Welcome back to another edition of Lining Up! Following last week's article, we will continue with our team-by-team review of noteworthy line combinations over the last calendar year for any useful information moving forward.

Let's dive in.

Colorado

Over the last calendar year, the top line combinations are predominantly any line that had Nathan MacKinnon or Mikko Rantanen or both players on it. With some significant turnover for the forwards as well as navigating injuries, this season so far seems to highlight how well Jonathan Drouin had adjusted to his new team. He has been up and down the lineup but recently is playing alongside the two big stars both at even strength and on the power play. Consequently, he is running hot right now with five points in his last four games while averaging 3:31 of power play time on ice for the season. Despite the recent streak he is still only on pace for 44 points this season although his PDO, 5on5 Shooting % and PTS/60 all have room to grow as well as a low 29.2% PPIPP, meaning that he should be getting in on a few more power play points than he already has. While he does rotate at even strength with Valeri Nichushkin, the fact that he is only rostered in 28% of Yahoo leagues versus 89% for Nichushkin means that many owners are still snoozing on a member of Colorado's top power play unit.

Dallas

Dallas has been consistent with their line combinations over the last year. The top line of Jason Roberston, Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski has been locked in from day one and that has not changed. As was discussed two articles ago, what is surprising when comparing those line combinations to this season is how well the trio of Matt Duchene, Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment have been performing. Since that article, all three players have continued to roll along and Dallas has even opted to try a five-forward power play unit with Duchene as the extra man while Miro Heiskanen is absent due to injury. He has really benefitted from this change of scenery.

Detroit

Detroit had a fairly significant shakeup in the top even strength line combinations over the last calendar year. Notably, Dylan Larkin played primarily with David Perron and Dominik Kubalik last season but is now playing with Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane. So far in his brief tenure with Detroit, when he is not alongside both Larkin and DeBrincat, the former Chicago star has been with DeBrincat and any of the other top-six forwards for about two-thirds of the time at even strength. He is also firmly entrenched alongside DeBrincat and Larkin on the power play where he has three points so far on a low PPIPP of 42.9%. Kane is being put in a favourable position and is on a 72-point pace while adding three and a half shots per game. Expectations for him were all over the place after major hip surgery, especially given his muted performance in New York, but many owners should feel satisfied with this result. The effort to rekindle what magic he and DeBrincat had should hopefully bear more fruit moving forward but a positive regression on that PPIPP may also help keep on track for a solid season.

Edmonton

The last calendar year has seen the supernova ascension of Evan Bouchard in fantasy hockey. After starting the year behind Tyson Barrie on the power play, Bouchard saw a 31.8% share of power play time from the start of 2023 to when Barrie was traded to Nashville. After that trade and through to the end of last season, that percentage went up to 83.9%. Now through the first 36 games of this season, he has a 77% power play share and is averaging over three and a half minutes with the man advantage. The result is a monster 89-point pace on the season, good for a tie in third place among all defensemen. The deployment here on the power play cannot be understated and for those that reached for Bouchard in drafts or were perhaps able to draft him after "bigger" names, they are surely happy with his progress.

Florida

The line combinations in Florida have been fairly consistent over the last calendar year. Aleksander Barkov was the best even strength linemate of Sam Reinhart and the two have been inseparable again so far this season. The new addition is Evan Rodrigues who came over from Colorado in the offseason and has been on that line for over half of his time so far at even strength. Whether he has something to do with Reinhart's insane 105-point pace or is just along for the ride, Rodrigues is enjoying a career 55-point pace this season along with a decent amount of time on the secondary power play unit, including occasional time on the top unit as well. He is currently rostered in only 39% of Yahoo leagues which means he could be readily available for streaming or short-term pickup while he is productive.

Los Angeles

In the trade that saw the departure of Alex Iafallo and Gabriel Vilardi but brought in Pierre-Luc Dubois, a logical conclusion prior to the start of the season would have been that Dubois would replace Vilardi on the top power play unit with Anze Kopitar, Kevin Fiala and Adrian Kempe. However, Dubois has struggled this season, and it has been Quinton Byfield who stepped into the role so far and, as a result, he is on a career 64-point pace. Lining up on the top power play will certainly help but it is also encouraging to see that Byfield has consistently held his spot on the top line as well from last season to this.

Minnesota

Over the last calendar year, Calen Addison featured heavily as the power play quarterback in Minnesota, supplanting John Klingberg for the role and finishing the season averaging nearly three and a half minutes of power play time on ice per night. In addition to the power play deployment, Addison was heavily sheltered at even strength, played against the lowest quality of competition, and saw a high percentage of starts in the offensive zone but still finished with 29 points in 62 games last season. Minnesota traded him to San Jose this season, opening the door to Brock Faber and the early returns are very promising. Faber was poised to join the team full time this season and compete for a top-four role, but with ongoing injuries to Jared Spurgeon, he has blossomed into a top defenseman at the moment and seized the top power play role. Since Spurgeon's last injury on December 14^th, Faber has enjoyed an average of over three and a half minutes of power play time on ice and a 66.6% share of the power play time available. He has been playing huge minutes with four games cracking the 30-minute mark in that span. With how well he has been playing under such usage and with Spurgeon out yet again, Faber may be heavily relied upon through the back half of this season. If you need immediate help on defense, he could be available in your league has he is only 39% rostered in Yahoo leagues and Minnesota still has three games to come this week.