Line combinations are a tricky thing. Just when you think you have a handle on a team's No. 1 unit, an injury or a hunch by a coach can blow up the whole thing. Of course, not every player is affected in the same way by who they're put on a line with.

The speculation of lines rapidly is giving way to fact, so here are some combinations to make note of as you prepare for your draft or evaluate your lineup.

To view the previous Fantasy Forecaster line report, click here.

Atlanta -- Rich Peverley, who scored 35 points in 39 games last season, his first with the Thrashers, likely will be the right wing on the second line with Todd White and Slava Kozlov, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  "Be it Nashville or here, I think I've proven I can be a top-six guy on this team and in this League, " Peverley said.  "Maybe I did surprise myself (last year). But once a player gets confidence in himself in this League, that they have the ability, they can achieve things."

Right wing Maxim Afinogenov, a training camp invitee, has skated with Colby Armstrong and Marty Reasoner, and with White and Kozlov. "He and (Kozlov) get along really well," coach John Anderson said. "At first we thought we would put him with (Nik) Antropov and (Ilya) Kovalchuk, but (Bryan) Little has been playing really well in training camp. So there's no point in fixing what isn't broken."
   
The first line continues to be Antropov centering Kovalchuk and Little. "Antropov is really taking control of that line," Anderson said.

Boston -- In his preseason debut, No. 1 center Marc Savard skated with Milan Lucic and Michael Ryder in a 5-2 victory against the Rangers last Saturday, according to the Boston Herald.

In the next contest two nights later, Blake Wheeler manned right wing with Savard and Lucic as coach Claude Julien attempts to find the right player to fill the spot vacated by Phil Kessel. Julien told the Boston Herald he also will audition Chuck Kobasew, Marco Sturm and Mark Recchi in that spot before the season begins. "Blake was great," Savard said. "I like the combination, and with the big bodies they generate a lot down low."

In a practice Sept. 23, combinations featured Savard centering Lucic and Sturm, David Krejci between Ryder and Wheeler, Patrice Bergeron centering Kobasew and Recchi, and a fourth line of Vladimir Sobotka, Shawn Thornton and Byron Bitz. Steve Begin sat out with an injury.

Calgary -- Now that Swedish prospect Mikael Backlund has been assigned to AHL Abbotsford, David Moss took his place at Thursday's practice on the top line with Jarome Iginla and Olli Jokinen. "They're extremely skilled and talented and it's fun to play with them," Moss told the Calgary Sun. "Obviously it doesn't hurt playing with those guys. They create a lot of offense, so hopefully I'll benefit a little bit from that."

Chicago -- Coach Joel Quenneville already has announced his intention to experiment with several line combinations through the preseason, reports the Daily Herald Times. For the first preseason game against Washington last weekend, the top line featured Jonathan Toews centering Kris Versteeg and Patrick Kane. Other lines had Tomas Kopecky between Patrick Sharp and Dustin Byfuglien, and John Madden with Ben Eager and Jack Skille, while Andrew Ladd and Adam Burish were off.

"He's a pretty skilled player, that's for sure," Sharp said of Kopecky. "He can skate well for his size and knows how to play wing and center. He's fit in pretty well with me and Buff, but you know as well as I do that lines change pretty often around here. "

A few days later, Burish was lost for at least six months with a torn ACL in his right knee. The Daily Herald Times reported Skille has the best chance of filling Burish's spot, though Colin Fraser or Jake Dowell also may be in the mix. "Skille has been having a good camp, pushing here, and would be one guy you have to look at for sure," Quenneville said.

Columbus -- A line of Derick Brassard flanked by Kristian Huselius and Rick Nash totaled seven points in a 5-1 victory against Minnesota on Monday. "The line was definitely clicking out there," Nash told the Columbus Dispatch. "It was a lot of fun. We were finding each other pretty good."

The second line figures to include center Antoine Vermette with Jakub Voracek and R.J. Umberger. But an injury to the latter has created an opportunity for prized rookie Nikita Filatov. "You can tell he has great speed, great instincts, a lot of potential," Vermette said.  "We had some really good shifts together. We're looking to force turnovers and attack the other direction."

Dallas -- According to the Dallas Morning News, veteran center Brad Richards is enjoying centering James Neal and Loui Eriksson. "It's so hard to get a line to stay together nowadays, but who wouldn't want to play on that line?" Richards said.

"I've always loved playing with Loui, he's such a smart player," Richards added. "We've never really found that left winger, but James would be ideal. He's a big guy that works hard, and having two guys that go to the net fits in well with me."

Coach Marc Crawford has taken note of the trio. "I think there is a lot of chemistry," he said. "Both James and Loui receive the puck extremely well and are very good on the forecheck. And when the puck is in Brad Richards' hands, he is one of the premier players in the League."

The line has totaled 7 goals (and a game-deciding shootout goal) in four preseason games.

Meanwhile, rookie Jamie Benn continues to impress, spending most of training camp at the right wing with Mike Modano and Steve Ott. "I think he has such good hands and such good puck-protection skills, that's what you need to play the off-wing," Crawford said. It's believed Jere Lehtinen eventually will skate on that line when he returns from a sore groin, but Benn is making it a tough decision.

Detroit -- Coach Mike Babcock told the Detroit Free Press that center Henrik Zetterberg and forwards Todd Bertuzzi and Dan Cleary likely will be linemates when the season opens. However, they haven't spent as much time together because of minor injuries to all three.

"They play a different style than anyone else -- they play different defensively and different in the neutral zone, different offensively," Bertuzzi said of the Red Wings. "You've got to be in the right position at the right time, because you're expected to be there. So it's just a matter of paying attention and having some reliable guys on your line to kind of get you through the first couple (times), and then it starts coming more naturally and you can do things at a lot higher tempo.

"It's pretty evident why they've been successful the past 10 years. Their system is high tempo, high speed and puck possession. And I think as an offensive player, that's the kind of style you want to play. "

The No. 1 line consists of Pavel Datsyuk between Johan Franzen and Tomas Holmstrom.

Florida -- Newcomer Steven Reinprecht is the No. 2 center after spending much of his career as a third- and fourth-liner. The Miami Herald reports Reinprecht is expected to lead a line with Cory Stillman and Michael Frolik.

Minnesota -- In Martin Havlat's preseason debut Sept. 20, he began the contest on a line with Benoit Pouliot and Petr Sykora, and eventually scored twice in a 3-0 victory against Chicago, reported the Star Tribune.

Montreal -- An injury to Max Pacioretty led coach Jacques Martin to put Mike Cammalleri on the top line with Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta in a 4-3 win against Pittsburgh on Monday. "I thought that line was playing well with Max," Martin told the Montreal Gazette. "They were getting the best chances and I had no intention of changing things but Max suffered an upper-body injury. It's nothing serious, but we decided to keep him out for the third."

Martin said he decided to move Cammalleri because his line with rookie Ben Maxwell and Andrei Kostitsyn wasn't clicking. It was the first time the three major newcomers were united in a game.

The Gazette also reports that Guillaume Latendresse and Matt D'Agostini are hoping to play on one of the Canadiens' top two lines, but likely will stay third-liners with center Maxim Lapierre.

Nashville -- The top line of Steve Sullivan, Jason Arnott and J.P. Dumont totaled five points in a 5-0 win against Atlanta in the preseason opener last week. "We talked before camp about being ready to start the season, so that there is no rust and that we're not easing into the season," Sullivan told the Tennessean. "We want to make sure that when the puck drops at Game 1, we're at our best. "

Joel Ward, recovered from a strained groin earlier in training camp, was getting a look on a line with Ryan Jones and rookie Colin Wilson.

N.Y. Rangers – At practice earlier this week the team worked exclusively on power plays for 20 minutes, according to the New York Post. One unit had four forwards -- Marian Gaborik, Vaclav Prospal, Ryan Callahan and Ales Kotalik -- with a defenseman. The second power-play line had Enver Lisin, Chris Higgins and Chris Drury.

Newly-signed Brandon Dubinsky is expected to be given every shot to center the top line, with Marian Gaborik at right wing. "I'll do whatever the coaching staff wants of me, but getting the chance to play with Gabby has been in the back of my mind since the summer," Dubinsky told the New York Post. "I think it's only natural to relish the opportunity to play with one of the most elite wingers in the League.

"If I'm given that chance, I'll do everything in my power to make the most of it. I'm confident that I can make that work. But that goes for whatever role Torts (coach John Tortorella) and the staff wants me to play. "

Ottawa -- Danish rookie Peter Regin was centering a line with veterans Alexei Kovalev and Mike Fisher at practice Wednesday. "It's exciting," Regin told the Senators' Web site. "I have been a big fan of (Kovalev) for the past 15 years. So it's exciting to be on the ice with him.

Coach Cory Clouston said there's a good chance that unit may be the No. 2 line opening night. The top line features Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek. The third line has Ryan Shannon centering Nick Foligno and Jonathan Cheechoo, and the fourth line has Jarkko Ruutu, Chris Kelly and Chris Neil.

Philadelphia -- The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that impressive rookie James van Riemsdyk was at left wing on a line with center Mike Richards and right wing Simon Gagne at Monday's practice. Van Riemsdyk also has seen time with Jeff Carter and Arron Asham, reports the Philadelphia Daily News.

Pittsburgh -- In Monday's 4-3 loss to Montreal, the Penguins used their No. 1 power-play unit of Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Bill Guerin, Sergei Gonchar and Kris Letang. "It was OK," Crosby told the Toronto Globe and Mail. "We haven't got a lot of chances to practice it. We've still got some kinks to work out, like timing. As we go on we have to improve, no doubt, but it's good to have everybody together."

St. Louis -- In Thursday's game at Minnesota, the Blues will unveil their top power-play unit of Keith Tkachuk, Brad Boyes and Andy McDonald at forward, with Paul Kariya and Erik Johnson on the points, reports the Belleville News-Democrat. Another man-advantage unit has David Backes, T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund up front, with Carlo Colaiacovo and David Perron on the points. "In (Perron's) case, it's trying to get our top offensive guys out there," coach Andy Murray said. "I don't know if there's a spot for David up front with all the other forwards we have, so we need to use him on the point."

The regular No. 1 line will feature Perron, McDonald and Backes, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, an effective trio in last season's playoffs.

As for the other lines, Murray recently has swapped centers, putting Tkachuk with Kariya and Boyes, and Berglund with Brad Winchester and Oshie. "First of all, Keith has had some history with (Kariya and Boyes) and a history of some success with them ... and Bergy's had some success with (Oshie)," Murray said. "We thought Bergy was pressing a little bit playing with Paul. He wasn't shooting it the way he normally does ... that kind of thing. It kind of seems to have loosened him up a little bit and his game has been better."

Tampa Bay -- Coach Rick Tocchet has been impressed with Stephane Veilleux at right wing on Vincent Lecavalier's line. "What I like about Stephane on that line is he knows what to do," Tocchet told the St. Petersburg Times. "He crashes the net. I think (Alex) Tanguay and Vinny are a great pair. But if we can get a winger to be that energy guy who goes to the net, that's what we're looking for, a guy who can clear space."

Steve Downie also is in the mix for the coveted right wing spot next to Lecavalier.

The Tampa Tribune reports the other top line is Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone, a unit that goes back to the end of last season.

Toronto -- The line of Christian Hanson, Tyler Bozak and Viktor Stalberg has been nicknamed the Frat Pack -- all are 23 years old and played in college last season. "It's just fun that people care, I guess, and notice us out there," said Stalberg. "What our name is doesn't really matter -- it's pretty irrelevant right now. We're trying to make a case for us playing up in the big leagues this year, so if people notice us out there that's a good thing."

Another line has Belarusian Mikhail Grabovski, Ukrainian Alexei Ponikarovsky and Russian Nikolai Kulemin -- all three speak Russian. "Basically, what we're trying to do is support the puck all over the ice and use speed," Ponikarovsky told the National Post. "We try to get the puck out of the zone and give support to each other on the boards. That comes with the speed ... (but) sometimes you have to re-route yourself."

Vancouver -- Rookie center Cody Hodgson is going to be under the microscope in the final two preseason games in his quest to crack the opening-day lineup. The 19-year-old center, who isn't fully recovered from an off-season back injury, skated with Kyle Wellwood and fellow rookie Michael Grabner for the final two periods of Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to Vancouver.

Alexandre Burrows, who played much of last season at left wing next to Daniel and Henrik Sedin, may not return to that spot, which could go to veteran Mikael Samuelsson. "This is about winning hockey games and putting players in positions and roles that give you the best chance, " coach Alain Vigneault told the Vancouver Province. "If that means that Burrows has to become a checker, then he's going to become a checker. If it means playing with the twins, he'll play there."

Washington -- The Washington Post reports coach Bruce Boudreau recently replaced Mike Knuble with Alexander Semin on the top line with Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom in Wednesday's 6-2 victory against Chicago. "Those guys were a lot better (Wednesday), meaning Alex, Alex and Nicky," Boudreau said. "When they're good, they're pretty fun to watch. They're a line that I don't think will stay together for 82 games, but when they're on and not just looking for each other to be fancy, they're a pretty unique, skilled line."

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