Welcome back to another edition of Lining Up! Hopefully everyone had a relaxing offseason to either rest on your laurels or stay awake at night replaying over and over the single move that cost you a championship…just me?

Anyway, now that the regular season is upon us, we are going to kick off Lining Up with a quick look at a noteworthy player from each team who either in the preseason or at a recent practice, find themselves in a poor or favourable situation. Some data from Frozen Tools.

Let's dive in.

Anaheim

In three preseason games so far, Jackson LaCombe has seen a 73.5% of the power play share and produced well with two power play points and nine shots on goal. If Anaheim commits to loading a top unit and rolling them out for two-thirds of the available time, LaCombe could have some value in deeper leagues.

Boston

Early line combinations indicate that Pavel Zacha is lining up with Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak at both even strength and on the top power play unit. This should allow him to continue with his pace from last season of around 60 points.

Buffalo

With JJ Peterka out with an injury after only his second game of the season in Prague, keep an eye out on who will replace him on the top line with Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch. Front runners should be Jack Quinn or Zach Benson, if Benson can get healthy.

Calgary

Andrei Kuzmenko revitalized his year last season when he made the move from Vancouver to Calgary, scoring 25 points in 30 games along with nearly two shots on goal per game. This year, with less of a supporting cast, Kuzmenko is set to hold down a spot with Nazim Kadri at even strength and on the top power play unit.

Carolina

Shayne Gostisbehere has seemingly supplanted Brent Burns as the defenseman running Carolina's top power play unit. His fantasy value is heavily dependent on whether or not he sees significant time on the power play, but when that happens, he can score at a 50-point pace or higher as he did with Detroit last season.

Chicago

Teuvo Teravainen is getting looks alongside Connor Bedard both at even strength and on the power play. This would lead to a substantial increase in his usage as Teravainen has averaged barely 17 minutes a night over his last three seasons. More minutes in addition to playing with one of the game's newest superstars could be huge.

Colorado

With the Avalanche still missing key top players due to injury, Casey Mittelstadt is slotting in on the top power play unit alongside all your usual suspects. Until a major player returns, which is still likely to be at least a month away, consider streaming in Mittelstadt.

Columbus

Recent practices have seen a top power play unit of Cole Sillinger, Yegor Chinakhov, Sean Monahan, Kent Johnson and Zach Werenski. Assuming they utilize one unit more than the other, this would be bad news for Adam Fantilli. However, given the low expectations in Columbus this season, it should be expected that this situation will be very fluid over the course of the year.

Dallas

Dallas appears to be running a third line of Jamie Benn, Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque. Stankoven and Bourque had incredible chemistry playing in the AHL last season so it will be interesting to see if they can replicate some magic at the NHL level and whether Benn can complement this duo.

Detroit

There has been some back and forth on which defenseman in Detroit is lining up with the loaded top power play unit between Erik Gustafsson and Moritz Seider. This will be a situation to watch as Gustafsson will have minimal fantasy value if he is unable to secure this role, whereas Seider would still be valuable in leagues that count shots, hits and blocks. If Gustafsson does secure the role, be sure to grab him quick as he was productive in New York last season when Adam Fox went down with an injury.

Edmonton

Panic has already set in as Jeff Skinner was recently bumped to the third line away from Leon Draisaitl. Rest assured, Coach Knoblauch indicated yesterday that Skinner may still be back with Draisaitl later today. He and Viktor Arvidsson are the two wingers likely to hold down this spot on the second line and could be in for solid boosts if they maintain their respective positions for the majority of the season.

Florida

Word has already been spreading about Adam Boqvist in the preseason. He has five points in five games and is running point on the top power play unit in Florida. As a player who has never exceeded nine points with the man advantage in his career, a long look here could provide owners with some decent value off the waiver wire.

Los Angeles

With the injury to Drew Doughty keeping him out for a few months into the regular season, Brandt Clarke has stepped in admirably to fill the void. He so far has two points in four games, has two and a half shots per game and is likely to see a big increase to his role.

Minnesota

Mats Zuccarello has been back to lining up alongside superstar Kirill Kaprizov at even strength this preseason. Even with the return of Matt Boldy, it appears as though he will stay there for the moment. This will no doubt boost his value, and he could be readily available off the waiver wire in leagues.

Montreal

With Patrik Laine sidelined for the near future, Kirby Dach has slotted in on the top power play unit. This situation is likely to be fluid but for now, keep an eye on how Dach fares and be ready to add him as a solid streamer if he can stick with this role.

Nashville

Tommy Novak looks to be the lucky forward who will center new arrivals Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault at even strength. This is a great spot to be in and early indications are that he has connected quickly with his new linemates.

New Jersey

Old news at this point but if you were having any doubts, Timo Meier saw nearly 19 minutes of TOI, 3:44 of PPTOI and had a goal, ten shots, three hits and three blocks while lining up with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt through his first two games in Prague. It's Timo-time, baby.

New York Islanders

Interesting power play lines coming out of New York, both Anthony Duclair and Maxim Tsyplakov were on the top unit with Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat. It would be surprising if Brock Nelson did not return to this unit at some point for the season, but for now Duclair is holding down that spot and is with Horvat and Barzal on the top line at even strength.

New York Rangers

Probably the most noteworthy line combination out of the other New York squad is that Alexis Lafreniere has not been able to find a way onto the top power play unit. Despite a breakout season of 57 points in 82 games, it seems owners still need to wait on him taking the next step.

Ottawa

After playing 58 games combined in the last two seasons, Josh Norris is hopefully healthy and at full strength now. He has been seen on the top power play unit as well as centering a line with Drake Batherson. Health will be paramount for his production but when he plays, he could be good for 50 or more points, two shots and nearly two hits per game in a second line role.

Philadelphia

Matvei Michkov appears to be getting the star treatment early from John Tortorella, seeing top line and top power play billing. He was recently practicing alongside Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny at even strength which would be a solid spot for him. However, expect Michkov to have some ups and downs in his rookie campaign.

Pittsburgh

Interesting development in Pittsburgh as both Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang were working on the top power play unit. This may be due to a Bryan Rust absence, but it would be great news for Letang if he could get back onto this unit. Less so for Karlsson.

San Jose

Owners are likely staying away from San Jose players until later in drafts but for what it's worth, they have been practicing with a top powerplay combination of Jake Walman, Macklin Celebrini, Tyler Toffoli, Fabian Zetterlund and Mikael Granlund with Celebrini and Toffoli also playing on the first line. They might not be the most effective offense, but certain players will still receive significant minutes and favourable deployment.

Seattle

Much to the chagrin of all Seattle fantasy owners, the team appears to be evenly dividing power play units once again, with Brandon Montour on the second unit. Until one group is heavily utilized, this will inevitably cap everyone's value.

St. Louis

Prior to the start of preseason, Tory Krug had surgery and is expected to miss the season. In comes Justin Faulk who is now the go-to defenseman on the roster. He will see top power play deployment and increased usage this season.

Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay has been all over the map a bit in terms of who the fourth forward will be on their potent top power play unit. Brandon Hagel was the initial top candidate, and that role would have allowed him to take a big step forward in his production, however it has recently been Taylor Raddysh getting that net front role. Act accordingly.

Toronto

Not much has changed this season from last, the top power play unit remains unchanged in practice but Matthew Knies and Max Domi are slotting in as the lucky left-wingers on the first and second lines at even strength this year. Consistency here will help their respective values.

Utah

Despite the anticipated continued growth of Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther, Barrett Hayton looks to hold down his spot on the top line with Clayton Keller and on the first power play unit. It may not take long before one of the younger players with a higher pedigree displace him but for now, he could be worth a stream.

Vancouver

After a seemingly rotating fifth wheel, the Vancouver power play is set to give Jake DeBrusk a solid run here. He is also being deployed on the top line with Elias Pettersson so if they can find some chemistry early on, it could lead to DeBrusk surpassing his career high 64-point pace. 

Vegas

After Noah Hanifin arrived at the trade deadline last year, it appeared as though he might have nabbed the role on the top power play. However, early practice line combinations and preseason show that Shea Theodore will not go down without a fight. The leash may not be long but for now, Theodore is the defenseman to own in Vegas.

Washington

After two seasons of 66 and 67 points, Dylan Strome is poised to once again center Alex Ovechkin as he tries to break the all-time goal scoring record. He will support him at both even strength and on the power play and based on his steady increase in ice time last season, could see close to 19 minutes a night. Strome being here, however, leaves Pierre-Luc Dubois on the second line.

Winnipeg

This is probably said every year, but don't look now because Nikolaj Ehlers is on the top power play unit in Winnipeg. Maybe it sticks this time but the combination of holding down this spot in addition to being in a contract year could mean he finally reaches his potential.