Good day to all the readers. Aaron here with this week’s ‘Lining Up’. I am going to look at a couple of lines that have been cold over the last 10 games. I have compiled a list of the top lines but put them backwards to show the lines performing poorly. I will also take a look at the injury to Tomas Hertl and who his line replacement will be. Plus, I will give you who I think you should pick up to replace the injured Hertl.

Buffalo Sabres

Jack Eichel – Zemgus Girgensons – Sam Reinhart

The top line for the Buffalo Sabres has been playing poorly over the last 10 games at even strength. As you can see, they have combined for a measly four points over that span. I will add that over the last 10 games Eichel and Reinhart were also paired with Jimmy Vesey, but they have also only managed four points when paired together.

Jack Eichel

The top player for the Sabres has still been able to get into the points column as he has been hot, scoring 14 points in 13 games. However, with the above line he has just seven points at even strength. Not terrible but for a player scoring at 1.27 points per game he could be better. Losing Victor Olofsson from this line due to an injury has put the whole Sabres lineup in despair as they try and find a suitable replacement. For the season Eichel does have 24 goals and 20 assists at even strength so if anyone can get this line going it would be Eichel.

Zemgus Girgensons

Over the last 10 games for Zemgus, the only stat that has been consistent is his hitting. He is averaging just over two hits per game. He has been playing about 14 minutes per night and with that has scored 3 goals and has added one assist Zemgus has never really been a scorer so having him up on the top line doesn’t really make a lot of sense except for his physicality. Right now, I would not think of picking him up as this spot on the top line has bounced around to a couple of different players over the last 10 games.

Sam Reinhart

Currently on fire over his last 11 games scoring 12 points, Sam Reinhart is however still struggling a bit at even strength. During his hot streak five of his points have come on the power play. Reinhart has been the one stable addition to Eichel’s line. Reinhart has been inching closer to becoming a point per game player. Right now he is scoring .83 points per game which is a career best. In 52 games this year Reinhart has 13 goals and 19 assists at even strength. If you wanted to own a piece of this line, Reinhart would be who I would be trying to add to my team as he would be the cheapest add that will still produce for your team.

Nashville Predators

Matt Duchene – Filip Forsberg – Mikael Granlund

The Nashville Predators have not been good this season at putting together any type of streak in a positive nature. They fired their coach and hired John Hynes in hopes it would get the team moving in the right direction. It has made the team more competitive on a nightly basis as they are showing a no quit attitude. In the last ten games the Preds have a record of five wins and five losses. If they want to start winning more games and get into the last wild card spot they are going to need a lot more than five points of production from this line.

Matt Duchene

Known in fantasy circles as Matt ‘I only score in contract years’ Duchene, he has been pretty cold most of the season. In the last 10 games he has two goals and four assists. As an almost point per game player in contract years, this production doesn’t cut it. On the season Duchene is up to seven goals and 18 assists at even strength. He is down almost one and a half minutes in ice time which could be a small contributor to his lower point totals. With Coach Hynes at the helm I don’t see things getting much better for Duchene. Hynes likes to even out the offense as much as he can so I think ice time will be down for the foreseeable future. I would only be happy using Duchene in dailies when I know the matchup is good. Mike sure you use Dobber’s player vs, opponent tool when trying to find a positive match up.

Filip Forsberg

Currently listed as hot after scoring five points in four games, Forsberg is the only player on this line that I would be happy owning. Over his last ten games he has put up nine points, five of them have been at even strength. On the season he is up to 13 goals and 12 assists at even strength. His shooting percentage is also around his career mark so there is a good chance he can still get to 30 goals on the season. He isn’t lined up with another good finisher so I do expect his assists to be lower than his career norms. I do think he tops last year's 50 points, but I don’t think he gets to 60. I do think this is a down year so if you can manage to grab Forsberg in keeper league it might be a good move for the future.

Mikael Granlund

This season Granlund is having his worst statistical season of his young career. His point-per-game numbers haven’t been this low since his rookie season. This year he is up to eight goals and seven assists which really isn’t enough to be lining up on this top line for the Predators. I know Hynes is trying to split up the offense to generate more but I think until Granlund shows he deserves to be on a scoring line someone else should be in his place. I don’t see much fantasy relevance right now. In his last ten games at even strength Granlund has two points. Look elsewhere if you are trying to add some offense to your team.

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San Jose Sharks

Not much has gone right for the San Jose Sharks this season. Head Coach Peter DeBoer was fired. Captain Logan Couture fractured his ankle and will be out long term. Now Tomas Hertl has been declared out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL and MCL. This is a big blow to their offense as two of their better goal scorers are out long term. In the Sharks first game without Hertl they went with a line of Barclay Goodrow, Evander Kane, and Timo Meier. If you are looking for a replacement for Hertl and you have to go to the waiver wire, I would stay away from any of the above mentioned Sharks players and instead look elsewhere. A couple of players to look at are listed below.

Andrew Burakovsky of the Colorado Avalanche looks to be heating up again. He has seven points in his last four games.

Anthony Cirelli of the Tampa Bay Lightning has 10 points in his last seven games and is available in about 38 percent of Fantrax leagues.

Kevin Hayes of the Philadelphia Flyers has six points in his last five games and could be heating up at the right moment to be plucked off the wire.

Philip Danualt of the Montreal Canadiens is getting top line minutes and his line mate Brendan Gallagher has returned so he is being put into a good situation to succeed.

Zach Hyman of the Toronto Maple Leafs has five points in his last four games and is playing on the top scoring line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. He is available in almost half the Fantrax leagues.

Eric Staal of the Minnesota Wild has put up six points in his last five games and is on the Wild’s top scoring line and power play.