Jaden Schwartz sparked his line to a big week

Week 22 is here but for some it is Week 20 or 21. It just depends on the league you are in. The reality is it is not time to mince words. Instead, let's go "Between The Lines".

Lead Us Forwards

It was time for a little change-up this week.

Patrik Berglund-Jaden Schwartz-Vladimir Tarasenko (St. Louis) — This is a bit of a surprise. However, among three forwards units, this trio had 12 points when together. Jaden Schwartz had the most with six and Vladimir Tarasenko had five. Remember these guys do not even play on the man advantage together and only are on the ice 22.7% of the time compared to around 40% for the David Backes line. It will be interesting to see what line frequency this trio has next week.

Jarome Iginla-David Krejci-Milan Lucic (Boston) — The top line in Boston had another double digit week with 11 points. David Krejci had a hat trick one night then tacked on two more assists. Jarome Iginla also had five points and Milan Lucic chipped in with four. Their physicality against certain teams is just too much for the East to handle. The interesting aspect was that Lucic was more of the playmaker last week and it could be fun to see how these guys continue to mesh on the man advantage as their ice time inches upward again.

Jamie Benn-Rich Peverley, Tyler Seguin (Dallas) — At this rate, Tyler Seguin will just have a statue erected in his honor for most prolific short term fantasy streaks in a season. All kidding aside, this first line had 11 points when playing together but had a whopping 12 as a four man unit when Alex Chiasson was combined with them. Tyler Seguin had nine points alone and was named first star this week by the NHL. The last two weeks have been a bonanza for Seguin owners and really that should continue with some tempered expectations this week.

Matt Duchene-P.A. Parenteau-Ryan O'Reilly (Colorado) — Their power play potential could be off the charts if they converted even a third of their chances. That was the first thing Ryan Miller said over the weekend after playing Colorado. As it was, these three players had 10 points when on the ice at the same time. Duchene and O'Reilly were under four minutes of power play time per game while the Seguin line was around 5:30 a contest, yet the point production was almost similar. This line could approach 40% frequencies depending on how long Paul Stastny is out for. Get them in your lineup.

Defend This

Jan Hejda-Erik Johnson (Colorado) — Yes they feed off the top six because they are the top pairing, but give Erik Johnson credit as he has played very well this year. Johnson had six points overall on the week while only seeing 24:03 of ice time (27th). Finally, he is playing like the number one pick everyone thought and on a consistent basis. Johnson just needed the right coach and Jan Hejda is enjoying a renaissance playing a more defensive role with a little offensive upside. By the way, five of Johnson's six points came on even strength.

Braydon Coburn-Kimmo Timonen (Philadelphia) — Kimmo Timomen doesn't look ready to leave for Finland yet after a five point week. Meanwhile, Braydon Coburn has picked up his defensive game and looks a lot like the guy he did three to four years ago. He fills a lot of stat categories for defensemen, even penalty minutes. Honestly, Timonen has a bit of a sustainability issue at his age but he will produce weeks like this from time-to-time. Coburn is actually the better play.

T.J. Brodie-Mark Giordano (Calgary) — Calgary has a pretty nice top-four defensive corps when you think about it. T.J Brodie and Mark Giordano as the top pairing is quite amazing considering the injuries to the forwards. They had four points combined and could have had more. The duo plays solid defense and moves the puck better than most pairings. Their frequencies are high at even strength but both show few signs of slowing down.

As always you can follow me @ChrisWasselTHW and thanks again for reading. Good luck this week as the fantasy hockey world heads toward the fantasy playoffs.

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