Week 19: Fantasy hockey line top 25 rankings for 2018-19

NHL.com ranks the top fantasy hockey forward lines and tracks notable changes and production trends each week during the 2018-19 season. For more fantasy coverage, visit NHL.com/Fantasy.

LINE CHANGES

-- The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired center Matt Duchene from the Ottawa Senators on Friday and put him on the top line with left wing Artemi Panarin and right wing Cam Atkinson in place of Pierre-Luc Dubois. The stacked line combined for six points (three goals, three assists) in two games, with Duchene having two points (one goal, one assist), four shots on goal and a plus-1.
The Blue Jackets then acquired Ryan Dzingel from the Senators on Saturday, which could impact how coach John Tortorella constructs his lines moving forward. Duchene and Dzingel were each other's most frequent linemate at 5-on-5 with the Senators this season and could play on the same line again in Columbus. That means fantasy owners of Dubois shouldn't panic about his value for the rest of the season with the likelihood of him eventually rejoining Panarin and Atkinson.
If Duchene and Dzingel play together on the second line, Oliver Bjorkstrand (LW/RW, 2 percent owned) could be the third forward on that unit. He's worth monitoring in deeper leagues and FanDuel DFS contests after scoring two points (one goal, one assist) in the past two games.
-- Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Donato (C/LW/RW, 5 percent owned) scored the overtime goal against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday, giving him four points (one goal, three assists) and nine SOG in his first three games since being acquired from the Boston Bruins on Feb. 20. Donato has played on a line with center Joel Eriksson Ek and forward Luke Kunin and also brings exposure to valuable center Eric Staal and defenseman Jared Spurgeon on the second power-play unit. Donato is worth rostering in deep leagues and FanDuel DFS contests and should also be monitored in standard formats.

PRODUCTION TRENDS

-- The Blue Jackets line of left wing Nick Foligno, center Boone Jenner and right wing Josh Anderson has combined for eight points (four goals, four assists) in the past three games, including Anderson scoring four points (two goals, two assists) during his three-game point streak. Jenner (C/LW, 22 percent owned), who has 12 SOG in the past two games, is two goals away from matching his total from last season (13 goals in 75 games) and could be valuable for the rest of the season. Columbus is likely to mix and match its top two lines after the Duchene and Dzingel trades, but the Foligno-Jenner-Anderson line has been a steady unit all season, with Anderson already scoring an NHL career-high 22 goals.
-- The Florida Panthers' top unit of center Aleksander Barkov, left wing Jonathan Huberdeau and right wing Frank Vatrano rejoins the rankings after dropping out last week because of multiple line changes. Barkov has four straight multipoint games with 11 points (six goals, five assists) in the span, and Huberdeau has eight points (four goals, four assists) and a plus-6 during a four-game point streak. Vatrano (C/LW/RW, 29 percent owned) has an NHL career-high 20 goals this season and is a must-own fantasy forward with consistent exposure to Barkov and Huberdeau at even strength and valuable forward Vincent Trocheck and defenseman Aaron Ekblad on the second power play.
-- St. Louis Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz has been moved to the first line in place of forward Brayden Schenn, who was placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Schwartz has seven points (three goals, four assists) and 21 SOG in his past nine games and is worth adding in standard leagues on a line that remains among the top 15 rankings.

FANTASY LINE RANKINGS FOR 2018-19

1. TBL: Tyler Johnson -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov (+2)
   2. TOR: Zach Hyman -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner (+2)
   3. BOS: Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- Danton Heinen (-1)
   4. CGY: Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Elias Lindholm / Matthew Tkachuk (-3)
   5. COL: Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen (+1)
   6. NSH: Filip Forsberg -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson (-1)
   7. WPG: Patrik Laine -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler (+1)
   8. BUF: Jeff Skinner -- Jack Eichel -- Jason Pominville (-1)
   9. CBJ: Artemi Panarin -- Matt Duchene / Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Cam Atkinson (+2)
   10. PIT: Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust (-1)
   11. WSH: Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson (+1)
   12. CHI: Drake Caggiula -- Jonathan Toews -- Patrick Kane (+4)
   13. TOR: Patrick Marleau -- Auston Matthews -- Kasperi Kapanen (+1)
   14. STL: Jaden Schwartz -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Vladimir Tarasenko (+1)
   15. SJS: Evander Kane -- Tomas Hertl -- Joonas Donskoi (-5)
   16. TBL: Ondrej Palat -- Steven Stamkos -- J.T. Miller (-3)
   17. CAR: Nino Niederreiter -- Sebastian Aho -- Justin Williams (+2)
   18. FLA: Jonathan Huberdeau -- Aleksander Barkov -- Frank Vatrano (NEW)
   19. WPG: Kyle Connor -- Bryan Little -- Nikolaj Ehlers (NEW)
   20. SJS: Timo Meier -- Logan Couture -- Joe Pavelski (NEW)
   21. PHI: Oskar Lindblom -- Sean Couturier -- Jakub Voracek (+2)
   22. CHI: Alex DeBrincat -- Dylan Strome -- Dominik Kahun (+2)
   23. WSH: Jakub Vrana -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie (-3)
   24. DAL: Roope Hintz / Jamie Benn (DTD) -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander Radulov (-10)
   25. PIT: Zach Aston-Reese -- Evgeni Malkin -- Phil Kessel (SAME)
   NOTES: The Dallas Stars top line dropped 10 spots this week because of injuries to Benn (day to day) and right wing Mats Zuccarello (out at least four weeks). … The Flames' top line is trending down with Gaudreau (one goal in past 11 games), Monahan (two goals in past 11) and Tkachuk (no goals in past 13) struggling. Tkachuk has played with Gaudreau and Monahan since replacing Lindholm on Feb. 18. … The Winnipeg Jets changed their top two lines Friday, and Ehlers scored a goal on the first shift in his return from a shoulder injury on a line with Little and Connor. Laine moved to a stacked line with Scheifele and Wheeler and scored two goals to snap his 15-game drought, but it's worth noting each goal was scored on the power play.
   TRADE DEADLINE UPDATES: Gustav Nyquist could join one of the San Jose Sharks' top two lines after being acquired from the Detroit Red Wings on Monday. The Vegas Golden Knights' top two units dropped out this week, but they have since acquired valuable right wing Mark Stone. ... The Nashville Predators' potential second line of Mikael Granlund, Kyle Turris and Wayne Simmonds could join the rankings as early as next week.
   Read: Week 18 line rankings**