Hounding pucks and blooming offense: Chemistry strong amid steady Bolts trio

Zemgus Girgensons, Yanni Gourde and Pontus Holmberg haven’t been given a nickname by their teammates yet as NHL forward trios sometimes see following extended time playing together, but if the physical Tampa Bay Lightning trio keep up their recent production, it’s likely only a matter of time.

The line has provided snarl and scoring for the Lightning this season while being one of the team’s most consistent forward combinations since its regular season debut in October.

As head coach Jon Cooper and the Lightning have reworked lines in search of the perfect 2025-26 lineup, one combination has held steady, particularly over the past two months—No. 28 on the left wing, No. 37 in the middle and No. 29 on the right side.

Their chemistry keeps them together, as does their pushback.

“They're a little bit of a pain to play against,” Cooper said Thursday. “I think they relish that role they have. They just check a lot of boxes. They can skate, they can lean on you, they can puck possess, they can shift the momentum of a game. And more often than not, they're winning their shifts. So, when you get a line that's winning their shifts, it's pretty hard to break them up.”

The line is on its best offensive stretch of the season heading into Friday’s matchup with the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center, one in which the Lightning (29-13-3 this season) can set a new franchise record with a 12th consecutive win.

A natural fit

Girgensons and Gourde were the forwards who combined on the 2-on-1 rush that set up JJ Moser’s 1-0 goal in the third period of Tuesday’s 2-1 shootout win in Pittsburgh. Girgensons now holds a four-game point streak—the longest of his 12-year NHL career—with a goal and four points.

His new linemates have offered a natural fit.

“We definitely think the game the same way,” Girgensons said. "There’s a little difference, every player has it, but we think the game similarly, so it's easy to read where each guy's gonna go. I think that's why it's been very easy from the start.”

Girgensons has six goals and 11 points in 38 games this season after scoring two goals and six points in 82 games for the Lightning in 2024-25, his first season with the team.

Gourde also holds a four-game point streak entering Friday.

He played 18 minutes, 48 seconds in Tuesday’s win in Pittsburgh, one of his highest totals of the season. He is up to 17 points this season, all at even strength.

“We read off each other well, and we know what we want to accomplish with the next play. It makes us play fast and play into the structure that we want to play,” Gourde said of his line’s success. “Keeping a simple game helps the three of us, and knowing where the next play is going to be dictates it a little bit, and then we look fast and we look in-sync. I think that's our biggest strength.”

Holmberg opened the scoring only 70 seconds into Monday’s win in Philadelphia and has six points over his last 11 games. He has already matched his NHL career high in goals, scoring seven through his first 38 games as a Bolt.

The line is often tasked with tough matchups, starting games against other teams’ top lines and shifts in the defensive zone. Still, the offense has been there for all three players of late, helping the Lightning establish the longest winning streak by any NHL organization this season.

“That's what we want to do,” Gourde said of chipping in offensively. “Playing against top lines has its own responsibility itself, but you have to produce offensively too whenever you can. That's a team thing, and everybody wants to be on the scoreboard. We take a lot of pride in playing well defensively, but obviously we want to help the team win games on the scoresheet as well.”

And while the line won’t stop focusing on where it all begins—solid defense—they are enjoying their recent offensive rupture.

“From the time you’re a kid, anytime you get to score a goal, especially in the NHL, it's a good feeling,” Girgensons said. “But it's something that you put on the back end, where you have different jobs to accomplish first, and then in the process that comes. But, yeah, it's an amazing feeling when it goes in.”

Holmberg agreed.

“I think if we have scoring chances we can score more,” the Swede said after a recent game, “but for us the most important thing is playing good hockey in all three zones. And I think we’re doing that really well right now, so let’s keep going with that.”