Welcome back to another edition of Lining Up! This week will continue the ongoing series of a team-by-team review of noteworthy line combinations over the last calendar year for any useful information moving forward.

Let's dive in.

Montreal

Mike Matheson has had what seems to be an under-the-radar performance this calendar year. Despite being in a large hockey market, more people should probably be talking about how he is very close to Noah Dobson and Victor Hedman in point-per-game rate. While those two bigger names are at 0.78 on the season, Matheson sits close behind with 0.74 and in fewer games played. He is on a near identical pace from this season to last and continues to see over a 60% share of power play time and averages over 24 minutes a night. Being deployed for big minutes and lining up with the team's stars on the power play has led to a consistent two and a half shots and two blocks per game. Great production for leagues with those categories. The move to Montreal has no doubt allowed for him to thrive.

Montreal has a solid stretch of games from March 25^th to April 18^th, playing 12 times which is on the high end for games played. Consider checking on the price for Matheson as he could be a great help in the playoffs. Potentially even if you own a player such as Miro Heiskanen, Brent Burns or Luke Hughes. All three players perform at or below Matheson's level and play two less games than Montreal does in that playoff stretch.

Nashville

The top line combination over the last calendar year in Nashville has been the young trio of Kiefer Sherwood, Tommy Novak and Luke Evangelista and rightfully so. Last year they came out of nowhere during the final quarter of the season and were really connecting. However, the line combination coming up right behind in Goals For is the top line this season of Ryan O'Reilly, Filip Forsberg and Gustav Nyquist and the role Nyquist has found himself in has been huge for his value. He is not seeing more ice time than at any other point recently, nor have his shot totals suddenly jumped. Looking at his advanced analytics, nothing is indicating that he has been too lucky lately and that a regression might come either. This appears to be a product of connecting with his linemates. The trio have been together for 63.2% of Nyquist's time at even strength and are out scoring the competition with 26 Goals For and only 13 against. Nyquist is on pace for a solid 63-point season and still is only owned in 44% of Yahoo leagues. Consider streaming him in if you can.

New Jersey

Line combinations over the last calendar year are somewhat difficult to pin down, apart from an influx of talent in Tyler Toffoli and Timo Meier, New Jersey also has been dealing with significant injuries to its forward core so far this season. One notable line combination is whoever is lucky enough to be riding shotgun alongside Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. Last season that was Ondrej Palat, and it is worth noting that while Hughes has been injured, the shuffled line combinations have placed him alongside Bratt once again although he is also injured at the moment. Typically this season the lucky beneficiary has been Toffoli replacing Palat on the line with Bratt and Hughes as even in Hughes' somewhat limited games played this season, Toffoli has played over half of his time at even strength with the superstar centre. Despite seeing a boost in overall ice time and being slotted on the power play unit with this line combination as well, Toffoli is only on pace for 58 points which would be a significant drop from last year in Calgary. It's fair to wonder what his production would be like if Hughes were healthy all season so when his return is near, see if you can acquire Toffoli for pennies on the dollar given that he is currently mired in a cold stretch.

New York Islanders

Ever since Bo Horvat's arrival in New York, Anders Lee has been playing alongside him. When Mathew Barzal returned from injury and so far this season, Lee has remained fixed on the top line although the points have not been coming. However, some of this production can be attributed to a low shooting percentage and low points per 60 minutes for Lee meaning that some positive regression might be coming his way. Once that shift comes to Lee and the line as a whole, he will be in a for a bump in points and the Islanders have three games still to come this week including a matchup against a depleted Chicago squad on Friday night. Consider streaming Lee for that matchup.

New York Rangers

Perhaps the most noticeable shift in line combinations from the end of last season to this one is the change in deployment for Alexis Lafreniere. After spending a lot of his time last season primarily on a line with Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko, he has since managed to hold down a spot on a line with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck for almost two-thirds of his time at even strength. He saw some time with them last season but not to this extent and whether it is the steady exposure to Panarin or finally adjusting to the league, Lafreniere is on pace for a career 51 points. He is seeing over two minutes more on average than last season and is taking an extra shot per game as well, up to nearly three per game. Ideally his power play time will soon increase as that would truly push him to another level, but for now fantasy owners should be satisfied that the team has entrusted him with a larger role. If he happens to available in your league still as he is only rostered in 44% of Yahoo leagues at the moment, stream him in for the four games still to come this week.

Ottawa

Ottawa has truly been a tale of two seasons this past calendar year. After making a strong push for the playoffs at the end of last season, all hopes for playoff hockey coming into this season have vanished as they currently are dead last in their division. One of the story lines is the increasing role of Jake Sanderson, who so far this season has increased his share of the power play, leeching some time from Thomas Chabot. Last season the split was a 62.5% share for Chabot and a 40.2% share for Sanderson. So far those numbers are 46.3% and 50.1% respectively. Chabot has dealt with his share of injury this season but that is a noticeable bump for Sanderson. It will be interesting to see if Ottawa parts with some talent at forward come the trade deadline and whether or not that necessitates a loaded top unit who is deployed for the majority of power play time. If so, who is the quarterback on that power play unit? If the answer is Sanderson, he will see more time with the man advantage and could be in for great production down the stretch.

Philadelphia

Much has changed in Philadelphia over the course of the calendar year from the end of last season to this one. There are many different line combinations, and none stick out given that the team saw the return of Sean Couturier. Travis Konecny, Joel Farabee and he have recently been on a line together and are connecting. Couturier is on a nice little streak with six points in his last six games bringing him to a 59-point pace on the season. Farabee is on a hot streak as well and is on pace to surpass 60 points for the first time in his career while Konecny continues to do his thing, pacing at a near point-per-game rate. Couturier has had a mix of line combinations so far this season but while Farabee continues to join the top duo, he should be streamed in. Especially considering that Philadelphia still has three games to come this week on what is another good schedule for the team.