This week's 'Lining Up' I will look at the upcoming schedule and see which lines might have a good chance at performing well. I have also compiled a list of the top lines at even strength over the last three games. I will look over the hottest lines and give my opinion on who you might be worthy of a pick-up.

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For the remainder of the week, we have ten teams that play four games. I have put together a list of the upcoming schedule.

Tampa Bay Lightning

As you can see above, the Lightning still have four games to play this week. They have three games against three teams that have the ability to allow a lot of goals against. I mentioned last week that Ondrej Palat was moved up to the top line with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov. Well if you want to take advantage of a four-game week I would make the move and grab Palat from the waiver wire. He is still available in 39 percent of Fantrax leagues. I took a look at Dobber's player vs opponent tool. When I pulled up Palat's stats for his last ten games against Toronto it showed he had just four points. Then I looked up the other three teams the Lightning play this week and Palat has done considerably better against each of them. Against all three teams, he has scored eight points in 10 games each. So if you are looking for a player that might have the ability to go off this week, I would look to Ondrej Palat.

Ottawa Senators

I know what you are thinking: what exactly could be positive with the Senators schedule this week. Well, they play against two teams that are also in the basement of the league and then they move on to Chicago who at times has had lots of trouble keeping the puck out of the net this year. They will certainly be in for a difficult game when they go into St. Louis to face the Stanley Cup Champions. One player that perks my ears up a bit is Colin White. He has been paired with Bobby Ryan and Brady Tkachuk. In three games against Anaheim, he has done pretty well, scoring two goals and adding an assist. Against Los Angeles, he has played two games and scored one goal. His best stats come against the Blackhawks where in four games he has put up five points. Over his last four games, he has also scored four points so he could be heating up. He is available in 78 percent of Fantrax leagues so if you are looking for an outside of the box option then Colin White might be for you.

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As I mentioned earlier, I have compiled a list of the hottest lines over the last three games. I grabbed all the info from Dobber's line production tool.

You will notice that two teams at the bottom of the list failed to record a point at even strength. Dallas was shut out twice by Nashville where Nashville scored five power play goals all week. If you look at the top of the list you'll notice a player that has recently came back from a mini retirement. His line played well last week so we will start with them.

Carolina Hurricanes

Brock McGinn – Jordan Staal – Justin Williams

This line combined for nine points at even strength. I could have put them in the above category as well as the Hurricanes also play four games this week.

Brock McGinn
Over his last three games, Brock has put up two assists while paired with his line mates. On the season he has only put up seven goals and nine assists which makes him practically irrelevant in fantasy hockey. Let's move on.

Jordan Staal

The 13-year veteran has been hot over his last four games scoring four points. On the season he has six goals and 18 assists at even strength. Staal is a great two-way centre that can play up and down the line-up. He currently finds himself on this line in more of a shutdown role. If you are looking for a player that is hot and plays a lot this week then you may want to grab him off the waiver wire.

Justin Williams

Scoring five points in his last four games, Williams is starting to heat up at the right moment as his Hurricanes try and make their final push for a playoff spot. In 19 games this season he has six goals and two assists at even strength. Mr. Game seven would be the player on this line that I would want to own for the upcoming week as a secondary scorer as he is getting points every other game.

Minnesota Wild

Marcus Foligno – Alex Galchenyuk – Mats Zuccarello

As the Minnesota wild fight for the last wild card spot in the Western Conference, they will need all the secondary scoring they can get. Over the last three games, this line has supplied plenty of offence, compiling eight points.

Marcus Foligno

The banger of the line, Foligno has put up 184 hits so far this season to go with his 11 goals and 14 assists. He has already beat his career-high in points and is looking to continue to add to it. If he stays hot like he has over the last three games scoring one goal and adding two assists then he should easily get over the 30-point mark.

Alex Galchenyuk

After starting the season in Pittsburgh where he was put into a position to make an impact, he turned out to be a total dud. Pittsburgh unloaded him to Minnesota where he has ended up on this line. His career with the Wild started slowly but over his last three games, he has two goals and one assist. I am not sure I would run out and grab him just yet but keep an eye out for the WIld stat sheets as he may have finally found some chemistry with his linemates.

Mats Zuccarello

When Zuccarello landed in Minnesota, I really thought it was going to be a good spot for him to perform. He was given top-line duty to start the season, but he never really exploded with offence. He does have the most points on this line scoring 12 goals and 18 assists at even strength. Over his last three games, he has one goal and two assists. If I had to add a player from this team and line, then I would have to say it would be him. He is available in 65 percent of Fantrax leagues, so he is out there for you.

Thanks for reading this week's 'Lining Up'

Aaron