Week 11: 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.

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LINE CHANGES

-- Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron returned from a 16-game absence with four points (two goals, two assists) against the Nashville Predators on Saturday. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy broke up his elite top line of Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, replacing Pastrnak with right wing Danton Heinen to create more offensive depth. Heinen (C/LW/RW, 4 percent owned) had 47 points (16 goals, 31 assists) as a rookie last season and instantly becomes fantasy relevant with exposure to the elite Marchand-Bergeron duo.
-- The Dallas Starsrecalled forward Denis Gurianov from Texas of the American Hockey League on Dec. 14 in search of an offensive jolt. Gurianov (RW, 1 percent owned), the 12th pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, had 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) in 23 AHL games this season and has two assists in four NHL games since being recalled. He has played mostly on the top line with elite forwards Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn in recent games and is also on the second power-play unit with defensemen Esa Lindell and fellow rookie Miro Heiskanen. Gurianov has seen favorable lineup placement since joining the Stars and is a player to closely monitor in fantasy moving forward.
-- A lower-body injury to left wing Max Pacioretty has created an opportunity for forward Brandon Pirri on the Vegas Golden Knights' second line. Pirri (C, 3 percent owned), recalled from Chicago of the AHL, has three goals on eight shots on goal through his first two games with the Golden Knights on a line with center Paul Stastny and right wing Reilly Smith. Pirri had 22 goals in 49 games for the Florida Panthers in 2014-15 and was leading the AHL with 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists) before being recalled. Pirri has also been used on the second power-play unit and is a prime streaming option for as long as he's in Vegas' top six. UPDATE: Pirri has been sent down to the AHL.

PRODUCTION TRENDS

-- The Columbus Blue Jackets line of left wing Artemi Panarin, center Pierre-Luc Dubois and right wing Cam Atkinson is in the top 10 of the rankings for a second consecutive week. The top unit has combined for 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in the past six games, helping Columbus go 5-0-1 in that span. Atkinson has four goals during a three-game goal streak, and is on pace to finish the season with a Columbus-record 53 goals. This group is one of the most consistent lines in the NHL and worthy of being stacked in DFS on a nightly basis.
-- Montreal Canadiens center Phillip Danault has seven points (three goals, four assists) and 11 shots on goal in the past six games, including a hat trick against the Golden Knights on Saturday. Danault (C, 4 percent owned) centers the second line between left wing Tomas Tatar and right wing Brendan Gallagher and leads Canadiens forwards in 5-on-5 shot attempts (643). Danault has 22 points (five goals, 17 assists) this season, three away from his total last season (25 in 52 games). With valuable linemates and a top-six role, Danault is scratching the surface in deep leagues and a viable value option in DFS.

FANTASY LINE RANKINGS FOR 2018-19

1. COL: Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen (SAME)
   2. BUF: Jeff Skinner -- Jack Eichel -- Sam Reinhart (+2)
   3. TBL: Tyler Johnson -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov (+2)
   4. WSH: Alex Ovechkin -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie (-2)
   5. CGY: Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Elias Lindholm (-2)
   6. CBJ: Artemi Panarin -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Cam Atkinson (+1)
   7. FLA: Jonathan Huberdeau -- Aleksander Barkov -- Mike Hoffman (-1)
   8. WPG: Nikolaj Ehlers -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler (+1)
   9. BOS: Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak / Danton Heinen (-1)
   10. TOR: Andreas Johnsson -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner (+3)
   11. DAL: Jamie Benn -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander Radulov / Denis Gurianov (SAME)
   12. EDM: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Jesse Puljujarvi (-2)
   13. TOR: Patrick Marleau -- Auston Matthews -- Kasperi Kapanen (-1)
   14. PIT: Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust (+5)
   15. TBL: Ondrej Palat -- Steven Stamkos -- Yanni Gourde (-1)
   16. WSH: Jakub Vrana -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson (+2)
   17. WPG: Kyle Connor -- Bryan Little -- Patrik Laine (-2)
   18. VGK: Jonathan Marchessault -- William Karlsson -- Alex Tuch (-2)
   19. VGK: Max Pacioretty (INJ.) / Brandon Pirri (AHL) -- Paul Stastny -- Reilly Smith (-2)
   20. PHI: James van Riemsdyk -- Claude Giroux -- Travis Konecny (NEW)
   21. PIT: Zach Aston-Reese -- Evgeni Malkin -- Phil Kessel (SAME)
   22. SJS: Tomas Hertl / Lukas Radil -- Logan Couture -- Timo Meier (SAME)
   23. CAR: Micheal Ferland -- Sebastian Aho -- Teuvo Teravainen (-3)
   24. VAN: Nikolay Goldobin / Josh Leivo -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser (NEW)
   25. ANA: Pontus Aberg -- Ryan Getzlaf -- Ondrej Kase (SAME)
       NOTES: Johnsson has been moved to the Maple Leafs' first line in place of Zach Hyman, who is expected to be out three weeks with an ankle injury. … With Smith moving to Stastny's line, Tuch has been elevated to a unit with Karlsson and Marchessault. … Nugent-Hopkins and Puljujarvi have replaced Leon Draisaitl and Alex Chiasson on McDavid's wings, resulting in a drop for the Edmonton Oilers' top line. … Radil saw time with Couture and Meier when the San Jose Sharks shuffled their lines against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. Radil has two goals and two assists in his past four games. … The Philadelphia Flyers line of van Riemsdyk, Giroux and Konecny has been together consistently since their coaching change Dec. 17.
       Read: Week 10 line rankings