Week 13: 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

-- Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers (upper body) is expected to be out until February after sustaining an injury against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday. With Ehlers sidelined, forward Jack Roslovic (C, 2 percent owned) will get a chance in the top six, where he'll likely skate on a line with center Bryan Little and elite right wing Patrik Laine. Left wing Kyle Connor, meanwhile, has been moved from the second line to the top line, where he'll play with elite forwards Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler. Roslovic has eight points (two goals, six assists) in 38 games but was better than a point per game (35 points in 32 games) with Manitoba of the American Hockey League last season and could break out in an expanded role.
-- The Toronto Maple Leafs reshuffled their top two lines this week, moving left wing Connor Brown to the line with John Tavares and Mitchell Marner and putting wings Andreas Johnsson and William Nylander onto Auston Matthews' line. Brown (RW, 1 percent owned) has two assists and a plus-3 in two games since the line change and is a short-term fantasy option until Zach Hyman (ankle) returns. Nylander finally scored his first goal of the season against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday after being reunited with his longtime linemate Matthews. Matthews' line had a 3-0 goal differential at even strength against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. UPDATE: Hyman could return against the Nashville Predators on Monday.
-- Right wing Zack Kassian is the latest member of the Edmonton Oilers to be featured on the line with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. In the past two games, Kassian has an assist and five shots on goal in the past two games. Any player that brings exposure to elite linemates like McDavid and Draisaitl is fantasy relevant, so consider Kassian a streaming option with added value in hits leagues (107).

PRODUCTION TRENDS

-- The Calgary Flames top line of left wing Johnny Gaudreau, center Sean Monahan and right wing Elias Lindholm owns the No. 1 spot in the rankings for the first time this season. The trio has combined for 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) in the past four games, helping Calgary go 3-1-0 in the span. Gaudreau has goals in four straight games with 11 points (five goals, six assists) during the streak and has totaled 43 points (18 goals, 25 assists) in his past 24 games with at least one point in 19 of the 24. Right now, there isn't a safer stack in FanDuel.
--The Minnesota Wild top line of left wing Zach Parise, center Charlie Coyle and right wing Luke Kunin combined for seven points (one goal, six assists) against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday and joins the ranks for the first time this season. Parise had three points (one goal, two assists) on Saturday, giving him nine points (four goals, five assists) during a five-game point streak. Coyle (C/RW, 9 percent owned) had two assists Saturday, giving him six points (two goals, four assists) during a four-game point streak. Coyle had 56 points (18 goals, 38 points) in 2016-17 and is a waiver-wire option in standard leagues.

FANTASY LINE RANKINGS FOR 2018-19

1. CGY: Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Elias Lindholm (+2)
   2. TBL: Tyler Johnson -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov (-1)
   3. COL: Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen (-1)
   4. BOS: Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak (+5)
   5. TOR: Connor Brown / Zach Hyman (DTD) -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner (+3)
   6. WSH: Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson (SAME)
   7. CBJ: Artemi Panarin -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Cam Atkinson (-3)
   8. BUF: Jeff Skinner -- Jack Eichel (DTD) / Evan Rodrigues -- Sam Reinhart (-3)
   9. FLA: Jonathan Huberdeau -- Aleksander Barkov -- Evgenii Dadonov (-2)
   10. PIT: Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust (+6)
   11. DAL: Jamie Benn -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander Radulov (+1)
   12. WPG: Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler (-2)
   13. VGK: Max Pacioretty -- Paul Stastny -- Alex Tuch (+5)
   14. TOR: Andreas Johnsson -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander (-1)
   15. EDM: Leon Draisaitl -- Connor McDavid -- Zack Kassian (-3)
   16. NSH: Filip Forsberg (INJ.) / Calle Jarnkrok -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson (-1)
   17. TBL: Ondrej Palat -- Steven Stamkos -- Alex Killorn (-3)
   18. WSH: Jakub Vrana -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie (+1)
   19. VGK: Jonathan Marchessault -- William Karlsson -- Reilly Smith (-2)
   20. WPG: Jack Roslovic -- Bryan Little -- Patrik Laine (SAME)
   21. NYI: Anthony Beauvillier -- Mathew Barzal -- Josh Bailey (+1)
   22. CAR: Brock McGinn -- Sebastian Aho -- Teuvo Teravainen (+3)
   23. SJS: Lukas Radil -- Logan Couture -- Timo Meier (+1)
   24. SJS: Evander Kane -- Tomas Hertl -- Joonas Donskoi (NEW)
   25. MIN: Zach Parise -- Charlie Coyle -- Luke Kunin (NEW)
       NOTES:Rodrigues is centering the top line in the absence of Eichel, who's day to day with an upper-body injury. … The Washington Capitals have gone back to their lines from the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, with Kuznetsov centering Ovechkin and Backstrom back with Vrana and Oshie. … Pacioretty returned against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday and scored the game-winning goal, assisted by Stastny. Forward Brandon Pirri, who had been thriving on that line, was sent to Chicago of the American Hockey League but has since been recalled again. … Benn missed one game with an upper-body injury but is expected to return Sunday. … The Vancouver Canucks line with center Elias Pettersson and right wing Brock Boeser has been removed from the rankings with the rookie expected to be out at least one week with a sprained knee. … Donskoi has six points (four goals, two assists) and is plus-4 over his past five games on a line with mostly Kane and Hertl; the addition of that unit gives the Sharks two lines in this week's rankings.
       Read: Week 12 line rankings