Zucc-Zibanejad-Vatrano-Barkov 1-20

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

-- Florida Panthers center Vincent Trocheck returned to the lineup Friday after missing nearly two months with a broken ankle. Trocheck has three points (one goal, two assists), one on the power play, and six shots on goal in his first two games back, playing with wings Jonathan Huberdeau and Nick Bjugstad. Bjugstad (C/LW/RW, 8 percent owned) has one assist, a plus-3 and six SOG in two games on the line with Trocheck and has become a streaming option with top-six usage.
Forward Frank Vatrano (C/LW/RW, 6 percent owned) has played the past three games on the top line with center Aleksander Barkov and right wing Evgenii Dadonov and has goals in two straight with a combined 14 SOG over the past three. In addition to playing with Barkov, Vatrano is tri-eligible in Yahoo and brings exposure to defenseman Aaron Ekblad on the second power play.
-- The Minnesota Wild have acquired forwards Pontus Aberg and Victor Rask in separate trades, and they played together on a line with valuable left wing Zach Parise against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. Parise scored a goal in the game, assisted by Aberg and Rask, and the linemates combined for six SOG. This line is worth monitoring in Minnesota's final two games before the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend, especially with Rask's shooting percentage (one goal on 25 SOG; 4.0 percent) well below his career rate (9.4).

PRODUCTION TRENDS

-- The New York Rangers' top line of left wing Chris Kreider, center Mika Zibanejad and right wing Mats Zuccarello joins the rankings this week after combining for 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in their three-game winning streak. Zuccarello (21 percent owned), a potential 2019 unrestricted free agent who could be moved prior to the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline (Feb. 25), is heating up after a slow start and injury absence with six points (one goal, five assists) in his past three games..
-- The Philadelphia Flyers line of center Sean Couturier, right wing Jakub Voracek and left wing Oskar Lindblom has combined for 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in the past three games. Couturier enters Philadelphia's bye week with 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in his six-game point streak. Lindblom (1 percent owned) played a season-high 18:23 against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday and could have sneaky fantasy value with improved lineup placement.

FANTASY LINE RANKINGS FOR 2018-19
  1. CGY: Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Elias Lindholm (SAME)
    1. TBL: Tyler Johnson (DTD) / Alex Killorn -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov (SAME)
    2. COL: Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen (DTD) (SAME)
    3. BOS: Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak (SAME)
    4. TOR: Andreas Johnsson -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner (SAME)
    5. PIT: Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust (+1)
    6. BUF: Jeff Skinner -- Jack Eichel -- Sam Reinhart (-1)
    7. CBJ: Artemi Panarin -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Cam Atkinson (SAME)
    8. DAL: Jamie Benn -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander Radulov (+1)
    9. WPG: Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler (+1)
    10. WSH: Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson (-2)
    11. NSH: Filip Forsberg -- Ryan Johansen (SUSP.) -- Viktor Arvidsson (+2)
    12. VGK: Max Pacioretty -- Paul Stastny -- Alex Tuch (SAME)
    13. TBL: Ondrej Palat -- Steven Stamkos -- Yanni Gourde (+3)
    14. SJS: Evander Kane -- Tomas Hertl -- Joonas Donskoi (+4)
    15. FLA: Frank Vatrano -- Aleksander Barkov -- Evgenii Dadonov (-4)
    16. WSH: Jakub Vrana -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie (-2)
    17. TOR: Zach Hyman -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander (-2)
    18. EDM: Leon Draisaitl -- Connor McDavid -- Alex Chiasson (-1)
    19. NYI: Anthony Beauvillier -- Mathew Barzal -- Josh Bailey (SAME)
    20. VGK: Jonathan Marchessault -- William Karlsson -- Brandon Pirri (+1)
    21. WPG: Patrik Laine -- Bryan Little -- Jack Roslovic (+1)
    22. CAR: Nino Niederreiter -- Sebastian Aho -- Justin Williams (-2)
    23. DET: Tyler Bertuzzi -- Dylan Larkin -- Gustav Nyquist (NEW)
    24. NYR: Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Mats Zuccarello (NEW)
      NOTES: Johnson sustained a lower-body injury on Thursday, so Killorn played on the top line and scored an unassisted goal in the Tampa Bay Lightning's final game before their bye week, which includes All-Star Weekend. … Rantanen left the game with a lower-body injury on Saturday but is expected to play Monday. … Johansen is serving a two-game suspension and will not play Monday but is eligible to return Wednesday. … Teuvo Teravainen has played most frequently with Aho and Micheal Ferland this season, but the Carolina Hurricanes have moved Niederreiter, acquired from the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, to the top line with Aho and Williams. ... Forward Drake Caggiula was moved to a line with elite forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews for the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday and had no points but was plus-3. ... Elite center Evgeni Malkin has had rotating linemates lately but skated with valuable wings Phil Kessel and Patric Hornqvist, who returned Saturday from a concussion.
      Read: Week 14 line rankings