Welcome to another edition of Lining Up. This week will continue the Olympic theme and examine some roster worthy players from Team USA, Team Russia and Team Finland. With playoffs just around the corner and without further ado let's dive in.

Team USA

Blake Wheeler – Ryan Hartman – Phil Kessel

The current WPG forward and veteran player for the red, white and blue has certainly made his case for a spot on the roster Saturday night. Wheeler dropped five points on NSH posting two goals and three assists, three points on the power-play and a monster eight shots on goal. Now he has not been doing this all season but after Saturday night, Wheeler is on pace for 69 points on the season which is almost right on track with what he has produced the past two seasons. The big catch here is that WPG plays three more games this week and is one of two teams who play the most games between now and the end of the fantasy schedule. Even better, Wheeler is currently rostered in only 71% of Yahoo leagues so if he's lucky enough to be on your wire consider picking him for this week and beyond.

Hartman likely wasn't on any early drafts of a Team USA roster but he has been in a prime spot this season playing between Mats Zuzzarello and Kirill Kaprizov and has really made the most of it. The trio have been lining up for over 250 minutes or 41.5% of his time and they have been dominant with 27 GF and only 10 against. For his part, Hartman is on pace for 63 points this season with 18 goals and 15 assists so far and that is with minimal power-play time. Although Hartman has been a bit cold lately with no points in his last four games, he is still playing with the MIN star Kaprizov and as long as that continues he is worth rostering. Especially since MIN has a solid schedule coming up with three more games remaining this week and another three next.

This is not the first time an ARI player has been featured here but Kessel has actually been decent this year with six goals and 32 points for a 55-point pace on the season. As the other winger to round out this line for Team USA, he has the pedigree of a power-play producer and is still getting the ice time in the desert with 64.5 percent or averaging almost three minutes per game. Plus as always, the schedule here plays a factor. Although ARI does not play this week until Saturday, from that day to the end of next fantasy week they have five games. That's five games in nine days and anyone with some solid point production is worth a look if you are in need.

Team Russia

Evgeny Kuznetsov – Denis Gurianov

The WSH centre Kuznetsov has really been working hard to put the past few seasons behind him and lock in a spot on Team Russia. Last season, in particular, he performed well below expectations, only putting up 29 points in 41 games for a 58-point pace. So far he is on pace for 84 points and is currently riding a hot streak with seven points in his last six games. Kuznetsov is also contributing heavily on the power play with 15 points already in addition to nearly three shots on goal per game. What is most interesting is over the last few games, Kuznetsov has actually been lining up with Tom Wilson and Joe Snively but is still producing. Look for when he returns to a line with the real WSH stars and continue that hot streak.

This column has touched on the other pair rounding this line in Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, however the last piece to the trio and Team Russia hopeful Denis Gurianov has quietly been keeping pace. This line has recently been very solid with four GF and only one against, while Gurianov has five points in his last five games. On the season he also has been chipping in with almost one hit per game and over two shots on goal. At only 12% rostered in Yahoo leagues, consider adding him as a depth option if you have lesser players from teams such as N.J or T.B as both those teams play three games each over the next two weeks.

Team Finland

Patrik Laine – Anton Lundell

Finnish stud Laine is really getting back on track at the right time for his Team Finland considerations. Lining up with Swedish hopeful Gustav Nyquist, Laine has been on fire lately with a monster 12 points in his last six games. This streak has pushed him to an 82-point pace on the season, nearly double his pace from last season. Over the next two weeks, CBJ play three more times this week and four games next week so they will be busy and Laine will be front and centre through all of the action.

Another Finnish player really making a name for himself hailing from FLA is Anton Lundell. Team Finland may have been thinking of adding this highly touted prospect already but after his five assists prior the All-Star break he must surely have locked himself into a role now. With FLA being off since February 1st, consider this your friendly reminder that yes that did happen and that they will be back in action this week with three games. Expect that line to remain intact for the time being and consider taking a gamble on Lundell or at the very least keep an eye out on how the line of Lundell, Mason Marchment and Sam Reinhart do.

Stay safe.