For most of last year, the Minnesota Wild could count on reliable production from the "second" line.
"Second" is in quotations because the unit made up of Jordan Greenway, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Marcus Foligno was anything but secondary in its dominance last season. Amongst line combinations with over 250 minutes together, that line was third in expected goals share (65.69 percent), sixth in on-ice goals for percentage (67.93) and 14th in shots on goal for percentage (53.06) according to Evolving-Hockey. When your "second" line is in amongst names like the Colorado Avalanche’s top line of MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Landeskog, the Toronto Maple Leafs power trio of Matthews, Marner, and Hyman; and the top line of the Vegas Golden Knights led by Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty, you know you have a winner.