The best 'checking line' You ever saw?

Killion

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Feb 19, 2010
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Gainey Jarvis Chartraw. Gainey was fast tenacious and was a great body checker, Jarvis was a whiz at faceoffs and Chartraw was muscle that could skate.

Gainey-Jarvis-Roberts

Most definitely Gainey & Jarvis, Roberts & Chartraw (moved up) along with others all beyond excellent.

Marcotte- Sanderson - Westfall

.... absolutely! came here to post that line, and yes, one of the best Ive ever seen, ranks right up there with the above & others.... Bob Pulford who according to Gordie Howe was "the greatest checking forward I ever faced" and who Toe Blake when asked which Leaf he'd most like to acquire answered with "Bob Pulford" was another.... Initially a Center, Pulford was relegated to 3rd line status for most of his career taking a backseat to Kelly & Keon however, playing with a few different Wingers he was beyond reliable & effective, forcing turnovers & scoring on them and doing so in important games, situations. When Imlach briefly fell ill in 66/67, King Clancy filled in behind the bench & converted Pulford to Left Wing, matched up with Pete Stemkowski & Jim Pappin. That line & Pulford in particular shutting down Hull & the Hawks, Beliveau & the Habs, Pulford scoring key goals including a critical game 3 OT winner vs Montreal.
 
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Sentinel

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The Grind Line was great and had a knack for scoring timely goals. But the thing about those Wings teams was that every all-star centerman was elite defensively: Fedorov, Yzerman, Larionov, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Draper...
 

Pokecheque

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The Grind Line. So very dominant in all three zones. Able to score, check, you name it. Avs could game plan against the star-laden lines but it was that damned Grind Line there just wasn't an answer for.

This sounds like sacrilege coming from an Avs fan but Kris Draper remains one of my all-time favorite players. Few have ever been tasked to play so many different roles and excelled at all of them.
 
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TheDevilMadeMe

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The Nemchinov - Holik - McKay line was so good in 2000 and 2001, the Rangers paid Holik like a billion dollars to be their third new first line center. :laugh:

Even better when young John Madden (who usually centered the 4th line) moved to LW when the team faced the Lemieux-Jagr duo. Madden - Holik - McKay was awesome.

Pandolfo-Madden-Gionta/Langenbrunner was killer in 2003. Little known fact - John Madden actually led all Devils forwards in playoff ice time that year.

I don't think an old fashioned checking line has had a huge impact in the playoffs since the Pahlsson line in 2007, no?
 
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tinyzombies

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Dec 24, 2002
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The late 70's Habs had essentially two checking lines that could score:

Mario Tremblay - Doug Risebrough - Murray Wilson/Lambert
Rejean Houle - Doug Jarvis - Bob Gainey
 

Merya

Jokerit & Finland; anti-theist
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In semi-recent years, the PÃ¥hlsson line was stupidly good for a year or two.
 

pappyline

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Jul 3, 2005
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Most definitely Gainey & Jarvis, Roberts & Chartraw (moved up) along with others all beyond excellent.



.... absolutely! came here to post that line, and yes, one of the best Ive ever seen, ranks right up there with the above & others.... Bob Pulford who according to Gordie Howe was "the greatest checking forward I ever faced" and who Toe Blake when asked which Leaf he'd most like to acquire answered with "Bob Pulford" was another.... Initially a Center, Pulford was relegated to 3rd line status for most of his career taking a backseat to Kelly & Keon however, playing with a few different Wingers he was beyond reliable & effective, forcing turnovers & scoring on them and doing so in important games, situations. When Imlach briefly fell ill in 66/67, King Clancy filled in behind the bench & converted Pulford to Left Wing, matched up with Pete Stemkowski & Jim Pappin. That line & Pulford in particular shutting down Hull & the Hawks, Beliveau & the Habs, Pulford scoring key goals including a critical game 3 OT winner vs Montreal.

Actually, Pulford was initially a LW. He played LW on the Cullen brothers line his first couple of seasons. Imlach converted him to centre.
 
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Killion

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Feb 19, 2010
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Actually, Pulford was initially a LW. He played LW on the Cullen brothers line his first couple of seasons. Imlach converted him to centre.

... coming out of Jr yes, then Center, then ya, moved back by Clancy to LW...
about halfway or so down when the author starts in about the 66/67 season...

www.mapleleafshotstove.com/2016/12/16/power-forward-coined-phrase-time-maple-leaf-bobby-pulford/ ...

... and yes, the Cullen brothers, whole family; known for hockey & cars (dealerships in Guelph & St Catharines I believe)....
 
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crazyforhockey

Registered User
Jul 31, 2007
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Habs lines are simply not on the same planet than other ones mentionned...

The worst is, not only you had to deal with Gainey/Jarvis/Roberts, but you also had Tremblay/Risebrough/Lambert...

And later came Gainey/Carbo/Nilan, along with McPhee/TheScrew/Corson, add it up with Claude Lemieux...

Basicaly two 3rd lines where alot of teams were 2 lines deep
Gainey line could score
Risebrough line would score those big goals in tight games amd punish on forechecks big time
 

ESH

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Jun 19, 2011
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Hagelin - Bonino - Kessel was an exceptional "checking line."

There's nothing to suggest that line was anywhere close to a "checking line". They averaged more time than Malkin's line and I know they weren't used to check anyone.
 
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VanIslander

A 19-year ATDer on HfBoards
Sep 4, 2004
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For Team Canada the 2014 line of Marleau - Toews - Carter played great defensively. They were solid on a team that seemed otherwise shaky at times. They were effective at both ends of the ice, so maybe two-way better describes them, but Babcock did put them out against the top lines again and again, so it's no stretch to call them Canada's top checking line.

B97283678Z.120140214154514000GUS4Q4I7.11.jpg
 

silkyjohnson50

Registered User
Jan 10, 2007
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^ that's also the case with the Bergeron unit, Kopitar unit, and Babcock's very own Datsyuk and Zetterberg unit.

It's tough to think as those guys as checking units considering that they play multiple roles including offense, but the reality is that they have played the shut down roles for their teams and have probably played it as well as anyone.
 

frisco

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Sep 14, 2017
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Ramsay - Luce - Gare.

74-75
Ramsay 80 26 38 64 +51
Luce 80 33 43 76 +61
Gare 78 31 31 62 +40
I don't know how you'd check but a line going combined +152 without a 40 goal scorer or 80 point player has to be some kind of record. They must've allowed like zero goals against.

My Best-Carey
 

Johnny Engine

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Jul 29, 2009
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There's nothing to suggest that line was anywhere close to a "checking line". They averaged more time than Malkin's line and I know they weren't used to check anyone.

Not to mention, Crosby won the Smythe over Kessel chiefly for his work matching up against the heavy hitters.

There's no reason checking lines need to be #3. The Ramsay line in Buffalo was their second line, the grind line was probably number 4 in Detroit, the Pahlsson line was more like a #2 line in their cup season. There are many other examples.
 

Dennis Bonvie

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Dec 29, 2007
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The Nemchinov - Holik - McKay line was so good in 2000 and 2001, the Rangers paid Holik like a billion dollars to be their third new first line center. :laugh:

Even better when young John Madden (who usually centered the 4th line) moved to LW when the team faced the Lemieux-Jagr duo. Madden - Holik - McKay was awesome.

Pandolfo-Madden-Gionta/Langenbrunner was killer in 2003. Little known fact - John Madden actually led all Devils forwards in playoff ice time that year.

I don't think an old fashioned checking line has had a huge impact in the playoffs since the Pahlsson line in 2007, no?

Tremendous defensive forward, somewhat overlooked.

Won a Selke and came in 2nd three times.
 

Merya

Jokerit & Finland; anti-theist
Sep 23, 2008
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Madden's legacy was eternally tarnished when during the lockout he lasted for only two days in Finland. Unbelievable wussiness from an experienced hockeyplayer.
 

boyko10

44-11-9
Apr 27, 2017
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Madden's legacy was eternally tarnished when during the lockout he lasted for only two days in Finland. Unbelievable wussiness from an experienced hockeyplayer.


I saw those games and that truly was a spineless effort.

A funny thing I remember was him standing stationary and someone came at him full speed ready to run right through him. When they collided JM didnt even flinch and the hitter looked like he hit a brick wall and just ragdolled, it was unreal. JM was a head shorter btw.
 

TheDevilMadeMe

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Aug 28, 2006
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Brooklyn
I loved the Peluso - Holik - McKay Crash Line of 1995, but they weren't what I would call a checking line. They were a crash and bang 4th line that had the least defensive responsibilities of any line on the team. Lines 1-3 played Jacques Lemaire's conservative version of the neutral zone trap, while the Crash Line played a hard in-your-face forechecking game to change things up.

The Nemchinov*-Holik-McKay 3rd line on the 2000 and 2001 teams was more of a traditional checking line.

*sometimes replaced by John Madden, Sergei Brylin, or Claude Lemieux
 
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