Mikael Granlund

StaTuesday: Wild own top-scoring line in NHL

Published Feb. 21, 2017 12:29 p.m. ET

Ryan Lund

Before the season began, Mikael Granlund moved to right wing after spending most of his first four seasons as the Wild's No. 2 center, joining forces with Minnesota captain Mikko Koivu on the Wild's second line.

On Nov. 25, Boudreau added speedy left wing Jason Zucker to the mix, replacing an underperforming Zach Parise with a forward looking to break out following a disappointing season.

It's a strategy that's paid dividends for Boudreau and Co.

Granlund and Zucker are in the midst of career seasons, while Koivu is turning back the clock in his age-33 season.

They've combined for 52 goals this season, and much of that production has come while they're on the ice together.

Zucker, Koivu and Granlund have generated 35 goals while playing together, more than any other single unit in the league.

Team	F1	F2	F3	GF	GA
MIN	JASON ZUCKER	MIKKO KOIVU	MIKAEL GRANLUND	35	9
TOR	JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK	MITCHELL MARNER	TYLER BOZAK	34	28
CHI	PATRICK KANE	ARTEM ANISIMOV	ARTEMI PANARIN	28	17
ANA	JAKOB SILFVERBERG	ANDREW COGLIANO	RYAN KESLER	26	17
CBJ	CAM ATKINSON	BRANDON DUBINSKY	BOONE JENNER	25	15
CBJ	NICK FOLIGNO	ALEXANDER WENNBERG	BRANDON SAAD	24	16
TOR	CONNOR BROWN	ZACH HYMAN	AUSTON MATTHEWS	23	14
BOS	DAVID PASTRNAK	PATRICE BERGERON	BRAD MARCHAND	22	16
NYI	JOHN TAVARES	JOSH BAILEY	ANDERS LEE	22	18
CGY	MATTHEW TKACHUK	MIKAEL BACKLUND	MICHAEL FROLIK	21	14

Statistics courtesy Leftwinglock.com

And while the trio doesn't generate the shooting attempts that James Van Riemsdyk, Mitch Marner and Tyler Bozak do for the Toronto Maple Leafs, they've been remarkably effective in the offensive end.

The Zucker-Koivu-Granlund line leads the NHL with 35 goals as a unit, one more than Van Riemsdyk, Marner and Bozak, while converting on a blistering 14.71 percent of their shots on goal.

The website Left Wing Lock lists 10 different line combinations for the Wild this season, but only one has played together more than 10 percent of the time.

The Zucker-Koivu-Granlund line is on the ice together 16.51 percent of the time, nearly double the usage of the Wild's other lines.

Forward 1	Forward 2	Forward 3	Frequency
JASON ZUCKER	MIKKO KOIVU	MIKAEL GRANLUND	16.51%
NINO NIEDERREITER	CHARLIE COYLE	ERIC STAAL	9.91%
ZACH PARISE	CHARLIE COYLE	ERIC STAAL	7.86%
ERIK HAULA	NINO NIEDERREITER	JASON POMINVILLE	6.33%
ERIK HAULA	JASON POMINVILLE	ZACH PARISE	3.97%
JASON POMINVILLE	MIKKO KOIVU	MIKAEL GRANLUND	3.64%
CHRIS STEWART	JORDAN SCHROEDER	TYLER GRAOVAC	3.61%
ZACH PARISE	ERIC STAAL	JASON POMINVILLE	2.85%
ERIK HAULA	CHARLIE COYLE	NINO NIEDERREITER	2.63%
ZACH PARISE	MIKKO KOIVU	MIKAEL GRANLUND	2.25%

Statistics courtesy Leftwinglock.com

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