Welcome back to 'Lining Up', brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Rinkman. It's been an eventful week.  We've seen that reports of the Pens demise were greatly exaggerated, that Vancouver stacks up Ls like a bad Tetris player, and that the Stars really need to work on their power play.  Only eight goals on 12 chances guys? What happened the other four times?

Anyway, now that the league has completed its two weeks you may be in need of some options to tweak, augment, or just plain blow up your squad.  Let's break down some of those options for you starting with the top choices and making our way down to the deeper targets.  The ground rules here are simple.  The players below have relatively low ownership in Yahoo leagues (at or below 40 percent).  They are also on top lines that feature quality teammates, both of which will opportune future success.  With that in mind, let's get our shifts together:

LU's Top Line – Many of us are stuck in this time of winter that sees weeks on end of cold, dreary, and grey weather.  What can you do to shake out of the funk?  One thing that works, if you can pull it off, is to go to a warmer location for a while.  With that in mind may I suggest our first stop be Florida and Texas.  These guys should put some heat in your fantasy lineup:

• Roope Hintz DAL – C,LW (40 percent owned) Roope Hintz is primed to make a splash in fantasy this year.  He starts the season for the Stars on their first line, and top power play unit.  Off to a great start, the Stars pumped in five power play goals to open the season, only to turn around and score three more the next game.  Roope has five PPP (1G, 4A) in just two games.  When the media asked Alexander Radulov to talk about the Stars' power play, he said very succinctly, "It was good".  That kind of understatement also describes Roope's under the radar play over the past year.  He has been averaging .54 points per game including the playoffs, and will also deliver a bit in the hits department.  On the other hand, he doesn't take a ton of shots, averaging just two per game last season, and registering only one in two games this year.  Going into the season, the absence of Tyler Seguin put Hintz's ongoing production a bit more in question.  So far that has not been an issue at all.  Overall, if you are in need of a forward, snap him up before your league catches on.  This week the Stars have two games versus Detroit, and then two against Carolina.
• Carter Verhaeghe FLA – C,LW (three percent owned) Florida has only played two games this year, but Verhaeghe has three points (2G, 1A) already.  His first game he had no SOG, but then came up with four the next time out.  The reason to get excited about this player is that he is on the top line with Aleksander Barkov and Anthony Duclair.  He is also seeing time on the second power play unit.  During his time in the AHL Verhaeghe proved he is a high quality scorer, posting 82 points in 76 games during the 2018-19 season.  Last year he had 13 points in 52 games for Tampa Bay, and averaged about a shot a game while skating under 10 minutes a night.  This year after his move to the Panthers, coach Joel Quenneville is giving Carter his big break, playing him about 17-18 minutes per game.  Like the Dallas Stars, the simple fact that Florida has not really gotten their season going yet has been hiding Verhaeghe from view.  This is a forward that you can use to plug some holes, and possibly pick up a gem.  This week Florida has two games against Columbus and two against Detroit.
• Denis Gurianov DAL – LW,RW (26 percent owned) Denis the Menace, another Dallas Stars winger, is similar to Hintz in the fact that he is an under the radar guy that seems ready to break out this season.  Gurianov is on the Stars top line and number one power play unit along with Jaime Benn and Roope Hintz.  Coming out of camp coach Rick Bowness was all raves about this line, using superlatives like "dominating", and "love the speed…love the chemistry".  Those qualities have been on display in a small sample size so far where we've seen Denis post two power play goals and 10 SOG to start the season.  Last year saw him score 20 goals in 64 games, while averaging two shots per game and only 12:59 TOI.  With his minutes expanding up toward 15-16 a night and more exposure to the top power play unit, expect good numbers from Gurianov.

LU Second Line – OK so maybe you can't swing the trip south to get away for the winter.  What else can you do?  Well you can always make yourself a nice hot beverage to warm up those chilly, hockey filled nights.  These guys will treat your fantasy team just like a nice Hot Toddy, a Tom and Jerry, or even some Glogg.  Or I guess some Cocoa, if you're into that:

• Jordan Kyrou STL – C,RW (13 percent owned) Kyrou sounds like a magical space being that you would see on a 70s children's show, but instead he is a point-producing forward for the Blues.  Playing on the second line with Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz, and also on the second power play unit, Jordan has six points (2G,4A) in six games so far.  Only averaging 12:54 TOI so far, coach Craig Berube has started to expand his role on the club.  Kyrou is a burner who can out skate almost anyone on the ice.  His two goals this year have been game winners, which can't hurt his push for more ice time.  He is also someone who takes a lot of shots, though one drawback is that he is yet to net any PPP.  That being said, if you have the ability to grab this magical forward, you could see a nice payoff as the season rolls on.
• Nolan Patrick PHI – C (12 percent owned) Patrick has looked good for Philadelphia after missing all of last season. He is easy to miss in a stacked lineup of forwards, but he has four points (1G,3A) in six games so far.  For the last week Nolan has seemed ready to burst out with a big point spree, but thus far has not really done so.  His SOG have also been disappointing despite playing on the second line with Travis Konecny and Oskar Lindblom, as well as centering the top power play unit.  The Flyers have been waiting for this top prospect to bloom, and now he is playing hard and getting between 14 and 16 minutes a night, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to stash him and see what the next couple of weeks bring.
• Drake Batherson OTT – RW (14 percent owned) The Drake has been making a bit of noise as the Senators make a bid to be on your fantasy radar.  He has three points on the year, all assists, and two of those came on the power play.  Batherson also has put up 18 SOG in his first five games, as well as 13 hits.  Playing on the top line alongside Brady Tkachuk and Josh Norris, as well as on the first power play, Drake is consistently topping 17 minutes a night.  He is another player who lit up the AHL (116 points in 103 games) before joining the Sens full time.  Ottawa has two more games with Vancouver this week before heading to Edmonton for a pair, so now is a good opportunity to cash in on a possible Batherson point surge.

LU Third Line – So you can't travel south, and you don't like hot drinks.  Perhaps the cure to your winter blues is a visit from the Roman god Vulcan.  Better known as, building a fire.  Some people believe that Vulcan has the power to chase away winter lethargy.  Maybe, but either way these next guys may just be the extra kindling your fantasy team needs to ignite:

• Miles Wood NJD – LW (14 percent owned) If you asked Devil's fans about Miles Wood before the season started you would probably hear some unpleasant things, and maybe worse.  But Wood is hot to start the season, putting up three goals, one assist, and 15 SOG in five games.  Wood is on Jersey's second line and also on the first power play unit, averaging 15:39 TOI.  He's a speedster who appears to be thriving under Lindy Ruff.  Miles scored 19 goals back in the 2017-18 season, but has had a couple of rough years since then.  Can this 25-year old maintain his great start?  That is the question.  If he can, and you grab him, you could have quite the fantasy asset on your hands.
• Josh Norris OTT – C (seven percent owned) Norris is another Ottawa prospect, one that they acquired in the Erik Karlsson Josh is averaging 16:16 TOI on the top line with Drake Batherson and Brady Tkachuk.  He is also on the first power play unit for the Sens.  Norris has had a good start with four points (1G, 3A) in five games, and two of those being PPP.  With only 9 shots in those five games you would like to see that number be higher, but he has also chipped in with 10 hits as well.  If you are hurting for center production, you could do a lot worse than Josh Norris who has a ton of upside.
• Alexandre Texier CBJ – C,LW (seven percent owned) Big Tex is making Blue Jackets fans excited about his play so far this season. He has already piled up five points (3G, 2A) in six games.  He has nine SOG as well (but zero in his last two games).  Texier's line mates have been shuffled a lot this year, but mostly he has been playing with some combination of Oliver Bjorkstrand, Nick Foligno, and Liam Foudy.  He has also picked up about 1:20 per game of power play time, but has not posted a PPP yet this year.  It will be interesting to see what happens with the lines once Patrick Laine hits the ice in Columbus, but if Texier keeps producing at near a point per game as he has been, his time and opportunity are bound to increase.  All in all, there is some very high upside here, but also some question marks and a bit of uncertainty with the team in general.

LU Fourth Line – Alright, if none of the above winter cures have worked for you, we have one more suggestion.  Embrace the time of year and have fun with it.  This last group of players is just like taking the polar bear plunge.  Give your team a shock to the system and invigorate your season:

• Kevin Labanc SJS – LW,RW (six percent owned) Labanc is on the Sharks' first line with Logan Couture and Ryan Donato.  He is also on the second power play unit.  Over the first six games Kevin has put up three points (1G, 2A) while also adding 20 SOG and averaging 15:54 TOI.  The biggest positive for him is the 'eye test'.  He just seems to be always digging the puck out of the corners, getting in front of the net, and generally creating chances for San Jose.  If nothing else, keep Labanc on your watchlist.
• Chandler Stephenson VGK – C,LW (four percent owned) We need to put Stephenson on this list for one simple reason, he's playing on one of the top five lines in the league.  Teamed up with Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone, this is one plumb assignment for Chandler.  So far, he has two assists and a goal on the season.  That goal though, was not what you would call a skill move.  He was in front of the net, got his stick whacked out of his hands, then had his own defenseman shoot the puck off of his backside and into the net.  Nothing like scoring a goal and then having to go retrieve you stick from the corner.  But it counted, and he is here as a player to keep your eye on as the season moves forward.
• Pius Suter CHI – C,LW (seven percent owned) Last year's Swiss National League MVP, Pius picked up his first NHL goal this past Sunday by jumping on a juicy rebound against Detroit.  A few minutes after that he scored again, this time on the power play.  Not to be denied, he then picked up the hat trick in the third period on a quality snipe off the rush.  He is playing on Chicago's first line with Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat, and averages just over 15 minutes TOI per night.  Coming into the game Suter had only one point in his previous five games, so consistency will be key for his fantasy success.  Also, so far he is a plus-minus drain, with only one game in the plus column so far this season.  However, he has put up multiple games with at least four SOG, so if he keeps throwing the rubber at the net Suter could be a valuable and cheap pick up.

That's it for this week.  Hit me up on Twitter @RinkmanHockey.  Stay safe and warm!