On January 22nd, for the St. Louis Blues' game against the Vegas Golden Knights, the big pregame story was head coach Jim Montgomery's re-imagined starting lineup. Among the interesting lineup decisions were the demotions of Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich to the 2nd and 3rd lines, respectively, as well as Justin Faulk's demotion to the 3rd defensive pair.
Arguably the most interesting decision, however, was the elevation of Dylan Holloway, Brayden Schenn, and Jordan Kyrou from the 2nd line to the 1st line. Why did Montgomery make this decision? How has this forward line performed this season, and how do they measure up with other forward lines?
One of the best forward lines in the NHL
Dylan Holloway, Brayden Schenn, and Jordan Kyrou are having fantastic individual seasons. Holloway is vastly outperforming preseason expectations and has been one of the Blues' best players. Schenn is consistently putting together solid performances. Kyrou has blossomed into a legitimate two-way forward. But it's when these 3 are playing together that they're most effective.
Blues fans know that the Holloway-Schenn-Kyrou line has been great, but how great? How does this line compare with other forward lines in the league? Both offensively and defensively, Holloway-Schenn-Kyrou has been nothing short of elite.
Among forward lines with at least 200 minutes of ice time, the Holloway-Schenn-Kyrou forward line is one of only 2 lines that ranks in the Top 10 in Goals For per 60 minutes (3.78) and Goals Against per 60 (1.62). They have a Goals% of 70%, ranking 3rd overall among qualifying forward lines. In these metrics, Holloway-Schenn-Kyrou is hanging with, or out-pacing, some of the top lines in the NHL, like Knies-Matthews-Marner, Guentzel-Point-Kucherov, and Reinhart-Barkov-Rodrigues. Elite.
The Holloway-Schenn-Kyrou line's success stems, in large part, from their ability to dominate the game when it comes to shots and scoring chances. Their xGoal% (58.05%), Scoring Chances For% (60.89%), and High Danger Chances For% (61.04%) demonstrate their ability to effectively generate quality shots and scoring chances while shutting them down on the defensive end. For all three of those metrics, each player's best numbers are when they're playing alongside the other two. In other words, these three players are at their best, both offensively and defensively, when they're playing together.
Are these three individual players what most people would consider top-liners? Probably not, but that hasn't stopped them from playing like that. They have earned the right to play top-line minutes in St. Louis, and here's hoping they keep it up all season.