With how great of a start the Lightning have had to the season, specifically the Stamkos/ Kucherov/ Namestnikov line (from here on out I’ll be calling it the Stamkov line because it is way more fun and easier to write), people have been starting to wonder who is the better line: the 2015 Triplets line or the current Stamkov line. Some reporters asked a few of the players who gave some pretty typical bland answers “Both lines are great, blah blah blah…” so I decided to take matters into my own hands and try to come up with a definitive answer. Why? Well, quite frankly, I’m have embarrassingly little to occupy my mind until the puck drops against Detroit.

*Disclaimer: Obviously it’s only been 10 games so the sample size is small and their numbers are inflated but for the sake of this argument I’m just gonna roll with it.

Point Production

2014-15 Triplets:

Tyler Johnson: 29 goals, 43 assists, 72 points (T-1 with Stammer on team for points)

Nikita Kucherov: 29 goals, 36 assists, 65 points

Ondrej Palat: 16 goals, 47 assists, 63 points

Stamkov Line (thru 10 GP):

Steven Stamkos: 3 goals, 17 assists, 20 points

Nikita Kucherov: 11 goals, 6 assists, 17 points

Vladdy Namestnikov: 4 goals, 7 assists, 11 points

Advanced Stats (at even strength)

2014-15 Triplets:

Tyler Johnson: 53.8 CF%, 54 FF%

Nikita Kucherov: 55.8 CF%, 56 FF%

Ondrej Palat: 55.2 CF%, 55.4 FF%

Stamkov Line:

Steven Stamkos: 53.4 CF%, 54.3 FF%

Nikita Kucherov: 48.1 CF%, 49.4 FF%

Vladdy Namestnikov: 47.8 CF%, 48.2 FF%

PLAYOFFS

2014-15 Triplets:

Tyler Johnson: 13 goals, 10 assists, 23 points

Nikita Kucherov: 10 goals, 12 assists, 22 points

Ondrej Palat: 8 goals, 8 assists, 16 points

Stamkov Line:

TBD…..

*Obviously Stammer’s injury last year denied us the opportunity to see Stamkov in the playoffs, but I would be remiss to not include the Triplets’ great stats from those playoffs

Things to Consider

There’s a few things to consider when you’re comparing these two lines. For starters, the Stamkov line is on an unreal hot streak. While I’m sure they’ll be great all year long, Stammer will not finish with 160+ points and Kucherov will not finish with 80+ goals. They will come back down to earth, at least a little bit. Another thing to think about is power play production. The Stamkov line is being trotted out as our first power play unit, and rightfully so. So far, they have recorded 6 goals and 13 assists on the power play. The 2014-15 Triplets didn’t have the luxury of playing together on the power play and building chemistry/ racking up points as much as the Stamkov line. They had to share PP time with Stammer, Callahan, Filppula, etc. They still finished with 13 goals and 30 assists on the power play for the year, but it’s just something to consider. Also, the triplets had the element of surprise on their side, while everyone knows the Stamkov line is coming. The triplets probably got a few more easier matchups because of this than the Stamkov line will. The final thing I considered is ice time. This year, Stamkos and Kuch are averaging over 19 minutes of ice time, and Vladdy 17 minutes. The ’14-’15 Triplets, didn’t get as much ice time. Tyler Johnson and Palat averaged a little over 17 minutes a night, and Kuch only averaged just under 15 minutes a game.

Conclusion

You can make your own decisions based off the information above, your fond memories of the ’14-’15 Cup run, or your recency bias of seeing the Stamkov line lead the Lightning and the NHL in like, every statistic. The Triplets took the league by storm in that 2014-15 regular season, surprising everyone and putting their names on the map, and then went on to have an epic playoffs to boot. They were able to put up really good numbers in a slightly more limited role, and it looks like they were better at driving possession than the Stamkov line this far. I’ll never forget how fun they were to watch that season, and how they propelled us to the Stanley Cup Final. In my opinion though, the Stamkov line is better. Stammer is still Stammer, Kuch has another season + 40 goals under his belt (and is only getting better), and Namestnikov complements them beautifully. I think 91 and 86 will both surpass the 72 point mark set in 2014 by Johnny (and Stamkos), which is insane to think about, and I can’t wait to watch it happen night in and night out.

p.s. Enjoy these highlights of the Triplets and the Bolts from that crazy Cup run #feels #NeverForget

p.p.s. when I was looking at the stats for the Lightning in 2014-15, I was reminded Callahan had 24 goals (10 on the PP), and 30 assists. God, that feels so long ago. I know he’s been injured a lot the past couple seasons, but still. I would kill for 54 points out of him in a season. Sadly, it seems that ship has sailed.