren't big on dump- and-chase and forechecking as much as other teams,'' " We weren't afraid to hold onto the puck. And players respond to that; most good hockey players want to have the puck, and not chase it for 60 minutes." In the modern era, a number of fac- tors—free agency, media attention, the urgency coaches feel to win—has limited the proliferation of lines that take on such personalities or monikers, though the Perfection Line—Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak—has enjoyed a long run of success in Boston. It's been far more common to have two great players team up with another journeyman or borderline standout join them on the wing, such as during Wayne Gretzky's run with Jari Kurri in Edmonton. According to Smith, the two-stars plus one lesser-known wing is the wave of the present, and probably the future. LINE A Fine Top left to right: Gordie How was part of some great lines in Detroit. The French Connection remain a celebrated trio in Buffalo. In Boston, the Perfection Line shows no signs of slowing down.

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