The 2021-22 New York Rangers were two wins away from going to the Stanley Cup Final in large part because of their "kid line" comprised of Alexis Lafrenière, Filip Chytil, and Kaapo Kakko.
In terms of time on ice, the Rangers' "kid line" was its third line throughout the playoffs among lines that played a minimum of 75 minutes, per moneypuck.com. Out of the three qualifying lines, that line posted the highest xGF% at 50% in 141 minutes of TOI, which was at least 55 minutes less than either of the top-two lines.
Thursday night, the Blue Jackets' best line in their loss to Tampa Bay was 20-year-old Kent Johnson, 19-year-old Cole Sillinger, and 22-year-old Kirill Marchenko.
Per moneypuck.com, that line's 11:11 TOI was the highest among any line, and the line's 96.8 xGF% was by far the best. They also were on the ice for seven Blue Jackets shots on goal and just one Tampa Bay shot on goal.
"They started to play and play well," Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen said after the game. "It was easy to keep putting them out."
Brad Larsen applauds the performance of the Marchenko/Sillinger/Johnson line.
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) December 16, 2022
"I thought they were outstanding."#CBJ pic.twitter.com/WuV4rChp7F
That line has also posted the highest xGF% among any Blue Jackets line with at least 30 minutes played at 56.8%. It's also played in just five games so far, so the small sample size should also be taken into account.
#CBJ Marchenko (2) goal pic.twitter.com/nB0dCWB6SU
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 16, 2022
If this line continues to get the adequate playing time, there's no reason it can't be as good or better than the Rangers' "kid line" from a year ago. Johnson, Sillinger, and Marchenko are certainly talented enough.
#CBJ Marchenko (1) goal pic.twitter.com/tmBhU2pgcU
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 11, 2022
We'll see where it goes from here, but that line's play is something to watch from here on out.
