Let's have a look at the hottest lines in the National Hockey League since the beginning of the season, including a few defensemen producing offensively. You will also find below the "Cold as ice" line and duo of the week.

Hot forwards

Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton)

Maroon has taken advantage of the opportunity to play with McDavid, recording four goals and one assist in his last four games. The towering winger has been a steady point producer since joining Edmonton midway through last season. He potted 14 points in 16 contests in 2015-16 and he now has 37 points, including 25 goals, in 72 games this year. Maroon will have good value as long as he stays on the top line. With one goal and eight assists for nine points in his last four games, Draisaitl is having a breakout season so far. Enjoy the offensive outburst while it lasts, but he will most likely reach the 75-point mark, which is very impressive. He currently has 24 goals and 41 assists for 65 points in 72 games on the Oilers' first line. After a very bad game against Montreal (0 points and a minus-3 rating), McDavid has bounced back with two goals and five assists for seven points in his past four games. With the sophomore pivot being healthy this season, he is currently battling Sidney Crosby and Brad Marchand for the scoring title with 82 points (25 goals) in 72 games. He could reach the 100-point plateau if he has a few multi-point games.

Overall Production = 184 points

PP Production = 50 points

Conor Sheary – Sidney Crosby – Jake Guentzel (Pittsburgh)

With six goals and four assists for 10 points in his last five games, Sid the Kid is now ranked 2nd in NHL scoring with 40 goals and 40 assists for 80 points in only 65 games. Even if he missed the first six games of the year due to concussion symptoms, Crosby keeps finding his name on the scoresheet, on pace for over 100 points for the first time since 2013-14. Guentzel, the rookie who's coming out of nowhere, has 10 points in his last seven games on the Penguins' first line. The rookie has been impressive playing alongside Malkin and now with Crosby. Guentzel now has 11 goals and 25 points in 34 contests, which is very solid considering that he had only played 44 games in the AHL prior to his call-up. As for the speedy Sheary, he has been blazing hot over the last two weeks, potting 12 points in only eight games for Pittsburgh. With 20 goals and 27 assists for 47 points in only 51 games, Sheary is scoring at almost one point per game and he should hit the 60-point mark if he manages to stick with Crosby. He has almost quintupled last season's totals of 10 points already and I'm glad I picked him up in my deepest keeper league.

Overall Production = 152 points

PP Production = 26 points

Dynamic duo

Jaccob Slavin – Justin Faulk (Carolina)

Maybe the best unknown defenseman in the NHL, Slavin has six points in his last five games, including his first career hat trick. The sophomore rearguard now has a very respectable five goals and 25 assists for 30 points in 70 games for the lowly Hurricanes. He potted 20 points in 62 games as a rookie in 2015-16. His partner, the offensive-minded Faulk, has the same total of points with 30 (14 goals and 16 assists), albeit in 63 games. Faulk is somewhat hot with three goals and five points in his last eight games. After a career year in 2014-15, during which he recorded a solid 49 points, he is back to his usual production of 35-40 points a year.

Overall Production = 60 points

PP Production = 13 points

Cold as ice line

Zack Smith – Kyle Turris – Bobby Ryan (Ottawa)

With only two points in his last seven contests, Turris is struggling like most of the Senators' forwards recently. With 23 goals and 23 assists for 46 points in 68 games, the team's number one pivot is still on pace to get around 55 points, which is on par with his usual production. With no single point in his last five games, the inconsistent Ryan is mired in a season-long slump. Usually good for around 55 points each year, the right winger has only 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 points in 54 games. While he has been hampered by injuries all year, Ryan is struggling way too much for the talent he has… he's on pace for only 28 points! The last member of this line is Smith, who is also struggling with zero points in his past six games. While he has more points than Ryan with 32 (he has 16 goals and 16 assists in 68 games), he has slowed down mightily after a torrid start and he is now pace to his usual output and should finish with close to 40 points.

EV Strength Production = 102 points

PP Production = 20 points

Cold as ice duo

Mattias Ekholm – PK Subban (Nashville)

After a very good season during which he recorded 35 points in 82 games in 2015-16, Ekholm will not be able to repeat this offensive output, especially after being held off the scoresheet in his past 10 games. Overall, he has only three goals and 18 assists for 21 points 72 games for Nashville. He has lost most of his power-play time to Ryan Ellis, so his value has dropped dramatically in most fantasy formats. His partner is the flashy Subban, who has only one assist in his last four games. The Subbanator has been widely inconsistent all season and hampered by an upper-body injury, which is reflected in his offensive numbers. In 58 games, the charismatic defenseman has only eight goals and 27 assists for 35 points. He is on pace for only 40 points, which is 10 less than last year (51) in approximately the same number of games.

Overall Production = 56 points

PP Production = 18 points