The Line Lab
Which trios actually work when they're on the ice together. We compare what a line shouldproduce given who's on it against what it actually produces — the difference is chemistry. Every unit below really played together at 5-on-5; nothing is hypothetical.
How to read this
Nothing here is invented: every line and pair below actually played together at 5-on-5, with real minutes attached. For each unit we show its observed — the slice of scoring chances it controlled while on the ice, where 50% means break-even.
The interesting part is the split. We first compute an : what those players should produce together if a line were just the sum of its parts. Whatever the real unit does beyond that is the — the closest a spreadsheet gets to measuring whether three players actually fit. Small-minute units are noisy, so read a big bonus on 30 minutes as a hypothesis, not a verdict — and remember this is a model estimate, not the coach's lineup card.
- BASE
- what the unit “should” produce — its members' individual profiles, added up
- CHEM
- observed share minus base: the whole vs. the sum of the parts
- PROJ
- base + chem — the model's expectation if the unit stays together
- TICK
- the hairline on each bar marks 50% — the break-even line
- Lines recovered from MoneyPuck lines.csv (5on5, observed deployment); chemistry = observed xG% minus additive archetype base. Model-estimated.
- 01Bryan Rust – Rickard Rakell – Egor ChinakhovTogether this unit controls play outright — 64% of expected goals, 10 points better than these players' profiles predict. Real chemistry.61 min together 54 +10 → proj 6464.0%· obs.
- 02Ville Koivunen – Rutger McGroarty – Ben KindelTogether this unit controls play outright — 59% of expected goals, 6 points better than these players' profiles predict. Real chemistry.98 min together 53 +6 → proj 5959.0%· obs.
- 03Noel Acciari – Connor Dewar – Blake LizotteTogether this unit tilts the ice — 54% of expected goals, 4 points better than these players' profiles predict. Real chemistry.364 min together 50 +4 → proj 5454.0%· obs.
- 04Anthony Mantha – Tommy Novak – Justin BrazeauTogether this unit tilts the ice — 52% of expected goals, about what the talent on it predicts.109 min together 53 -1 → proj 5252.0%· obs.
- 01Connor Clifton – Ryan GravesTogether this unit controls play outright — 62% of expected goals, 30 points better than these players' profiles predict. Real chemistry.190 min together 32 +30 → proj 6262.0%· obs.
- 02Ryan Shea – Jack St. IvanyTogether this unit tilts the ice — 53% of expected goals, 25 points better than these players' profiles predict. Real chemistry.148 min together 28 +25 → proj 5353.0%· obs.
- 03Kris Letang – Samuel GirardTogether this unit tilts the ice — 53% of expected goals, 25 points better than these players' profiles predict. Real chemistry.266 min together 28 +25 → proj 5353.0%· obs.