Terrifying Trios in Tinseltown

In hockey, unlike dating, three’s a charm. Not too often do teams wander upon three players who find the kind of chemistry allowing no-look passes, easy one-timers, and picture-perfect three-on-twos. These combinations of players are blessings for a team but do not happen too often. Even the 100-year old Montreal Canadiens have had between six and eight depending on whom you ask and what they count. Given the Kings short-lived existence they’ve had a large amount of terrorizing threesomes and one on the current 2009-10 team looking like they could join the ranks.

A line famous only in Kings’ history among fans of the era was formed during Gretzky’s time in Los Angeles. It featured the Great One, Tony Granato, and Tomas Sandstrom. It was the perfect setup of roles: the epitome of a playmaker at center, a sniper on one wing, and a grinder with great hands on the other. The trio was one of the few Gretzky played with over a long span of time during his career as a King.

It hasn't been since Deader was around that the Kings had a line like this...

The most underrated of the Kings’ all-time best lines was the one formed by Jason Allison, Zigmud Palffy, and Adam Deadmarsh. Again there’s a great combination of play-making ability, grit, speed, and a sniper-quality shot. Jason Allison played the part of the playmaking center. Whatever negatives, the man could play hockey in the hook-and-hold NHL, he could score goals, and he could make great passes. Adam Deadmarsh was just nails. Spending thousands of words could barely scratch the surface of what made Deadmarsh fun to watch. As for Palffy, his shot was blistering and his hands were magical. He was fun to watch, to put it mildly.

The only bad part of this line was its nickname. The “LAPD” line was just silly; it made no sense, and added a letter not present in any of the player’s initials, a faux pas of the highest degree. Unfortunately, due to Deadmarsh’s concussion problems and a fluke injury to Jason Allison’s neck the line was short-lived. However, it was as good as the much more talked about line of Bertuzzi, Naslund, and Morrisson in Vancouver and had room to improve.

From underrated to perfectly rated, the greatest line in the history of the Kings, the line all other lines are measured by: Richardson-Ivanans-Lewis. Oh wait, no, sorry: The Triple Crown Line. Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor, and Charlie Simmer formed one of the greatest lines in the history of the NHL, the first with all three members to score 100 points in the same season. Both Taylor and Dionne went on to become Hall-of-Famers. This line needs no introduction or explanation for Kings fans but for those who aren’t as familiar it was first formed on January 13, 1979 when Marcel was paired with Taylor and Simmer. During their second year together the line combined for 328 points and 146 goals. The Triple Crown Line, named for the crest on the Kings’ jersey of the time, dominated the regular season but never had much in the way of playoff success. Both Taylor and Dionne have their numbers retired. Charlie Simmer has no such honor; some kind of homage for his part in one of the greatest lines in the history of Kings’ hockey is desperately overdue.

Forget the picture, the stat sheet makes me think these guys get along...

From the past to the present, a current line of Kings is making waves in the NHL. Ryan Smyth was traded to the Kings from Colorado for Tom Preissing, Kyle Quincey and a draft pick prior to the 2009-10 season. Justin Williams was obtained from the Carolina Hurricanes via a three-way deal between the Kings, Hurricanes, and Oilers. Patrick O’Sullivan was moved in order to bring Williams, a two-time thirty goal scorer and Stanley Cup Champion, to LA. Lastly, Anze Kopitar was drafted by the Kings 11th overall and is the first Slovenian to play in the NHL. In the lines first 8 games together Kopitar has 12 points, Smyth has five goals, and Williams has two goals to go with a number of tremendous chances for more. All told the line is a plus-3 and has combined for 29 points and 11 goals in eight games played.

As with other tremendous lines, this one combines skill, grit, good skating, and playmakers. Williams has a good shot, as does Kopitar, while Smyth likes to spend the majority of his time around the net. Kings’ fans should be familiar with Smyth from his days in Edmonton and Colorado during which he terrorized Kings’ goaltenders and defenders. Up to this point, he does not seem to have lost that ability.

Coming in to this year, after a production dip, some were worried Anze Kopitar was just a second-tier first-line center. As everyone knows, its dangerous to judge a 21 year old player who is only entering his 3rd NHL season; but that didn’t stop the speculation. Anze scored only two goals in the first 17 games of the 2008-09 season after ending the prior season, his second, with more than 30. It looked like Kopitar had taken a step back. However, he was simply playing more responsibly defensively, in-line with Terry Murray’s new system. This year, with the addition of a duo of thirty-goal scorers on his wings Kopitar seems to have regained the form of two years ago, or more accurately, it seems he never lost it. With both Williams and Smyth being more than five years Anze’s senior neither will be long-term linemates for the big Slovenian. However, they should go to show Kings fans Anze is far from a second-tier center. Surround him with talent and his production will rival his draft classmates of Sidney Crosby and Bobby Ryan.

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