Welcome back to another round of Lining Up. With the 'soft' season opener on Friday now passed, the 'real' season kicks off tonight. Since yesterday was the last day of preseason, this article will examine a few noteworthy lineups from that may be more indicative of how teams will roll out key players on opening nights. It will focus on more quick hits than deep dives to cover more options for your first fantasy week. As always, lineups change often so keep an eye out on

Let's dive in.

Tyler Toffoli

With all the movement that happened in Calgary this offseason, there were many questions on how the line combinations would pan out. Luckily for Tyler Toffoli, he seems to have found himself alongside Jonathan Huberdeau and Elias Lindholm as he played 63% of the time with them over five preseason games. Last season, Calgary consistently played their top line of Lindholm, Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk together to the point that they were the most dominant line in the league. Now Toffoli and Huberdeau are arguably a worse pair than Gaudreau and Tkachuk, but the former line played nearly 1000 minutes together at even strength. If Toffoli can maintain this slot alongside Huberdeau and Lindholm and the de facto top line is deployed at the same frequency as anywhere close to last season, Toffoli could stand to see a huge increase in points and TOI.

Previously, Toffoli's highest career point pace was during the 2020-2021 shortened season where he was on track for 69 points in 82 games. That season he also saw the highest TOI total of his career with 17:31. Getting the bump to first line on top of being paired with Huberdeau should increase his overall TOI total and point output given that his most frequent linemates last season were Mikael Backlund and Andrew Mangiapane.

Nikolaj Ehlers

The moment may have finally arrived. Nikolaj Ehlers has been playing on PP1 with Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Josh Morrissey. Over the last three seasons, Ehlers has averaged a 0.90 point per game pace and 3.3 shots per game all while averaging nine power-play points during that same span. Ehlers already has a three-year average of a 76% PPIPP and that is with a 60% rate last season. With an increase in power-play time as well as moving to the top unit with the other star producers on the team, Ehlers could be in line for a significant boost in point production that will finally push him above point-per-game territory.

Seth Jarvis

A popular draft selection at 65% rostered in Yahoo leagues, Seth Jarvis made a noticeable impact in his debut last season with 40 points in 68 games and maintained that same pace through the playoffs. He predominantly skated on the top line along with Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho while averaging 13:52 of TOI. Jarvis has held onto this coveted role through preseason and should continue to do so on opening night. His shooting percentage was a little high at 15% but assuming he continues in this role, expect an increase in his ice time which should allow him to bring his shot totals and subsequent point production up in order to avoid a regression and sophomore slump.

Denis Malgin

The opening lineup for Toronto tonight shows Malgin will get the first crack at lining up alongside William Nylander and John Tavares. Malgin's highest point total in his short career was in 2017-2018 when he had 22 points in 51 games for a 35-point pace. He has never averaged more than 14:00 minutes a night either but seeing top-six minutes with Toronto will be a boost. He put up six points in four preseason games spending significant time with Nylander and Toronto will open the first fantasy week of the season playing Montreal and Arizona so consider streaming him in for the week as he will be in a prime position to join in on some early scoring.

Andrei Kuzmenko

Perhaps a dark horse for Calder Trophy finalist, Andrei Kuzmenko has been lining up along side Elias Pettersson for most of his preseason tenure so far. He is a potential boom-or-bust fantasy asset with high upside and a high level, playmaking ability. He's been a top three SKA player for three consecutive years and has made the jump to North America. Given Pettersson's scorching finish to last season, lining up alongside him will be a good position for Kuzmenko to kick off his NHL debut. For what it's worth, Kuzmenko also put up six points in four games during the preseason so keep an eye out on him for potentially sneaky value.

Jack Quinn

Another rookie likely to compete for the Calder Trophy, Jack Quinn has been spending the majority of his preseason time lining up with Alex Tuch and Casey Mittelstadt on the second line. Quinn took the AHL by storm last season, posting 61 points in 45 games. He is an elite sniper, and he has the potential to be a top tier goal scorer in the same vein as Kyle Connor. Buffalo is poised to take a step forward this season and seems intent on starting Quinn in the top-six with secondary power-play time, which will absolutely provide value in deeper leagues.

Thanks for reading.