The Front Line: Who's the new No. 1 forward?

Those of you that took the slight risk on draft day and selected Sidney Crosby with the No. 1 pick were rewarded handsomely for most of the season. Of course, that is, until he suffered an extremely unlucky bounce on Saturday against the Islanders that could keep him out for the rest of the regular season.

Devastating news for Crosby fantasy owners.

No one is capable of producing the all-round production Crosby gave his fantasy owners. His 56 points were 10 more than Steven Stamkos (who is second on the list); his 41 assists were six more than Martin St. Louis' 35; his plus-26 was second only to Chris Kunitz's plus-27; his 17 power-play points were tied for fifth-best; his 124 shots on goal were fifth-most in the NHL. There was simply no flaw to his game.

The big question is now this: Who takes the new No. 1 spot among our forward rankings? Here are five potential candidates:

Steven Stamkos, Lightning -- It's hard to find a more consistent performer in the NHL over the last four years. Outside of his minus-7 rating, Stamkos has been dynamite for his owners (25 G, 21 A, 24 PIMs, 15 PPP, 118 SOG).

Eric Staal, Hurricanes -- He was third on our rankings list last week, and with dominant production (16 G, 22 A, plus-14, 42 PIMs, 110 SOG) in every category except power-play points (five), you can see why Staal would be in the conversation for the No. 1 forward.

Alex Ovechkin, Capitals -- Last week I discussed Ovechkin returning to his elite form, and an argument can definitely be made for him to be the top forward for the rest of this season. He's currently on an eight-game point-scoring streak and is currently the fourth-ranked player in Yahoo! leagues.

Patrick Kane, Blackhawks -- There might not be a better story in fantasy hockey than the re-emergence of Kane as a dominant force. After posting a career-low 66 points last season, Kane has bounced back in a huge way with an outstanding stat line: 19 G, 24 A, plus-13, 4 PIMs, 14 PPP, 102 SOG.

So, who gets the honor?

Stamkos seems like the most likely choice -- I did have him ranked second to Crosby every week since Feb. 12 -- but with Crosby out, I'm selecting his teammate, Malkin, as the new No. 1 forward. Malkin's role will only become more vital to the Penguins, and like last season when Crosby was out, you can expect Malkin to deliver in big ways.

In the two games since returning from his injury, Malkin has posted a goal and an assist and is now the center of the team's top line with James Neal and Jarome Iginla on his wings. Malkin averages 4:43 of power-play ice time (19:23 of total ice time per game) and the Penguins are still loaded with plenty of talent. The only difference is that instead of Crosby being the go-to playmaker, it will now be Malkin, and I expect big things from him over the final four weeks of this season.

TRENDING UPWARD

Taylor Hall, Oilers -- With 36 points in 32 games, it's been an extremely solid season for Hall. However, his March production has been elite -- he has nine goals, 10 assists, a plus-5, four power-play points and 36 shots on goal in 15 games. The days when Hall was just tacking on assists are long gone, and he is starting to look like the 27-goal player (in 61 games) we saw last season prior to his injury.

Joffrey Lupul

Left Wing - TOR

GOALS: 8 | ASST: 5 | PTS: 13
SOG: 28 | +/-: 8

Ray Whitney, Stars -- In the 11 games since returning from injury, Whitney has looked like his old self, posting five goals and five assists with five of those points coming on the man advantage. Whitney is somehow available in 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues, but should be added in all formats for the final month, especially if you need some help in the power play department.

TRENDING DOWNWARD

Jordan Staal, Hurricanes -- While Staal's point production hasn't been too bad (9 G, 13 A in 34 games), the fact that he constantly finds himself on the ice against the opposing teams' top lines has done a number on his plus/minus -- he's a minus-11 on the season. Add in the fact he's only seeing 2:35 of power-play ice time and you're staring at a decent depth center, but not a must-start fantasy player. He has four points in his past 10 games and has been a minus-8 during that time without recording a plus rating once.

Brad Richards

Center - NYR

GOALS: 5 | ASST: 14 | PTS: 19
SOG: 77 | +/-: -1

Brayden Schenn, Flyers -- Schenn's March production has been a far cry from what he did in February. After posting six goals and 10 assists in 15 February contests, he has just three assists in 13 March games -- and that includes him notching points in his two most recent games. Schenn has proven to be extremely inconsistent, and that's a recipe for disaster for fantasy owners -- especially those of you in head-to-head leagues about to embark on a playoff run.

KEEP AN EYE ON ...

Tyler Toffoli, Kings -- The Kings' second-round selection from the 2010 NHL Draft has been impressive in the early goings of his NHL career with two goals, three helpers, a plus-5 and two power-play points in seven games. The key to Toffoli's production will be what line he skates on. On Sunday he was on a line with Brad Richardson and Kyle Clifford and received just 9:06 of ice time -- not exactly what we'd want. Prior to that he had been playing with Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, and if he can get back on that unit, good things could happen. Toffoli's owned in just two percent of Yahoo! leagues and could be a decent play down the stretch.

These rankings are based on expectations of the season going forward. The plus or minus for each player is movement based on our most recent rankings -- NR means not ranked in previous rankings. They are based on a standard fantasy league with these offensive categories: G, A, plus/minus, PIMs, PPP, SOG.

1	Evgeni Malkin, Penguins (NR)*	51	Sam Gagner, Oilers (+1)
2	Steven Stamkos, Lightning (same)	52	Ray Whitney, Stars (+11)
3	Alex Ovechkin, Capitals (+2)	53	Chris Stewart, Blues (-3)
4	Patrick Kane, Blackhawks (same)	54	Pascal Dupuis, Penguins (same)
5	Eric Staal, Hurricanes (-2)	55	Jordan Eberle, Oilers (+1)
6	John Tavares, Islanders (same)	56	Jeff Skinner, Hurricanes (-5)
7	James Neal, Penguins (+1)	57	Michael Ryder, Canadiens (+9)
8	Jonathan Toews, Blackhawks (+1)	58	Jeff Carter, Kings (+1)
9	Chris Kunitz, Penguins (-2)	59	Jason Pominville, Sabres (-6)
10	Ryan Getzlaf, Ducks (+1)	60	Dustin Brown, Kings (+8)
11	Claude Giroux, Flyers (+2)	61	Scott Hartnell, Flyers (-4)
12	Rick Nash, Rangers (-2)	62	Gabriel Landeskog, Avalanche (+3)
13	Corey Perry, Ducks (-1)	63	David Backes, Blues (-8)
14	Zach Parise, Wild (+4)	64	Johan Franzen, Red Wings (same)
15	Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings (-1)	65	Jaromir Jagr, Stars (+4)
16	Anze Kopitar, Kings (-1)	66	Marian Gaborik, Rangers (-6)
17	Alexander Semin, Hurricanes (same)	67	Radim Vrbata, Coyotes (+9)
18	Martin St. Louis, Lightning (-2)	68	Cody Hodgson, Sabres (-6)
19	Phil Kessel, Maple Leafs (+1)	69	Milan Lucic, Bruins (+3)
20	Daniel Sedin, Canucks (+2)	70	Alexander Steen, Blues (same)
21	Henrik Sedin, Canucks (+2)	71	David Clarkson, Devils (-10)
22	Henrik Zetterberg, Red Wings (-3)	72	Troy Brouwer, Capitals (+6)
23	Thomas Vanek, Sabres (-2)	73	Justin Williams, Kings (+4)
24	Tyler Seguin, Bruins (same)	74	Jiri Tlusty, Hurricanes (-3)
25	Taylor Hall, Oilers (+7)	75	James van Riemsdyk, Maple Leafs (-8)
26	Mike Ribeiro, Capitals (-1)	76	Derek Stepan, Rangers (+9)
27	PA Parenteau, Avalanche (same)	77	David Krejci, Bruins (+5)
28	Nicklas Backstrom, Capitals (-2)	78	Mike Richards, Kings (+1)
29	Joe Thornton, Sharks (+1)	79	Teemu Selanne, Ducks (-4)
30	Nazem Kadri, Maple Leafs (+4)	80	David Perron, Blues (+1)
31	Max Pacioretty, Canadiens (same)	81	Jordan Staal, Hurricanes (-7)
32	Matt Moulson, Islanders (-3)	82	Brad Richards, Rangers (-9)
33	Matt Duchene, Avalanche (-5)	83	T.J. Oshie, Blues (-3)
34	Joffrey Lupul, Maple Leafs (+24)	84	Loui Eriksson, Stars (same)
35	Evander Kane, Jets (+2)	85	Ryan Callahan, Rangers (-2)
36	Mikko Koivu, Wild (+7)	86	Ryan O'Reilly, Avalanche (+2)
37	Jarome Iginla, Penguins (+11)	87	Devin Setoguchi, Wild (+6)
38	Patrice Bergeron, Bruins (+6)	88	Blake Wheeler, Jets (-1)
39	Jakub Voracek, Flyers (same)	89	Tyler Ennis, Sabres (+7)
40	Jamie Benn, Stars (same)	90	Vladimir Tarasenko, Blues (+2)
41	Patrick Marleau, Sharks (-8)	91	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Oilers (+9)
42	Andrew Ladd, Jets (-4)	92	Teddy Purcell, Lightning (-3)
43	Logan Couture, Sharks (-7)	93	Dany Heatley, Wild (-7)
44	Patrik Elias, Devils (-9)	94	Daniel Alfredsson, Senators (same)
45	Wayne Simmonds, Flyers (same)	95	Kyle Turris, Senators (+3)
46	Brad Marchand, Bruins (+1)	96	Damien Brunner, Red Wings (-6)
47	Alexandre Burrows, Canucks (-6)	97	Shane Doan, Coyotes (NR)
48	Tomas Plekanec, Canadiens (-2)	98	Jonathan Huberdeau, Panthers (NR)
49	Bobby Ryan, Ducks (-7)	99	Brandon Saad, Blackhawks (NR)
50	Joe Pavelski, Sharks (-1)	100	Brayden Schenn, Flyers (-9)

* Was listed on IR in last week's rankings

Players that dropped out of previous rankings: Cory Conacher, Carl Hagelin, Andy McDonald

Injured: Sidney Crosby, Ilya Kovalchuk, Marian Hossa, Jason Spezza, Patrick Sharp, Vincent Lecavalier, Ryan Kesler, Danny Briere, Paul Stastny, Milan Michalek, Brandon Dubinsky, Kris Versteeg, Stephen Weiss, Steve Downie

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