Ottawa Senators - "The Cash Line"
Daniel Alfredsson at right wing
Dany Heatley at left wing
Jason Spezza at centre

They were originally known as the “CASH Line,” because it was an acronym for Captain Alfredsson, Spezza and Heatley - and because they were money in big situations.

But the “Pizza Line” moniker soon took hold, thanks largely to the fact that the Senators were forced to change an in-game promotion for free pizza due to the prolific scoring from their newly-formed unit.

The promotion by Pizza Pizza in which fans holding a ticket stub would get a free slice if the Senators scored five or more goals. This happened 10 times out of the 41 regular-season home games in the 2005-06 season. Before the Pizza Line, the chain rarely had to worry about giving out free pizza.

“I enjoyed it when Pizza Pizza moved the threshold from five goals to six goals,” says Heatley. “That made us feel pretty good.”

In their first season together, which was the year after the lockout, they put up 296 points together with Alfredsson hitting 103 points (43 goals, 60 assists) in 77 games, Heatly also hit 103 points (50 goals, 53 assists) and Spezza hit 90 points (19 goals 71 assists).

Heatly registered a 22 consecutive game point streak, setting a franchise record. Heatley’s 22 game streak is the 2nd longest point streak in NHL history, just behind Gretzky’s 23 game streak. During this season, Heatly also hit the 50 goal mark, the first time in Ottawa history.

The Pizza Line reached its pinnacle in the spring of 2007, with the three Ottawa linemates finishing at 1-2-3 in Stanley Cup playoff scoring with 22 points apiece. But the Senators lost to Anaheim in the Stanley Cup Final in five games and things took a downward spiral from there.