Welcome to 'Lining Up' 2021.  It has been a fun week to start the season and there have been a lot of fantasy relevant line situations to discuss.  Our goal today is to sort through much of it and highlight some younger prospects as well as a few overlooked veterans.  What they all have in common is that they are getting quality opportunities on top scoring lines with better-than-average teammates.  The players below are owned in fewer than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues, and in most cases far less than that. These guys are great candidates for collecting points while partnered with top tier line mates.

We will also touch very briefly on some forward lines that have stood out for one reason or another.  Check out Dobber's Frozen Tools section for even more on line combinations, plus quite a lot more.  So whether you had a less than perfect draft, you have an itchy trigger finger, or you're looking to stash some prospects, it's time to get our shifts together:

Centering Feeds – As we all know, passing the puck is an essential skill in the NHL.  This group of players is analogous to you teeing up your fantasy team with a sweet centering feed.  It doesn't necessarily mean that your fantasy team will bury the puck, but…

OK anyway, these are players and situations that have jumped out in the past week that can help your team right now.

• Joel Farabee PHI – LW/RW (47 percent owned) – Joel had fantasy players scrambling to pick him up after a four-point performance opening night, but instantly crashed back to Earth in games two and three. He is playing on the Flyers second line with Kevin Hayes and Claude Giroux, and is also on the second PP unit.  So despite the recent underwhelming performances, he looks like a guy you can plug in and expect some value most nights.
• Yegor Sharangovich NJD – C (1 percent) – This one might be a bit premature, but he is playing on the Devil's top line with Kyle Palmieri and Jack Hughes. This line looks really good to start the year and Hughes in particular looks absolutely great.  Yegor picked up his first NHL goal, an OT game winner, this past Saturday.  He looks to be locked into this line for now and should provide some decent numbers as New Jersey looks better than expected.  Check out the Ramblings post from 1/18/21 for a more detailed look at this player.
• Zach Hyman TOR – C,LW (36 percent) – Zach is currently is slotted in on the third line for Toronto with Alexander Kerfoot and Ilya Mikheyev. But he is on the second PP unit and has a PPP in two of his first four games (1G, 1A).  He has also been given a good number of shifts with Matthews and Marner, including at the end of regulation in a tie game against Montreal.  He put up 10 SOG and three Hits Monday night, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him installed on the second line soon.  So Zach is someone to consider picking up to see what happens with him in the next few weeks.
• Dillon Dube CGY – LW,RW (4 percent) – Double D has made the most of his opportunity thus far to start the season. He is currently on the Flames number one line paired with Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm.  Dube had two points (1G, 1A) in his first two games including a PPP and 5 SOG.  The only problem right now is that the Flames do not play again until 1/24.  That being said, of all the players in this group he might be the most sneaky pay-off.
• Nino Niederreiter CAR – LW,RW (10 percent) – Before you dismiss El Nino, consider that he is starting the season playing on the Canes first line with Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen, and is also on the second PP unit where he has already picked up a goal. Nino is a streaky player, and he seems ready to go on a point run.  He also has consistently been getting three to four SOG per game.
• Nils Hoglander VAN – LW (15 percent owned) – The Hog Man shot out of the gate with a great performance in Vancouver's first game, created a lot of buzz, and then showed up with a snooze fest (stat-wise) in his next few games. He is playing mostly on the second line with Bo Horvat and Tanner Pearson, but also getting looks with Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson and getting PP1 time.  We will have to see how this changes now that T. Miller is back from Covid protocol, but Nils is certainly worth considering for an early season stream and possibly for a longer run.

Stretch Pass.  Sometimes you see and opportunity up ahead and you fire off a stretch pass.  You might spring a guy on a breakaway, or you might ice the puck.  These players are a bit more of a stretch but they are worth consideration on your fantasy team in deeper leagues, or definitely as cheaper DFS options.

• Nolan Patrick PHI – C (11 percent) – He centers third line for the Flyers between Jakub Voracek and James van Riemsdyk, while also centering the second PP unit. With Sean Couturier's injury, Patrick looks to move up or just have more opportunities for a couple of weeks at least.  Philly has a wealth of good forwards, so this one is a bit harder to predict, but Patrick has looked like he is ready to take the next step.  He has had two points (1G, 1A) in three games so far this year, including one on the power play.
• John Leonard SJS – LW (1 percent) – Leo is on the Sharks second line with Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane. He picked up two assists in his first game, and has 8 SOG in three games as well.  Hertl and Kane have had a hot start to the fantasy season, so Leonard could be in line to reflect some of that.
• Pavel Buchnevich NYR – RW (26 percent) – With a great second game of the season (2G, 1A), Pavel showed why he is on the Rangers first line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. He is also picking up minutes on the second PP unit.
• Drake Batherson OTT – RW (8 percent) – Let's drink some Sens Kool-Aid. Why not – Ottawa has looked entertaining and better than expected in their first two games.  Batherson is on the first line with Brady Tkachuk and Josh Norris, and is also on the first PP unit.  He has 2 assists, including a PPP, 6 SOG, and 7 Hits in two games thus far.
• Pius Suter CHI – C,LW (1 percent) – Three games into the season Suter has supplanted Dylan Strome on the first line with Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. Pius had a beautiful feed to Kane against Florida that was waived off for offsides, so there is already something of a spark there.

Seeing-Eye Pass.  Our passing analogy breaks down a little here, but you get it.  Call it a watch list, these are players who have great line assignments, but have yet to take advantage.  Once they get a little more experience on these lines, they could start to provide some fantasy production for you.

• Carter Verhaeghe FLA – C,LW (1 percent owned) – Carter is being given an opportunity to play on the Panthers' first line, and he will skate with Aleksander Barkov and Anthony Duclair. He cashed in with an assist in Florida's first game after a delayed start to the season.
• Morgan Frost PHI – C (2 percent) – With the injury to Couturier, Frost gets his chance. To start, he is going to center a line with Travis Konecny and Oskar Lindblom (who should also be on your fantasy radar – 2G, 14 percent owned)
• Tim Stuetzle OTT – LW (39 percent) – It's hard not to like this player, and he has shown some early signs of success. Tim is on the Sens second line with Derek Stepan and Evgenii Dadonov, a couple of guys that can definitely set Stuetzle up for success.  He is also on the second PP unit.
• Evan Rodrigues PIT – C,RW (1 percent) – Playing on the Pens first line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. So far Evan hasn't done much.  He directed in a goal off of his skate in his third game with this line.  It wasn't exactly encouraging, but it counted.  The problem for him is that once Kasperi Kapanen comes back from Covid protocol that will probably be it for Rodrigues' fantasy value.  But we'll see. In the meantime he is a high risk/reward DFS play.
• Mikhail Gigorenko CBJ – C,LW (9 percent) – The Blue Jackets have set up Mikhail on their first line with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Oliver Bjorkstrand. He is also picking up PP2 minutes, so definitely a player to monitor as the season moves along.
• Martin Necas CAR – C,RW (8 percent) – Teamed up with Andrei Svechnikov and Vincent Trocheck on the Canes second line, Necas should have plenty of chances to show off his skills. He is also currently getting second PP unit minutes.
• Chandler Stephenson VGK – C,LW (3 percent) – Playing on the Knights first line between Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone, Stephenson is worth keeping on your watch list.
• Barrett Hayton ARI – C,LW (2 percent) – First line slot with Nick Schmaltz and Conner Garland. He has one goal on the year so far.  Arizona has four games against Vegas this week, so it might be good to wait and see how that goes.
• Josh Leivo CGY – LW,RW (0 percent) – Is being given a chance on the Flames second line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan.

Drop Pass.  These fellas were given plumb spots on quality scoring lines to start the season, but have since been sent to other places in the lineup.  Hopefully they will step it up in those roles, but for now they will struggle to get good minutes:

• Jack Studnicka BOS
• Tage Thompson BUF
• Mathieu Joseph TBL
• Oskar Sundqvist STL

Finally, let's quickly look at just a few of the lines from around the league that stood out over the past week.  These are lines that jumped out for one reason or another while watching the games.  We will have to wait a bit longer to crank up the full analysis machine.  Let's start with the line that seemed most interesting in the sense that we would not have expected it:

• Nashville's second line (Haula/Duchene/Kunin) – This line grabs some attention because at first glance they don't seem like they would be that great, and time will tell for sure, but to start the year they have been solid, posting 21 SOG between them, and two goals already for Kunin. Just something to keep an eye on.

This next line was noticeable for all the wrong reasons:

• Buffalo's second line (Olofsson/Staal/Reinhart) – Maybe it is the 'we wish they were better line', because this is a likeable bunch, but either way these guys got off to a rough start. During the Sabres first two games, they logged 16:18 TOI and had zero goals, while giving up two.  Reinhart was moved up to the first line on Monday night and popped in two goals.  Meanwhile, it looks like Dylan Cozens will take Reinhart's place on the second line.

Let's give a shout out to the third line of the week:

• Tampa Bay (Coleman/Gourde/Goodrow) – this line put up two goals in two games, yes against the Blackhawks, but still they looked solid in the process. Good start to the year for these guys.

Final final note:  It seems like it would be helpful to people to give an explanation about what is going on with the first line of the Minnesota Wild.  Many people are seeing what is happening with rookie Kirill Kaprizov and are wondering who else they can target to benefit from his success.  Originally in the first game of the year Nick Bjugstad and Zach Parise were on the top line with Kaprizov, but by the end of the game Bjugstad had been moved off that line in favor of Kevin Fiala, with Parise centering.  The next two games for the Wild saw Victor Rask inserted as the center between Kaprizov and Parise.  So that line is not solidified, but it seems that Parise and Kaprizov are a pair for now.  Parise (24 percent owned) hasn't exactly lit up the score sheet yet, but he's likely to heat up, and you may want to think about picking him up when he starts putting the puck in the net.

I hope this helps with some decisions you may need to make out there.  Hit me up on Twitter @RinkmanHockey.  It's a new account so help me get it going!  Until next week.