Between the Lines: Week 18
Chris Wassel
2015-02-03
The hottest lines in fantasy hockey for Week 18.
This is a normal week for a change. Kindly keep in mind, the Kevin Shattenkirk injuy. Note the power play theme at first. Now it is time to go "Between The Lines".
Lead Us Forwards
Jamie Benn–Jason Spezza–Tyler Seguin–Patrick Eaves (Dallas) – Simply this is a line that must score or else especially when they are the four man unit. Overall, they racked up ten points on the week while together. Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin had nine points by themselves when they played. With the schedule coming up considered a pretty favorable one as far as offense, this four man unit is going to benefit greatly. They are going to need it considering how many goals Dallas gives up per game of late. Good luck!
Jonathan Drouin-Alex Killorn-Cedric Paquette (Tampa Bay) – It mostly spawned because of the unexpected Cedric Paquette hat-trick. However, it appears that Jonathan Drouin, Alex Killorn and Cedric Paquette have worked together for years but no it was just this season. Paquette had five goals on the week as the trio had ten points combined in total. This is a third line that can be a lethal difference as the regular season heads into your fantasy hokey playoffs. The schedule for Week 18 is not easy but not cringe worthy to say the least.
Patrick Kane–Patrick Sharp–Brad Richards (Chicago) – For Chicago, it was a pretty damn good week until they ran into San Jose. The result was a shutout from Antti Niemi as he made 31 saves in that victory. The Patrick Kane line generated some top flight scoring chances but Niemi was there to answer the bell every chance he was challenged. Chicago juggled their lines but this one was on the ice as a whole the second most last week. They did have eight points while together but that usually only take a few scoring plays to rack up. Let's see what Week 18 may bring.
Defend This
Roman Josi–Shea Weber (Nashville) – This duo finished with a whopping nine points while on the ice at the same time and could have had more. That is the scary part. All of their points were scored while the pairing was on the ice. They were two of the top eight leaders in ice time. As a matter of fact their ATOI was only off by a second. Pairing these guys in DFS leagues has even become a bit of a wise choice as they wreaked havoc during the week then had a few more points against Pittsburgh. They are leading the way!
Kristopher Letang-Paul Martin (Pittsburgh) – It is a funny thing but aside from the skunk on Sunday, Pittsburgh fared pretty well thanks to Kris Letang. Even Paul Martin contributed as the two defensemen gobbled up six points while playing at the same time. Despite an injury scare, Letang was among the tops on the list with ample power play time and seven points. At times, it feels like the defense runs through Letang and that is not a bad thing. The Christian Ehrhoff injury only puts a little more pressure on pairing number one but so far, so good!
John Klingberg-Alex Goligoski (Dallas) – If we see them this week that would not be surprised. It is what we muttered at the end of last week as the pairing combined for five points. They seem to have real chemistry when together but sometimes Klingberg plays at the soul defenseman on the power play and he racked up a couple points there. Either way, this is one that could have quite a few points as their power play point potential is high. This can be often underestimated until you realize that Klingberg often can play almost the whole 2:00 on the man advantage.
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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".