Welcome back to another edition of Lining Up! This week we will be getting way too excited about players who have started off their season scorching hot and be making wild assumptions on their future production based on this extremely limited sample size.

Let's dive in.

Alex Laferriere

With three points, ten shots, four hits and three blocks in his first three games, Alex Laferrière is enjoying a great start to his season playing on Los Angeles's top line with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. He has also been lucky enough to join them and Kevin Fiala on the top power play unit so far, giving him nearly 17 minutes of average TOI and a 61.7% share of the power play time. This is a significant increase from his rookie year last season that saw him with a paltry 12.6% share and just over 13 minutes of TOI in 81 games. However, it may only be a matter of time until Quinton Byfield leeches back some of this deployment, as yesterday in particular Byfield saw some time with Kopitar and Kempe during the game against Ottawa.

It is best to hold onto Laferrière at arms' length and not be too attached, but so long as he is being deployed in this way feel free to ride the wave. Especially considering L.A plays three more games this week, including two light days Wednesday and Sunday against Anaheim.

Elias Lindholm

Elias Lindholm is one of the poster boys for Lining Up. After playing alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk for a season in Calgary to the tune of 82 points in 82 games, Lindholm is off to a hot start this year on a line with David Pastrnak at both even strength and on the top power play unit. He is seeing the highest power play usage of his career at a 66.5% share and averaging nearly five minutes of PPTOI which has allowed him to post five points in four games. It might be a stretch to forecast him to match that glorious season in Calgary, especially considering he is currently scoring on 40% of his shots, but playing alongside Pastrnak all season should definitely allow him to come close to the 64 points he posted in his last year in Calgary.

Ivan Barbashev

Ivan Barbashev has once again found himself in fine company, playing alongside Jack Eichel and Mark Stone on the top line in Vegas. He is no stranger to this situation as two out of four of his best linemates last season were the two studs, but due to the injury history of his partners it feels as though the line has never really been able to take off. Well, with six points in three games to start the season, Barbashev owners may be getting a glimpse of what could be if Eichel and Stone were healthy for a full season. It is worth noting that he is currently sporting a 42.9% shooting percentage which is more than double his three-year average so that is bound to come down, however his ice time is solid at nearly 17 minutes a night, which is particularly good considering he has seen minimal power play time so far. Should he hold onto this spot for the season, and more importantly if both Eichel and Stone play the majority of games this year, Barbashev could be in line to threaten for the 60-point season he had in 2021-2022. If he can hold that point pace and contribute his usual one and a half shots and two hits per game, that will be great value in leagues that count those categories.

Martin Pospisil

Along with the rest of the Calgary Flames, Martin Pospisil has started off the season on fire. He is currently up to five points in his first three games played including a monster ten hits in that span. As everyone expected, Pospisil is now locked in at a perfectly sustainable 137-point pace this season.

In all seriousness, it is a great start, but he is scoring on a quarter of his shots and has averaged just shy of 13 minutes through three games. The percentage will come down and we would like to see more ice time from him, particularly on the power play, if he wants to surpass his 31-point pace from last season.

Most importantly though, Pospisil has so far been locked in on a line with Jonathan Huberdeau at even strength. In three games, he has played just over 24 minutes in total ice time with Huberdeau. Last season, they were paired together for a little less than 70 minutes total in 63 games. It is a new spot for Pospisil and is immediately paying dividends to owners who drafted him in the later rounds. The season has only just begun but this could be a great spot for Pospisil, especially if this early chemistry continues throughout the year.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson

It is hard to believe that Oliver Ekman-Larsson is now entering into his 15^th season (yes 15) and may still be fantasy relevant in leagues but here we are. The illness that kept John Tavares out of the lineup on Saturday caused quite the shakeup with the top power play unit as not only did Matthew Knies replace Tavares as the forward, but OEL took Morgan Rielly's spot as the lone defenseman. On Saturday he saw nearly four minutes of PPTOI or a 63.9% share and at practice yesterday he was still on the top unit in place of Rielly. He has so far registered only one point, but he does have 11 shots on goal through three games, including five shots on Saturday. This situation is likely to be very fluid and no doubt Rielly will get back onto the top unit at some point, but at least for the next game or two, take a chance on OEL if you are in need of a defenseman.