Lines and linemates are where we, as fantasy owners, go looking for our roster filler. There are only so many catalysts in the NHL, and it becomes incumbent upon us to start looking at the rest of the fuel in the reaction. Thats where lines start becoming so important. If Player A is going to cause things to happen on the ice that are good for fantasy hockey, it makes sense that Player B is going to benefit from being on the ice with them.Its still very early in the season and these early returns often dont mean much in the long run. In fact, last season at this point, the top line in the NHL was Dale Weise, Tomas Fleischmann and David Desharnais. Its possible you didnt remember what team they played for until we got to the third name and thats fine. This line had a big October and then didnt really do too much the rest of the season.Right now the NHL lead for goals by a line is a tie. The Toronto Maple Leafs trio of James van Riemsdyk, Mitch Marner and Tyler Bozak and the Carolina Hurricanes line of Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask and Lee Stempniak both have 10 goals together.Some takeaways from that fact:The Leafs have awesome scoring depth thanks to coach Mike Babcocks style. Think about it, the top scoring line in the NHL isnt the one with Auston Matthews on it. Whats more, the Leafs have a player in the top 15 on the ESPN Player Rater this season and he isnt on either of the previously mentioned lines (Nazem Kadri). Whether that depth is good or not for fantasy owners can be argued both ways. In our experience, depth isnt always a good thing for fantasy. Over the course of the season, the different Leafs lines will be the hot line at different times, which will detract from the overall value of all of them. Thats not to say that several forwards from this team wont have fantasy value. Its really meant to scare/disappoint you with the knowledge that they could have even more fantasy value if they were condensed a little more in the depth chart.While the line of van Riemsdyk, Marner and Bozak has been impressive by scoring 10 goals, theyve also allowed 11 against. Rask, Skinner and Stempniak, on the other hand, have also scored 10 but allowed only one goal against. It makes their scoring all the more impressive and also gives a stronger suggestion for sustainability. Rask has 10 points this season in 11 games, and should probably be owned in more than 63 percent of ESPN leagues. Maybe while the Hurricanes have been wishing and hoping for a No. 1 center, hes been right there under their noses the whole time.Going a little deeper on the list of lines, three units are tied for second in the NHL with seven goals apiece.The Philadelphia Flyers second line of Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier and Jakub Voracek has seven goals, but has also allowed 10 against. Still, this should be a clear indicator that Konecny is here to stay in a scoring-line role, and is worthy of some fantasy investment in medium-to-deep leagues. Really, in any league deep enough that Couturier is on your radar, Konecny should be too.Also tied with seven goals as a line this season is the Boston Bruins combination of David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and David Backes. Thats not a typo. The line that was used for only the first three games of the season while Patrice Bergeron was getting healthy is still tied for second in the NHL for goals this season.Finally we have the New York Rangers third line of Kevin Hayes, J.T. Miller and Michael Grabner, who also have seven goals this season. What to do with these three? There is a good chance all three are available in your fantasy league, despite the fact all three sit at a plus-13 rating with a minimum of 10 points in 13 games -- Grabner has 10 points, Hayes has 12 and Miller has 13. These guys are overwhelming opponents at the moment. But before you get bent out of shape looking to add all three to your roster, just recall the three names from the second paragraph in this space above: Weise, Fleischmann and Desharnais. At this point last season, Desharnais was on the top scoring line in the NHL with 14 points in 16 games. In his remaining 49 games last season, he would score only 15 points.Good third lines can do this sometimes when they are taking opponents by surprise. But everyone is going to get wise to it at some point, which will mean tougher assignments. We still suggest investing in one of them for now, if they are available in your league. Grabner would be first choice, as a former elite scorer looking for redemption would fit in well in the Rangers top six should the need arise.Forwards rising and fallingNikita Kucherov, RW, Tampa Bay Lightning (up seven spots to No. 25): Things look back on track for Kucherov, with three goals and eight points in the past four games. Just dont lose sight of the fact that Kucherov was floundering without Steven Stamkos at his side to begin the season. We dont think Kucherov is merely a star by association, but it does look like he is only a superstar by association -- when Stamkos is on the ice.Ryan Kesler, C, Anaheim Ducks (up 26 spots to No. 61): Keslers early power-play prowess is making us think back to his days with the Vancouver Canucks under coach Alain Vigneault. At his best, Kesler approached 30 power-play points per season during his two career seasons from 2009-10 to 2010-11. Now playing on the top power-play unit for a team again for the first time since that heyday with the Canucks, Kesler is easily on pace for 30-plus power-play points, with six of his 10 points coming on the man advantage. Dont look now, but new Ducks coach Randy Carlyle could be setting us up for some vintage Kesler stats this season.Alexander Wennberg, C, Columbus Blue Jackets (up 96 spots to No. 146): There are always a few meteoric jumps in the rankings at the beginning of the season when unexpected trends begin to look more like the norm. Weve had one already this season for a member of the Blue Jackets, with rookie defenseman Zach Werenski kicking butt and taking names. Now, Wennberg makes the leap after making it painfully obvious that he is the Blue Jackets No. 1 center. A true puck distributor, Wennberg is playing with Brandon Saad and Nick Foligno on what is clearly the top line for the club. This setup machine managed only 97 shots on goal while collecting 40 points last season, so hes a playmaker first. That element will hold back his fantasy profile somewhat, as most leagues (including our ESPN standard game) reward goal scorers more.Defensemen rising and fallingDennis Seidenberg, D, New York Islanders (enters at No. 236): Well, weve always said that someone has to be the Islanders offensive-minded defenseman. We just never thought that at any point wed be considering Seidenberg for the role. Hes still not sniffing power-play minutes, but we cant ignore Seidenbergs four goals and eight points, to go with a plus-10 rating on a losing team. The overall scoring isnt sustainable, but for now Seidenberg appears worthy of a back-end roster spot. After all, Travis Hamonic just hit the injured reserve, joining rookie Ryan Pulock there, and they are arguably the teams two best offensive talents on the blue line.Goaltenders rising and fallingBrian Elliott, G, Calgary Flames (down 22 spots to No. 95): If Elliott doesnt want to be another footnote in the research that shows most goaltending is a lot more about team than individual, he has a lot of work to do to turn his season around. Consistently one of the stingiest goaltenders in the NHL throughout his tenure with the St. Louis Blues, Elliott is proving to be one of the most porous without Ken Hitchcocks defensive system in front of him. Now nine games into his efforts for the Flames, Elliott has an .887 save percentage. Special teams have certainly not been his friend, with only Corey Crawford allowing more power-play goals against this season, but Elliotts even-strength save percentage is still only .905. Chad Johnsons even-strength save percentage isnt much more respectable at .915, and Johnson is also among the top-10 goalies in terms of power-play goals allowed. Clearly this is a team effort to allow plenty of scoring -- both on and off the power play -- and the Flames have some work to do before fantasy owners can trust the goaltending again.Quick hitsWe are choosing to ignore the fact that Rickard Rakell ended up on the third line on Sunday when Ryan Getzlaf returned to the ice. Nick Ritchie has been good, but not great, at the top of the depth chart with Getzlaf and Corey Perry, meaning Rakell should at least get a shot soon. With two three-point games already under his belt this season, Rakell should have no problem shooting past his 20 goals from last season.A center swap for the Ottawa Senators has kicked Mike Hoffman out of his funk. Playing with Kyle Turris and Zack Smith for the time being, Hoffman has three goals in his past four games. Mark Stone, however, remains ice cold, now playing with Bobby Ryan and Derick Brassard.Clearly benefiting from how much the bottom six has been scoring for the Rangers, its still worth having a quick look to decide if Brady Skjei can help you. Though hes playing limited minutes on the third pairing, Skjei has a run of five consecutive games with a point heading into this week. Hes getting time on the second power-play unit and early on looks like he could have the same kind of fantasy relevance as Colton Parayko did as a rookie last season, which is subtle but not insignificant.Patrick Maroon moved up to the Edmonton Oilers first line, replacing Milan Lucic next to Connor McDavid for the time being. He is absolutely worth picking up to see what he does with the opportunity.Anze Kopitar owners can chill out and remain confident. He finished with 74 points last season as a fantasy darling, but guess how many points he had on Nov. 7 last season? Six, which is exactly what he has on Nov. 7 this season.Jaromir Jagr might need a few days to bounce back from a groin injury at the ripe age of 44. If that is the case, Colton Sceviours profile gets enhanced enough to consider him for a trial on your roster. Already with some points playing in lieu of Jussi Jokinen on the second line, Sceviour is likely to move up to the top line if Jagr has to miss time.Loui Eriksson is probably getting a second chance this week, sooner than expected. Demoted from the top line with the Sedin twins after just a few games, Eriksson is likely to get the call back to the all Swedish line, with Jannik Hansen headed to the injured reserve.Top 250 rankingsHere are the updated rest-of-season, top 250 rankings of forwards, defensemen and goalies, including position ranks.Note: Sean Allens top 250 players are ranked for their expected performance in ESPN standard leagues from this point on. ESPN standard stats include goals, assists, power-play points, shots on goal, plus/minus, penalty minutes and average time on ice for skaters, and wins, goals-against average and save percentage for goalies. Cheap Air Max 90 . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Wholesale Air Max 90 . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. http://www.discountairmax90.com/ . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. Air Max 90 Sale Cheap . Radwanska, making her debut in the Seoul tournament, hit eight aces in a match that lasted 1 hour, 4 minutes at Olympic Park tennis stadium. "It was definitely a very good match -- I was playing really good tennis," Radwanska said. Cheap Air Max 90 China . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory.Justin Harding holds a one-shot lead after the opening round of the Tshwane Open, where Charl Schwartzel struggled in his return to action. Latest leaderboard Tshwane Open Harding finished with back-to-back birdies on his way to a seven-under 63 and set the clubhouse target at Pretoria CC, with top seed Schwartzel sitting eight shots off the pace following a slow start to his campaign.After reaching the turn in 33, Harding went on to post gains on five of his final eight holes to go two clear of early pacesetter Theunis Spangenber, but saw his advantage halved when late starter Anthony Michael closed an opening round 64. Highlights from the opening round of the 2016 Tshwane Open in Pretoria, South Africa Im super chuffed, Harding said after chipping in to birdie the last. I have been struggling the last couple of events so its a confidence boost.I felt like I hit it quite nicely although I was quite jammy on the last; I chipped in from a position that otherwise was not very good. So that was a great way to finish the day. WATCH: Topless in Tshwane?! Haydn Porteous plays a shot topless in Pretoria Its been a while since Ive been up there in one of these events so its a good feeling.ddddddddddddIm just going to see if I can maybe keep it going.Michael picked up three strokes over his opening four holes along the back nine and moved in to outright second with three more gains over a five-hole stretch after the turn, but missed out on a share of the lead with a two-putt par at the par-five ninth. Van Zyl has nine top-three finishes in European Tour events Qualifier Spangenberg, ranked outside of the worlds top 1000, bounced back from a double-bogey at the 10th to close a five-under 67, with Jaco Van Zyl a further stroke back as he searches for a long-awaited first European Tour victory. Ive been hitting the ball well and the game seems solid, so I was confident coming into this week and didnt doubt myself, both in the qualifier and in todays first round, Spangenberg said.I did drop those two shots at 10 and after initially making a bit of a mess of the 11th I eventually chipped in for par to keep the momentum going, but I hit a lot of fairways and was rolling in the putts. Schwartzel sits eight strokes off the pace Merrick Bremner completes an all-South African top-five, while Joburg Open winner Haydn Porteous played a shot with no shirt or shoes on during his level-par 70.Making his first appearance since Decembers Nedbank Golf Challenge, former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel bogeyed two of his final five holes to close a one-over 71 and join SA Open champion Brandon Stone in a tie for 38th.Watch the Tshwane Open throughout the week live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf. Second round coverage gets underway on Friday from 8.30am Also See: Tshwane Open leaders Porteous topless shot! Perfect start to the season Golf live on Sky Sports 4 ' ' '