Between the Lines: Week Three

Chris Wassel

2014-10-21

JeffCarter

Who were the league’s hottest lines in Week Three?

October is rapidly moving along and yet there are key injuries already wreaking havoc to your fantasy line combinations. The big one is down in Tampa Bay as Victor Hedman is day to day at the moment with a hand injury. What line combinations were on fire last week? Let's go "Between The Lines".

Lead Us Forwards

Jeff Carter-Tanner Pearson-Tyler Toffoli (LA Kings) — The "Leisure Suit Larry" line had nine points while on the ice together last week to lead the way. Tanner Pearson had five points while Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli had four each. Los Angeles had a strange sort of week that saw little else other than this trio score and that is not exactly sustainable. For now, it will do as long as the points keep on coming. There is no reason why to think they will stop dramatically this upcoming week.

David Desharnais–Brendan Gallagher–Max Pacioretty (Montreal) — What happens when you put together a power forward sniper, a pivot, and a bull? Honestly, you get a pretty damn good fantasy hockey week. This trio racked up nine points while playing on the same line. Ironically it was Gallagher, who had a huge two-goal, one-assist breakout performance against Boston that really turned some heads. The question is will Gallagher return to his other line with Tomas Plekanec and Alex Galchenyuk? That is something only Michel Therrien knows. Stay tuned because Montreal definitely is dialed in.

Cam Atkinson–Nick Foligno–Ryan Johansen (Columbus) — Who need training camp? Just ask Ryan Johansen, who looks like he didn't lose a beat from last year's 63-point campaign. Nick Foligno has a brute strength but can contribute offensively while Cam Atkinson is never afraid to shoot or make plays. Combine that with the presence of Ryan Johansen and you have a hard working yet high scoring line. Their point scoring charts are a must read on Frozen Pool if you have a chance. Point potential wise this could be the top line for the season. Act accordingly barring injury of course.

Tyler Bozak–Phil Kessel-James Van Riemsdyk (Toronto) — Like Jason Voorhees, this trio seems to find their way on this list more often than not. The line frequency at even strength has the top line number one at 32.5% but not by much. However, they are played 60.2% of the time on Toronto's power play or about 1:12 for every two minutes. Honestly I thought it would be more but they did have seven points combined. Phil Kessel can carry Tyler Bozak to another very good fantasy season while James Van Riemsdyk just continues to keep on keeping on. Will Nazem Kadri ever get a chance on the first line? That doesn't appear likely.

Defend This

Mark Giordano–T.J. Brodie (Calgary) — They were lightly mentioned the last two weeks but this week they are the top dogs with six points when on the ice together. Their points percentage on ice was 86.7% as T.J. Brodie led the duo with four points to Giordano's three. The duo was seventh and eighth in ice time on the week. Expect them to be in or close to the top ten from here on out as Calgary has to rely on them more. Point streaks aside, these two should be on your fantasy hockey team one way or the other. Even their power-play potential is top-five-duo worthy according to Neil Parker.

Mike Green-Nate Schmidt (Washington) — Yes I am scared but Mike Green was a fantasy gem last week with four points. The duo overall had five points and even for daily fantasy purposes, I played Green against Florida and was rewarded pretty handsomely. It's a funny business sometimes and oddball pairings will occasionally appear here early in the season. In season long leagues, it is a marathon and not a sprint. Don\t panic until you see the next line duo because yes this stings.

Victor Hedman–Anton Stralman(Tampa Bay) — So Victor Hedman was on his way to an unbelievable fantasy hockey season until he broke his finger blocking a shot. Surgery was needed and he will miss 4-6 weeks. Hedman had four more points this week and was on his way to an Erik Karlsson like or better campaign. Anton Stralman was no slouch with a couple points but figures to move up to the number one power play unit with the Hedman injury. Who will be on Stralman's side at even strength? That is the real question. Some say Matt Carle and others disagree. It could even be Radko Gudas or another option. Just stay tuned.

As always you can follow me @ChrisWasselTHW and thanks for reading. See you next week with four more line combination and three pairings for "Between The Lines".