Predicting Three Unpredictable Forward Line Combinations for the 2026-27 Dallas Stars

Things don't always go to plan, but that's not always a bad thing

Something I’ve been doing out of habit for the past couple seasons is writing down all the starting forward lines and defense pairings for each game. It’s partly done out of a need to do something in the dreary 15 minutes between warmups and puck drop, but it’s also a habit borne out of an eye toward posterity, as I find it convenient¹ for my purposes to be able to look back and see how any given game months in the past began.

There are much more sophisticated charts at places like Natural Stat Trick and HockeyViz that can show you more detail about when and with whom players actually share the ice, but there’s something about how a coach chooses to begin a game that I find interesting. As much as we want to know “what the lines are,” the reality is that in today’s NHL, most lines are quite fluid, with forward trios changing depending on time, score, and even which zone a shift is beginning in.

Injuries also have a big impact on said combinations, as you can see by the forward group the Stars trotted out to start a 5pm home game against Chicago in early March, in the 63rd game of the year:

Robertson-Johnston-Bourque
Steel-Duchene-Benn
Bunting-Hryckowian-Erne
Blackwell-Bäck-Bastian

Now compare that to how they started back in the first game of the season in Winnipeg, without Jamie Benn or Oskar Bäck available:

Steel-Hintz-Rantanen
Robertson-Johnston-Bourque
Blackwell-Duchene-Seguin
Hryckowian-Faksa-Bastian

None of those eight trios would start a single playoff game together, and for many different reasons. The top line is the thing that draws one’s eye, though. When Mikko Rantanen returned (though not fully recovered) from his knee injury late in the season, Wyatt Johnston reunited with him immediately, which had cascading effects for the rest of the forwards.

And in Game 6, facing elimination, the Stars loaded up the top line in exigency with Jason Robertson on the wing, only to see a 2-1 lead in the game turn out the way Dallas’s 2-1 lead in the series had done:

That up there is a good reminder of just how much is certain to change from the start of a season to its finish. Justin Hryckowian went from battling for a fourth-line roster spot in training camp to being the spark plug for a 45-goal scorer and a superstar winger in the postseason. In the long run, players shape the lineup as much as coaches do.

So as we look ahead to this season, I can’t help but wonder what surprises are in store for this year when it comes to linemates. We know that NHL coaches are constantly tinkering and searching for chemistry, and the balance between giving a line time to find a rhythm is dangerously close to the time it takes for a trio to start stagnating. It’s a fine balance, and it’s one made more complex when players are unavailable for short or extended stretches of the season.

Sure, we could wait and see what happens, then delight in whatever surprises come our way. But if you’re reading about hockey on July 31, then you’re a real Greedy Gus for this stuff, and I’m here to help. So today, I wanted to consider three line combinations that I genuinely think we could see at some point as the season wears on.

Maybe these possibilities will be surprising to you, or maybe not. I don’t know what’s going on inside your head, and frankly, that’s for the best.