Hello hockey fans from across the States and Newfoundland! Welcome to the latest edition of Lining Up. I'm Eli Feldman.

With the NHL trade deadline in the rearview mirror, the regular season has officially entered its home stretch. While there are teams still battling for wild card spots, the Playoff picture is quickly taking form, with only around 15 games per team remaining until the big dance.

Although the NHL season is dwindling rapidly, myriad questions remain unanswered in fantasy hockey circles: who will finish dead last in your league? Who will suffer another year of fantasy playoff heartbreak? And, most importantly, who will be crowned champion of your league this season? Depending on your league settings, these pressing questions could be answered in just a few weeks' time.

During the crunch time of fantasy hockey playoffs, all bets are off. With glory in sight, pride must be set aside, while calculated boldness ought to be embraced. Made a trade earlier this year that hasn't worked out? Might be time to pull the plug on your return. First-round draft pick causing you headaches? Maybe you finally need to say goodbye. To borrow the wise words of Lightning GM Julien BriseBois yet again, "…trying & failing will yield less regret than failing to try." And with fantasy hockey glory potentially in reach, failing to try usually amounts to trying to fail.

Earlier in the season, managers might spend time searching for players with sustained levels of production. In the fantasy hockey playoffs, however, the short-term reigns supreme. If an available player is riding a hot streak or has an attractive fantasy playoff schedule, adding said player could be the difference between advancing to the next round and leaving the island for good.

As we've discussed countless times before, the greatest indicator of sustained or anticipated production is deployment. With that in mind, here are three notable names moving up lineups and waiver wire lists this week.

Mackie Samoskevich

Mackie Samoskevich's incredible name isn't the only thing the 22-year-old has going for him. Following a lower-body injury to superstar Matthew Tkachuk during the NHL's Four Nations tournament, opportunity knocked for Samoskevich – and so far, he's answered the door in a major way.

In the Panthers' 11 games since the break, Samoskevich has scored a team-high five times, precisely one goal every other game. Unsurprisingly, Samoskevich's offensive outburst has coincided with a promotion to the Panthers' top-6 forward group and top power-play unit. Notably, Samoskevich's inclusion on the Cats' formidable PP1 (alongside Captain Aleksander Barkov, 57-goal-scorer Sam Reinhart, noted "scumbag" Sam Bennett, and newcomer Seth Jones) is not out of necessity; Samoskevich is manning the flank over forty-goal-scorer Carter Verhaeghe (who, as of Tuesday evening, is 90% rostered on Yahoo).

Samoskevich is no stranger to finding the back of the net regularly, having racked up 22 goals in 62 games for the Charlotte Checkers in the AHL last season and 20 goals in 39 games for the University of Michigan the year prior. As the Panthers' first-round pick in 2021, the organization clearly believes in Samoskevich, suggesting he could easily maintain a prominent role in the Panthers' lineup (along with fantasy relevance) for the foreseeable future.  

At only 20% rostered on Yahoo as of Tuesday evening, you'd be whacky to pass on Mackie.

Ryan Hartman

What do Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, and Ryan Hartman have in common? Besides having first names that start with "R", they are all infamous heels (for the non-wrestling fans out there, heels are 'bad guys').

During a Saturday night game in Ottawa last month, Ryan Hartman violently drove superstar Tim Stützle's head into the ice, initially resulting in a 10-game suspension, the longest in Minnesota Wild history (Hartman's suspension was eventually reduced to eight games). Hartman's suspension – the fifth of his career – attracted criticism among some of hockey's foremost pundits, including Ray Ferraro, who disparaged Hartman for "play[ing] the game with no honor."

Although it's difficult to foresee a Lady Bing in Ryan Hartman's future, his edginess, coupled with his underrated knack for scoring goals, makes him a compelling fantasy option in many formats. Since returning from his latest suspension on March 4, Hartman has produced an impressive five points in seven games, playing mostly on the Wild's second forward line and second powerplay unit.

Last evening, Hartman netted a powerplay goal against the Kings on route to a 3-1 victory. Interestingly, Hartman was shifted to the Wild's top power-play unit for the game, leading to his highest single-game %PP total (75.6%) this season. 

Along with a propensity to lose his cool at any time, as a Band-Aid Boy Trainee, Hartman is also a risk to miss games due to injury. However, so long as he remains in the lineup, Hartman is undeniably a potential difference-maker for your team and his own. Say what you want about him – the man plays with heart.

Justin Faulk

Just over a month before the start of the 2024-2025 NHL regular season, the Blues announced that veteran defenceman Torey Krug would miss the entire year following left ankle surgery. While Krug's injury dealt a blow to the Blues' backend and top powerplay unit, the announcement opened the door for 33-year-old Justin Faulk to recapture the offensive touch that fueled his 50-point campaign just two seasons ago.

Despite receiving the highest share of powerplay time this season compared to the other five years of his Blues tenure, Justin Faulk hadn't enjoyed a particularly productive campaign from a fantasy perspective – until recently. Over his past five games, Faulk has exploded for five assists, three of which came on the power play.

As the quarterback of the Blues' top powerplay unit, the playing partner to 23-year-old defensive standout Philip Broberg, and a valued member of a team set to play a League-high seven games over the remaining fantasy week and next, Justin Faulk checks all the boxes to boost your backend down the stretch.

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Here are some other notable powerplay deployment developments making headlines over the past week:

• Jackson LaCombe is quarterbacking Anaheim's top power-play unit;
• Elias Lindholm is playing on Boston's top power-play unit;
• Ryan McLeod is playing on Buffalo's top power-play unit;
• Matt Coronato is playing on Calgary's top power-play unit;
• Taylor Hall and Jackson Blake are playing on Carolina's top power-play unit;
• Artyom Levshunov is quarterbacking Chicago's top power-play unit;
• Jonathan Drouin is playing on Colorado's top power-play unit;
• Corey Perry is playing on Edmonton's top power-play unit; and
• Jamie Drysdale is quarterbacking Philadelphia's top power-play unit.

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That's all for this week! Stay tuned for the next edition of Lining Up next Tuesday, March 25. Until then, have a great week and best of luck to all!