'Legion of Doom' line reunited

TORONTO -- Eric Lindros had the puck on his stick. Mikael Renberg was trying to wheel up the ice with him. John LeClair already had a step on the defender.
Zip. Lindros found him. Tape-to-tape. In alone went LeClair on Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

Goal.
"Johnny ripped a good one," Lindros said.
And with that, the famous Philadelphia Flyers "Legion of Doom" line finally announced its presence again, this time at the annual Hockey Hall of Fame Legends Classic at Air Canada Centre.
It was the first time Lindros, LeClair and Renberg, arguably the NHL's most dominant line in the mid-1990s, reconnected on the ice in nearly two decades.

They gathered in Toronto to celebrate Lindros' induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame along with fellow Class of 2016 inductees Rogie Vachon, Sergei Makarov and Pat Quinn, posthumously.
"You can never realize what it's going to be like to be back together again, but you know, when we get back on the ice, even though it's, what 15 or 20 years ago, I kind of know where Eric is going to be and where John is going to be," Renberg said. "It's a good feeling."
The "Legion of Doom" line, which got its nickname from former Flyers forward Jim Montgomery, dominated for three seasons from the lockout shortened 1994-95 season through the 1996-97 season, when the Flyers went to the Stanley Cup Final.
Lindros, LeClair and Renberg combined for 666 points (305 goals, 361 assists) in those three seasons. They scored another 130 points in the Stanley Cup Playoff games, including 58 in the 1997 playoffs.
They were broken up after the 1996-97 season because Renberg was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Chris Gratton. Renberg went back to Philadelphia two years later, but the line was never the same.
It finally was again Sunday. It felt like old times for the three forwards.
"It's great to see these guys," Lindros said. "The hockey is a little suspect, but the rest of it just feels like we haven't skipped a beat."

The Hall of Fame did what the Flyers tried to do and could not get done in 2012.
The Flyers tried to get the "Legion of Doom" line back together for the alumni game prior to the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Lindros and LeClair returned, but Renberg was covering the IIHF World Junior Championship for Swedish television and couldn't make it.
"I've seen them a few times after the years we had, but this is the first time I've played with them, so it's good to be back on the ice with them too," Renberg said.
LeClair credited Renberg, who still lives in Sweden, as the main reason why they got back together this time.
"Renny is the big one that has to put in the big effort so it's nice," LeClair said. "It's nice that Renny came all the way over. It really is."
Renberg indicated that this was one weekend he wasn't going to miss.
"I'm just proud to be here and be a part of this moment [for Lindros]," he said. "It's so well deserved too. I'm just so proud of Eric. It's just great to have him in the Hall of Fame."

Renberg then explained what it was like to be on Lindros' line.
"When Eric got the puck and he started to skate you just made sure you joined the attack because you knew you were going to get a chance to score," Renberg said. "You knew that he had the capacity to create at least one scoring chance per shift and as a winger with him you just have to join the attack to be there with him."
He and LeClair were both with him for their first shift back together Sunday. Lindros found LeClair with a beauty of a pass. LeClair buried it.
The same might happen again on Jan. 14 at Wells Fargo Arena, when the "Legion of Doom" line is expected to be together again for an alumni game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"I saw a few fans [Saturday] and they were happy that we were together again," Renberg said. "If it means a lot to them, it means a lot to me."