Lining Up: November 6

Brennan Des

2018-11-06

 

In this week’s installment, we take a look at the top 15 line combinations around the league (one from each team). This top 15 was determined by which lines had tallied the most even strength points so far this season. Using Dobber’s Line Production Tool, I compiled a list of the highest scoring line for each team at even strength. Here’s the list…

 

#

Team

Line

Points

1

Colorado

Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan Mackinnon – Mikko Rantanen

37

2

Buffalo

Jeff SkinnerJack EichelJason Pominville

28

3

Pittsburgh

Carl HagelinEvgeni MalkinPhil Kessel

26

4

Nashville

Filip ForsbergRyan JohansenViktor Arvidsson

24

5

Carolina

Micheal FerlandSebastian AhoTeuvo Teravainen

23

6

Boston

Brad MarchandPatrice BergeronDavid Pastrnak

21

7

Montreal

Tomas TatarPhillip DanaultBrendan Gallagher

21

8

San Jose

Tomas HertlLogan CoutureTimo Meier

21

9

Toronto

Zach HymanJohn TavaresMitchell Marner

21

10

Chicago

Alex DeBrincatJonathan ToewsDominik Kahun

18

11

Islanders

Anders LeeBrock NelsonJosh Bailey

18

12

Calgary

Johnny GaudreauSean MonahanElias Lindholm

17

13

Columbus

Artemi PanarinPierre-Luc DuboisCam Atkinson

16

14

Dallas

Jamie BennTyler SeguinAlexander Radulov

13

15

New Jersery

Taylor HallNico HischierKyle Palmieri

13

16

Anaheim

Max Comtois – Adam HenriqueJakob Silfverberg

12

17

Edmonton

Alex ChiassonLeon Draisaitl – Tobas Rieder

11

18

Florida

Nick BjugstadAleksander BarkovEvgenii Dadonov

11

19

Tampa Bay

Yanni GourdeBrayden PointTyler Johnson

11

20

Los Angeles

Alex IafalloAnze KopitarIlya Kovalchuk

10

21

Vancouver

Loui ErikssonElias PetterssonNikolay Goldobin

10

22

Vegas

Jonathan MarchessaultWilliam KarlssonReilly Smith

10

23

Arizona

Brendan PerliniDerek StepanChristian Fischer

9

24

St. Louis

David PerronRyan O’Reilly – Zach Sanford

9

25

Minnesota

Zach PariseMikko KoivuMikael Granlund

8

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26

Washington

Jakub VranaNicklas BackstromT.J. Oshie

8

27

Philadelphia

Claude GirouxSean CouturierTravis Konecny

7

28

Rangers

Chris KreiderMika ZibanejadMats Zuccarello

6

29

Ottawa

Mikkel BoedkerMatt DucheneColin White

6

30

Winnipeg

Kyle ConnorMark ScheifeleBlake Wheeler

5

31

Detroit

Darren HelmDylan LarkinGustav Nyquist

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan Mackinnon – Mikko Rantanen

As our very own Cam Robinson points out, each member of this line has been unsustainably lucky to start the season. Gabriel Landeskog’s 26.8 shooting percentage is almost double his previous career-high of 13.7%.

 

 

  1. Jeff SkinnerJack EichelJason Pominville

Since this line was put together on October 20th they are the top three scorers in the NHL. Their stats are only slightly inflated from a 9-2 win against the Senators, in which they each recorded three points.

 

  1. Carl HagelinEvgeni MalkinPhil Kessel

Evgeni Malkin is more than capable of being 100-point player in the NHL, IF he stays healthy and that’s a big IF (notice how I capitalized ‘if’ both times). Sure, he played 78 games last season, but he played 62 before that, 57 before that, 69 before that, 60 before that… I love the rush of gambling, so I’ll be holding onto Malkin and praying for his health. The smart play would probably be to capitalize on his value now and trade him for a safer option.

 

  1. Filip ForsbergRyan JohansenViktor Arvidsson

Starting from last season, this line has scored 51 goals and allowed just 23. They belong in the conversation for the best line in the league. I’m a believer that Filip Forsberg will hit 40 goals this season, for the first time in his career.

 

 

  1. Micheal FerlandSebastian AhoTeuvo Teravainen

The Hurricanes have been struggling recently, currently on a four-game losing streak during which they’ve scored just six goals. Coaches tend to mix up the lines when their team struggles, which resulted in Andrei Svechnikov taking Teravainen’s spot on this line. If you ask me, coach Rob Brind’Amour will revert back to the Ferland – Aho – Teravainen sooner rather than later.

 

 

  1. Brad MarchandPatrice BergeronDavid Pastrnak

Another trio that belongs in the conversation for best line in the league. In over 700 minutes of ice-time together (between this season and last), they sport an impressive CF% of 59.77 at even strength. If only the Bruins could get some depth scoring…

 

  1. Tomas TatarPhillip DanaultBrendan Gallagher

Montreal’s hardest working line, every single night. Phillip Danault is growing into a very effective shutdown center, Brendan Gallagher should hit 30-35 goals, and Tomas Tatar continues to generate quality chances – I just wish he’d put a few more in the back of the net.

 

  1. Tomas HertlLogan CoutureTimo Meier

For so long in San Jose, the Pavelski-Thornton line was considered the team’s best. As the Joes get older, it seems like the young blood (specifically Meier) is starting to take over. Obviously, it’s early in the season and Pavelski and Thornton haven’t played their best hockey just yet, but don’t be surprised if the Hertl-Couture-Meier line is considered San Jose’s best by the end of the season (although they won’t keep up this pace).

 

  1. Zach HymanJohn TavaresMitchell Marner

(Not so) bold prediction: John Tavares and Mitchell Marner are going to be extremely productive from now until Auston Matthews’ return.

 

  1.  Alex DeBrincatJonathan ToewsDominik Kahun

While they’ve generated more shot attempts than their opponents (54.47 Corsi for %), the opposition has created more high-danger chances (38 against vs. 27 for). While Kahun held his spot on the top line for the majority of the season, it looks like Brandon Saad might have stolen it for the time being.

 

  1.  Anders LeeBrock NelsonJosh Bailey

I respect the fact that coach Barry Trotz has created a solid team in Brooklyn, but I’m not convinced they’re as good as they appear to be. While Josh Bailey and Anders Lee have proven that they’re more than just products of John Tavares, they also aren’t point-per-game players. Sure, Brock Nelson should be more valuable than last season because he has taken on a bigger role with more ice-time, but that still doesn’t make him a must-own. Just an under the radar guy in deeper leagues. This line gets heavily outshot while they’re on the ice together, sporting a Corsi for % of just 43.

 

 

  1.  Johnny GaudreauSean MonahanElias Lindholm

Since an embarrassing 9-1 loss to the Penguins on October 25, Sean Monahan leads the league with nine points in five games, followed closely by Elias Lindholm with eight in five, and Johnny Gaudreau with seven in five.

 

  1.  Artemi PanarinPierre-Luc DuboisCam Atkinson

We learned last season that this is a very good line. They continue to show us that this season as they thoroughly outchance their opponents (78 for vs. 53 against), especially in terms of high-danger opportunities (32 for vs. 17 against).

 

  1.  Jamie BennTyler SeguinAlexander Radulov

Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin are better with Alexander Radulov than they are without him, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. However, because of Radulov’s recent injury struggles, Benn and Seguin have played more without Radulov, than they have with him. In my opinion, Jamie Benn is closer to a 75-point player than a 65-point player (he’s currently on pace for 65 points), so now might be a good time to try and make a move for him.

 

  1.  Taylor HallNico HischierKyle Palmieri

After taking a look at the advanced stats, I’ve come to the conclusion that this trio’s even-strength point production should be much better. They outshoot their opponents, they outchance their opponents, but most notably – they create more high-danger opportunities (40 for vs 19 against). Kyle Palmieri has 15 points – seven of which have come at even strength, Nico Hischier has 10 points – five of which have come at even strength, and Taylor Hall has 14 points – four of which have come at even strength.

 

Follow me on Twitter @BrennanDeSouza for the latest line combinations and injury updates!

 

 

 

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UPCOMING GAMES

Mar 28 - 19:03 OTT vs CHI
Mar 28 - 19:03 TOR vs WSH
Mar 28 - 19:03 MTL vs PHI
Mar 28 - 19:03 PIT vs CBJ
Mar 28 - 19:03 FLA vs NYI
Mar 28 - 19:03 CAR vs DET
Mar 28 - 20:03 MIN vs S.J
Mar 28 - 20:03 STL vs CGY
Mar 28 - 20:03 WPG vs VGK
Mar 28 - 21:03 EDM vs L.A
Mar 28 - 21:03 COL vs NYR
Mar 28 - 22:03 SEA vs ANA
Mar 28 - 22:03 VAN vs DAL
Mar 28 - 22:03 ARI vs NSH

Starting Goalies

Top Skater Views

  Players Team
TAGE THOMPSON BUF
JJ PETERKA BUF
ANTHONY DUCLAIR T.B
JORDAN GREENWAY BUF
JURAJ SLAFKOVSKY MTL

Top Goalie Profile Views

  Players Team
ALEKSEI KOLOSOV PHI
JOONAS KORPISALO OTT
KAREL VEJMELKA ARI
UKKO-PEKKA LUUKKONEN BUF
JUSTUS ANNUNEN COL

LINE COMBOS

  Frequency N.J Players
23.0 TIMO MEIER NICO HISCHIER JESPER BRATT
21.9 ONDREJ PALAT TOMAS NOSEK DAWSON MERCER
13.0 JACK HUGHES ALEXANDER HOLTZ ERIK HAULA

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