Welcome to another week of 'Lining Up'.  Over the past few days we learned once again that Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid are very good at their jobs, that Sidney Crosby now has even more silver, and most importantly, that somewhere in the mountains of Nevada lives a man named Dusty Gooch.

Just to quickly summarize what we are doing here, the forwards below are less rostered (40 percent or less in Yahoo leagues) and therefore hopefully available on your waiver wire.  We hope to highlight situations where these players are skating on lines with quality teammates and/or on power play units. 

Before we start with this week's crop of possibilities, just a quick reminder that some of the players mentioned in the last couple of weeks are still rostered at a lower percentage and are also still worth your consideration.  They include:  Jack Roslovic (37 percent), Evgenii Dadonov (37 percent), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (36 percent), Jesse Puljujarvi (27 percent), Alex Iafallo (8 percent), and Andrew Mangiapane (7 percent).  With that being said, let's move on to our newest batch of forwards.

LU's Top Line – Everyone loves to see hockey played outdoors.  This past weekend we got to see a real treat as the NHL went to Lake Tahoe.  The guys in this section are like blazing fiery sunbeams, just waiting to help you thaw the ice of your fantasy team, and trip up your competition.

• Anthony Duclair FLA – LW,RW (16 percent) – Duclair is part of one of the best lines in the NHL alongside MVP candidate Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe.  Duclair has disappointed fantasy players in the past, which perhaps explains him sitting at only 16 percent rostered.  But he has definitely found his mojo lately.   Posting four points (2G,2A) in his last five games, Duclair is starting to generate interest.  The question is, has he begun to capitalize on a great line situation, or will this round of production begin to fade as we have seen before.  Well, he is only shooting 4.9 percent on the year while his career average is 12.4 percent.  It seems that there is plenty of room for improvement, and that his shooting percentage should only increase.  He is averaging 2.73 shots per game, so it is conceivable that Duclair is really just getting going, and could be at the start of a long point run.  Long story short, don't be afraid to pull the Duclair trigger.  Florida has three games left this week, and four next week.
• Clayton Keller ARI – LW,RW (37 percent) – Keller has seemed to quietly glide under the fantasy radar in favor of his more-talked-about line mates Conor Garland and Nick Schmaltz.  It seems that even Phil Kessel gets more love than Keller in some circles.  But Clayton has plenty to offer, including nine points (3G,6A) in his last eight games.  He is averaging 2.47 SOG during 17:03 TOI for the year.  Keller will not wow you with his peripheral stats, but he is a plus four on the season.  Mostly his potential correlates with the growing success of Arizona's top line.  They already out chance their opponents almost two to one, showing a 61.1 CF percent, and this should translate to good opportunity for Clayton as they continue to improve.  Keller is also on the top power play unit and has two PPP goals on the year.  If you want a piece of Arizona, don't forget about Keller. 
• Roope Hintz DAL – C,LW (39 percent) – Another forgotten man in fantasy land.  Roope has been injured, but has just returned to the lineup.  The Stars have also been sidelined and have been out of the minds of many.  Roope is on the Stars top power play unit, which though it has cooled a bit from an unreal start, is still very dangerous.  The Stars are skating Hintz with Denis Gurianov and the surprisingly productive Jason Robertson.  This line leads Dallas in scoring at even strength, despite not really having a chance to get into a rhythm yet.  Prior to the latest postponed games Roope had five points (3G,2A) in six games, as well as 17 SOG and 2 PPP.  Look for Hintz to continue to heat up the score sheet as Dallas has yet another restart to their season.

LU's Second Line – Despite the unfortunate ice conditions of the first Lake Tahoe game, it really was a great setting wasn't it?  We very much enjoyed the beautiful sights brought to us all weekend.  Well, most of them anyway.  Consider the players in this section to be like the stately pine trees, ready to give your fantasy team strength and sturdiness.  Don't think of them as the guy wearing the American flag speedos and the Vancouver Canucks hat. 

• Mats Zuccarello MIN – RW (7 percent) – While the phrase "Mats Zuccarello is back" may not send you running to the waiver wire, it is worth knowing that he is indeed back, and is looking very good so far.  His first game was a 'ease him back into the lineup' game where he only played 13 minutes.  But his next game he was given more ice time and recorded an assist.  The game after that he recorded a goal and an assist.  Last night he tallied another goal and three assists.  That is seven points in three games.  So, while you may not have been jazzed to run and get Zuccarello, don't discount him and let someone else cash in on him.  This is a situation where you might be able to grab a gem for a streamer, and possibly even more.
• Pavel Zacha NJD – C,LW (7 percent) – The Devils are another team that is just getting restarted after a long layoff.  One of the nice surprises upon their return was to see Pavel Zacha continue his point production with a new line combination.  Now skating on the top line with Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt, Zacha has eight points (4G,4A) in his last nine games. This past Saturday he also topped the 20 minute mark for ice time.  While you would expect that his shooting percentage will come down a bit (currently at 16.0 percent), if he continues to get more ice time he could continue his current production and hopefully increase his shot totals in the process.  New Jersey has eight games in the next two weeks, including two against Buffalo this week, and two against New York next week.
• Joel Eriksson Ek MIN – C (34 percent rostered) – After a long lay off the Wild are back in action and Eriksson Ek  is now centering the first line for Minnesota.  The wingers on this line are Jordan Greenway and the red hot Kevin Fiala.  Ek only has one goal in four games since returning to action, but he continues to perform very well in the plus-minus category and also had nine shots in those games.  The Wild are doing an unusual thing with their power play, essentially just running their normal lines in an effort to get something going in an area that has been weak for them so far.  It is anyone's guess how long this will last, but Eriksson Ek should continue to see good PP time regardless of what scheme they use next.  Finally, in Minnesota's first game back from their recent break they played the Kings and Ek had seven hits that night.  They play L.A. twice this coming weekend.  This is an opportunity spot for Eriksson Ek and you might be able to grab him at the beginning of a hot streak.

LU's Third Line – It was great to see the majestic mountains of the Lake Tahoe area, the crisp sparkling water, the fresh white snow, and the radiant sunshine.  But we don't think anything can match the beauty of David Pastrnak's Randy Savage sunglasses.  The players in this section will have you saying "The Macho Madness is runnin' wild! Ooooh Yeah!!!". 

• Alexander Kerfoot TOR – C,LW (8 percent) – Kerfoot has spent most of his season so far outside of the top six forwards in Toronto, however due to a Zach Hyman (and now Joe Thornton) injury he is spending time on the second line, where he has seen his production increase.  In the last eight games Kerfoot has seven points (3G,4A).  He also has been seeing time on the second power play unit.  Kerfoot is a nice streaming option right now, but really relies on getting those points to help your fantasy team.  His SOG are not great, shooting only nine times over those most recent eight games, and his other stat categories are nothing to get you too excited about fantasy-wise.  But as long as he is in Toronto's top six, and producing points, you should give Kerfoot some consideration.
• Drake Batherson OTT – RW (7 percent) – Batherson made some noise to start the season, but then went cold for a substantial stretch.  Well, over his last four games he has emerged again, putting up four points (3G,1A) in that time.  He's also taken seven shots in his last two games, perhaps a sign of good things to come.  Batherson has also been holding his own in the plus-minus department, always a concern when considering Ottawa players.  Lately he has been skating alongside veteran Derek Stepan and exciting rookie Tim Stutzle.  This line is currently outperforming their opponents with a 56.8 CF% over the last three games.  If this continues, look for Batherson and his line to get increased ice time, something that to this point has been a downside to rostering them.  Good things are happening in Ottawa, jump on the Batherson train and see where it takes you. 
• Zach Aston-Reese PIT – LW,RW (3 percent) – Aston-Reese has emerged as one of the more interesting players in February.  His team is headed in the right direction, and he has certainly been doing his part with four points (3G,1A) in five games.  Add to that 11 SOG, 11 hits, four blocks, and a plus six rating, and you've got to sit up and take notice.  Zach is on the third line with Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev.  He is not seeing any power play time, so that is not ideal, but his TOI keeps going up, coming in at 16:03 in his last game.  Certainly this is a small sample over just a handful of games, but the Pens may be onto something here with their usage of Aston-Reese.  Jump on him if you need points and peripheral stat help, and see if he can keep the good times rolling.

LU's Fourth Line – OK, all kidding aside it was a pretty cool outdoor venue and the NHL put on a great show.  They told us that they built the rink on top of a golf course, but what you didn't know was that they only hired local caddies as laborers.  Nice touch NHL!  Think of the players in this section as the potential bag carriers of your fantasy team.   

• Kasperi Kapanen PIT – LW,RW (17 percent) – This is basically a reminder that Kapanen is now playing on the Pens first line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel.  He is also picking up second power play unit minutes.  So far Kasperi has had one promising game in this role, and one not so much.  The promising game included 18:14 TOI, an assist, and a blocked shot.  In the other game Kapanen only managed 11:42 TOI and two shots.  So this situation is far from a slam dunk, but the potential is very high.
• Nico Hischier NJD – C (32 percent) – The Devils' captain is back in action and has stepped right back into a first line and first power play role.  There is nothing exciting to report from his first two games back (and we do mean nothing) but the thing to think about here is if you can grab a guy who has averaged 0.64 points per game, 2.20 SOG, 0.74 hits, and 0.58 blocks, all while on teams that were certainly worse than this year's version of New Jersey.  He also has just surpassed the 200 games played mark, which is a good benchmark for talented young players to start taking off.  Give him a few games to get his season going, but don't wait too long if you start noticing him on the score sheet.
• Brock Nelson NYI – C (29 percent) – Brock has been on a solid little run lately.  He has four points (3G,1A) in his last six games.  He is averaging about two shots per game for the year, but has pushed that up closer to three a game recently.  Nelson is probably not going to provide fireworks for your lineup, but if you need more consistent production, consider taking a look here.  Also, four of his five goals this season have come on the power play.

That wraps it up for another week.  Feel free to send any comments, rants, or random nonsense to our Twitter account @RinkmanHockey.  Until next time, may your days be warm and sunny!