Welcome back to another edition of Lining Up. Continuing with the theme from last week, we will now turn to the Western Conference and examine way-too-early line combinations from the preseason so far. With a few more games having been played since last week, Frozen Tools can be leaned on more heavily for information. Where any useful details are lacking, we will turn to 'Game Day Lines' on X/Twitter for beat-writer comments.

Let's dive in.

Anaheim

During the preseason game against Arizona, Leo Carlsson lined up with Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome. With the injury to Killorn likely to keep him out of the lineup for the first month of the regular season, Carlsson may be able to make the roster out of camp. If he can and continues to play on a line with Vatrano and Strome, that will be a decent start to his young career and put him in a position to provide some value.

Arizona

The situation to monitor will be who of Sean Durzi and Juuso Valimaki are responsible for running the top power-play in Arizona. So far it seems neither candidate has stood out but a deep option in fantasy drafts will be whoever can continue seeing time with Clayton Keller on the man-advantage.

Calgary

Andrew Mangiapane has been playing with Jonathan Huberdeau and Elias Lindholm so far this preseason. Last year he was mostly lining up beside Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman, so if you are a fantasy manager who subscribes to the theory that the change in head coach in Calgary or a second year in the system will help Huberdeau, or the team as a whole, to rebound, then Mangiapane is in an excellent position to exceed his draft value.

Chicago

The big question, the moment everyone is waiting for, who is playing beside Connor Bedard? Taylor Hall was absent the last game nursing a minor ailment, but it is assumed he will have a spot on one side. However, on the other side the early frontrunner to start the campaign on the opposite side looks to be Taylor Raddysh.

A potential dark horse may also be Ryan Donato who, in Taylor Hall's single game, joined Hall and Bedard on the top line. Keep an eye on the situation here, Raddysh was the selection made in the Fantasy Guide this year and either player could be a late round or potential waiver-wire claim in your league with good potential.

Colorado

As anticipated, Jonathan Drouin has been lining up alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen on the top line. This is a huge turn in his deployment as last season, where he predominantly played with Josh Anderson and Mike Hoffman while averaging 14:45 of time on ice (including 2:00 on the power-play). Such an elevated position should allow for Drouin to exceed his pace from the last few seasons and potentially even match his career high 60-point pace from his final year in Tampa Bay.

Dallas

Logan Stankoven has been having a standout preseason so far with four points in three games, including nine shots on goal. He has seen nearly a third of his time playing with Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment, a realistic scenario for him could be to play with these two on a third line if he can stay on the roster into opening night. That would provide some value in deep leagues.

Edmonton

Much like Jonathan Drouin, Connor Brown is the popular pick to play on the top line in Edmonton with Connor McDavid. So far however, he has been playing with Evander Kane and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Perhaps a lateral move from his time in Washington when he was lining up beside Alex Ovechkin, but Brown is still the Fantasy Guide pick for assuming a spot with McDavid. That should certainly allow him to produce at his 50 point-pace from his time with Ottawa.

L.A

Russell Morgan reported that Pierre-Luc Dubois is playing on the second power-play unit at the moment while Viktor Arvidsson is on the top unit. This will be a situation to monitor and while it is still preseason, fantasy owners would like to see Dubois get slightly better deployment if he is to exceed last season's 71-point pace. On the other hand, Arvidsson is typically available late in many drafts so if he holds the spot on the top power-play heading into the season, it will be excellent deployment for him.

Minnesota

Calen Addison has continued to play on the Minnesota power-play through practice and the preseason. This is encouraging as despite an underwhelming 29 points in 62 games last season, the team seems intent on continuing to place Addison in a favourable situation. With 18 of those 29 points coming on the power-play, there is plenty of room to grow for his production.

Nashville

Luke Evangelista, Tommy Novak and Philip Tomasino have been playing on a line together during the preseason. Last year it was Novak and Evangelista who were on a line for over 200 minutes at even strength during Evangelista's 24 games. All three players showed promise for solid seasons with Tomasino being the lesser of the trio while producing at a 48 point-pace. It is intriguing to see all three young players be united on a line and whether or not it continues on opening night.

San Jose

San Jose is expected to be a basement team this season, but in a similar vein to the upcoming St. Louis note, finding the lone defensemen quarterbacking a power-play unit can still have value in leagues. Henry Thrun has currently been playing in this role and while his stock may still be low, this will boost his value from nothing to a bit better than nothing. If your strategy is to sleep on defense and you are in a deep league, consider Thrun.

Seattle

One of the big questions heading into this season will be whether top prospect Shane Wright will be in the lineup on opening night. He is still waiver exempt and so may be a victim out of necessity due to the makeup of the roster. However, at only eight games played last season, fantasy owners will be hoping he can replace the outgoing Daniel Sprong. There is no indication yet but through the preseason he has played with Kailer Yamamoto and Eeli Tolvanen, both regulars with the team.

St. Louis

Torey Krug is continuing to run the top power-play unit as reported by beat writers Matthew DeFranks and Lou Korac as well as confirmed on Frozen Tools. With a lengthy injury history and the rise of Justin Faulk and Scott Perunovich, concern about Krug maintaining his role has his draft ADP pushed to the later rounds. Securing a power-play quarterback on a heavily used unit could pay big dividends at your draft.

Vancouver

Last season in Vancouver, the top power-play unit consisted of Elias Pettersson, J.T Miller, Andrei Kuzmenko, Bo Horvat and Quinn Hughes. With the departure of Horvat at least year's trade deadline, Brock Boeser assumed the role with some competition from Anthony Beauvilier. So far in preseason, Boeser has continued in that role which will no doubt help increase his production over a full season. His power-play time increased nearly a full minute in the fourth quarter of last year which should help him reach closer to a 70-point season as opposed to his previous 61 point-pace.

Vegas

At the end of last season, Brett Howden was elevated to a line with Mark Stone and Chandler Stephenson in the fourth quarter and into the playoffs where he produced at a 37-point pace, adding 30 shots, 63 hits, 19 blocks and 31 penalty minutes in 22 playoff games. So far in preseason, Howden has been reunited with Stone and Stephenson. If he can continue with this role, he stands to provide decent value to fantasy owners in leagues that count those categories. Three hits, over one shot and nearly one block per game from a forward is worth a roster spot.

Winnipeg

Mitchell Clinton reported that Gabriel Vilardi is working on a power-play unit with Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey. This will be a situation to continue monitoring as we progress towards opening night, no doubt if he can hold this role throughout the season, he could exceed last season's total of 41 points in 63 games.