Week 17: 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 Boston Bruins broke up their top line of left wing Brad Marchand, center Patrice Bergeron and right wing David Pastrnak this past week, replacing Pastrnak with forward Danton Heinen and moving Pastrnak to the second line with center David Krejci and left wing Peter Cehlarik. This is the second stint this season on the top line for Heinen, who has three points (two goals, one assist), 10 shots on goal and a plus-4 in three games since the change. Heinen is a worthwhile streaming option for as long as he brings exposure to Boston's elite forwards. UPDATE: Pastrnak (thumb surgery) is out for at least two weeks.
-- Florida Panthers forward Derick Brassard has three points (one goal, two assists) in his first four games since being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 1, including a goal against the Washington Capitals on Saturday on the top line with center Aleksander Barkov and wing Evgenii Dadonov. Brassard has seen an uptick in usage since joining the Panthers, averaging 17:14 per game compared to 14:56 in 40 games with the Penguins. Brassard's top-six, second power-play role makes him a viable waiver-wire option in deeper leagues.
PRODUCTION TRENDS
--The Montreal Canadiens line of left wing Jonathan Drouin, center Phillip Danault and right wing Brendan Gallagher rejoins the ranks after combining for 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) and 36 SOG over Montreal's past four games (3-0-1 in span). Drouin has nine points (three goals, six assists) and 18 SOG in the four games and has matched his point total (46) from last season in 21 fewer games. Danault, meanwhile, has 40 points, matching his NHL career high from 2016-17 and has becoming a must-add forward in season-long formats.
-- The Chicago Blackhawks top line of center Jonathan Toews, right wing Patrick Kane and left wing Drake Caggiula is the biggest riser in this week's rankings, and the second unit of left wing Alex DeBrincat, center Dylan Strome and right wing Dominik Kahun is also producing at a high level. The Blackhawks' second line has combined for 35 points (11 goals, 24 assists) and 44 SOG during their seven-game winning streak. DeBrincat has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) during an eight-game point streak, the longest of his NHL career. Strome has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) during the seven games compared to six points (three goals, three assists) in 20 games with the Arizona Coyotes this season. Strome has 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 32 games with the Blackhawks and is a must-own player in standard leagues for the rest of the season.
FANTASY LINE RANKINGS FOR 2018-19
1. CGY: Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Elias Lindholm (SAME)
2. TBL: Ondrej Palat (DTD) -- Steven Stamkos -- Nikita Kucherov (SAME)
3. BOS: Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- Danton Heinen (SAME)
4. COL: Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen (SAME)
5. TOR: Zach Hyman -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner (+2)
6. BUF: Jeff Skinner -- Jack Eichel -- Jason Pominville (+2)
7. WPG: Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler (-1)
8. PIT: Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust (-3)
9. NSH: Filip Forsberg -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson (+1)
10. CBJ: Artemi Panarin -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Cam Atkinson (-1)
11. SJS: Evander Kane -- Tomas Hertl -- Joonas Donskoi (+4)
12. WSH: Alex Ovechkin -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie (SAME)
13. TBL: Tyler Johnson -- Brayden Point -- Yanni Gourde (SAME)
14. DAL: Jamie Benn -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander Radulov (-3)
15. TOR: Patrick Marleau -- Auston Matthews -- Kasperi Kapanen (+1)
16. FLA: Evgenii Dadonov -- Aleksander Barkov -- Derick Brassard (+2)
17. VGK: Max Pacioretty -- Paul Stastny -- Alex Tuch (-3)
18. WSH: Jakub Vrana -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson (-1)
19. CHI: Drake Caggiula -- Jonathan Toews -- Patrick Kane (+5)
20. CAR: Nino Niederreiter -- Sebastian Aho -- Justin Williams (-1)
21. VGK: Jonathan Marchessault -- William Karlsson -- Reilly Smith (SAME)
22. PHI: Oskar Lindblom -- Sean Couturier -- Jakub Voracek (+3)
23. STL: Brayden Schenn -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Vladimir Tarasenko (NEW)
24. EDM: Leon Draisaitl -- Connor McDavid -- Ty Rattie / Alex Chiasson (-2)
25. MTL: Jonathan Drouin -- Phillip Danault -- Brendan Gallagher (NEW)
NOTES: The Calgary Flames' top line of Gaudreau, Monahan and Lindholm has led the rankings for five consecutive weeks. … David Pastrnak, who was moved off the Bruins' top line, is out for at least two weeks after thumb surgery. ... The Buffalo Sabres changed their line combinations in the past week but eventually reunited valuable forwards Skinner and Eichel, who have been playing with Pominville over past three games. … Rust is back on the Pittsburgh Penguins' first line, replacing Dominik Simon. … Kucherov played primarily with Palat and Stamkos against the Penguins on Saturday but also played more than five minutes on a line with Gourde and Point. Kucherov and Stamkos were the highest scoring point pair in the NHL last season (56 team goals with each having a point). … Panarin is a potential 2019 unrestricted free agent. … Chiasson and Rattie split time on a line with McDavid and Draisaitl against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. McDavid and Draisaitl are the only teammates in the NHL with 30 goals each this season.
Read: Week 16 line rankings