Welcome back to another edition of Lining Up. This week we will focus on reviewing the first week of hockey for any noteworthy line combinations as well as highlight a few players who have good deployment and favourable schedules for the remainder of the coming week.

Let's dive in.

Detroit

Lucas Raymond joined the top line of Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat in the game against Tampa Bay and the line was dominant with three goals for, zero against, and a 62.1 CF%. Raymond was in on the scoring with a goal and five shots. That trend continued last night as the line remained intact and was Detroit's best line in terms of Corsi For with a 61.5 CF%. Clearly Larkin and DeBrincat are quickly developing chemistry which makes Raymond very fortunate to be tagging along for the ride. While he has not joined them on the power-play, Raymond already has a goal and an assist through the first three games as well as nine shots.

Additionally, the top power-play unit has been using two defensemen in Mortiz Seider and Shayne Gostisbehere alongside Larkin, DeBrincat and David Perron. This is good news for Seider as there was some concern he would lose the role but in deeper leagues it is particularly encouraging for Gostisbehere's value. He has a steady track record of achieving results on the power-play, averaging a 78.8 PPIPP in his last three seasons which is very solid for a defenseman. Continuing to see good power-play deployment is crucial to his value and Gostisbehere already has three points in three games including an assist with the man advantage.

With Detroit having three games still to come this week, including a game on Wednesday and Sunday consider targeting one of Raymond or Gostisbehere while they are being deployed in favourable situations.

Arizona

Through Arizona's first two games both Sean Durzi and Logan Cooley have been playing on the first power-play unit. Prior to the start of the season, there was plenty of discussion over whether or not Durzi would supplant incumbent quarterback Juuso Valimaki. That is now put to rest as Durzi has 6:45 of PPTOI to Valimaki's 1:44. Durzi already has a power-play goal for his efforts to go along with seven shots. With this increased role he is also averaging almost seven minutes more of overall TOI compared to his last two seasons with Los Angeles.

As for Cooley, being deployed on the top power-play with Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz is probably the best cast scenario fantasy managers were hoping for outside of lining up with Keller at even strength. Cooley already has contributed with three assists, all on the power-play through the first two games. Arizona still has three games remaining this week including two potentially good matchups against St. Louis and Anaheim later in the week. If either player is still available in your league, add them to your lineup.

Calgary

Two of the more noteworthy players receiving excellent deployment are Matt Coronato and Andrew Mangiapane. Coronato has been holding down a spot on the top power-play, even seeing five minutes of PPTOI last night against Washington. So far, he only has one goal which came with the man advantage but he does have seven shots through the first three games.

Meanwhile, Mangiapane is lining up alongside Jonathan Huberdeau and Elias Lindholm on the top line at even strength. He has played almost 62% of his time with the star duo and already has four points in three games to show for it. His shot rate is low at the moment, down a full shot from his last two seasons but it is early in the year, and we should still expect that to improve.

Both players are owned in less than half of the Yahoo leagues, with Coronato a paltry 7% rostered. As with Arizona and Detroit, Calgary has three games still to come this week all against potential non-playoff teams in Buffalo, Columbus, and Detroit.

Week 1 Highlights

Ivan Provorov

With the injury to Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov has taken over the power-play duties on the top unit. For this brief time while Werenski is out, Provorov will see the highest percentage of power-play time in his career. He should definitely be considered as a short-term option in leagues, and he already has two assists, including one on the power-play, three shots, three hits and eight blocks through his first three games.

Evan Rodrigues

Evan Rodrigues has been receiving top line deployment early in the season for Florida, playing over three quarters of his time with Aleksander Barkov and either Carter Verhaeghe or Sam Reinhart on the other wing. He is no stranger to playing with stars as last season he spent significant time alongside Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon. This season he already is starting off hot with five points in his first three games, including a big four-point night against Winnipeg. He also has thirteen shots in that span and is on pace for a very sustainable 137 points. Consider scooping up Rodrigues while he is hot.

John Klingberg

Lastly, John Klingberg has assumed the mantle of power-play quarterback from Morgan Rielly on a lethal Toronto squad. So far, he has three assists and is seeing an 81.7% of the power-play share. Klingberg does not offer much in the way of peripheral contributions, but this kind of usage should allow him to return to the 50-point range that he had while in Dallas. If anyone is still sleeping on Klingberg in your leagues, scoop him up while he is available.