APPLICATION » final.The two veteran No.9s will stand opposite

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. Ian Kinsler Jersey . Team physician Dr. Steve Traina performed the surgery Friday. Robinson was injured in a spill underneath the Nuggets basket during the first quarter of Wednesday nights loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. Aaron Loup Jersey . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. http://www.padressale.com/padres-craig-stammen-jersey/ . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. Franchy Cordero Padres Jersey . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. Trevor Hoffman Padres Jersey . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. As their 14-year-old rivalry comes to a head, tensions between Cameron Smith and Michael Ennis linger ahead of Sundays NRL grand final.The two veteran No.9s will stand opposite each other one last time before Cronulla rake Michael Ennis hangs up his boots.Throughout their careers, the two have been contrasting figures - Smith the ultimate statesman while Ennis has earned his reputation as the games premier niggler.Ennis, nicknamed The Menace, has on more than one occasion attempted to get under Smiths skin and in 2014 he was roundly criticised as disrespectful for patting the Queensland and Australian skipper on the head.Smith predicted Ennis would try to put him off his game during the season decider but vowed not to take the bait.When asked if he had ever been rattled by Ennis, Smith said: Nah. I try to keep my calm.He might try to do it again on Sunday.My focus is about me, my teammates and my role in the siide.ddddddddddddIm sure were going to cross paths at some point during the match.The Sharks provided a blueprint for the rest of the competition when they put the Storm off their game with some early niggle during their round four 14-6 win, with Ennis leading the way.After that match, Sharks coach Shane Flanagan admitted his side went in trying to unsettle their opposition and praised his troops for rattling the Storms cage.Ennis also famously slapped Storm halfback Cooper Cronk when the two sides met last year and the Sharks appear set to look to him to provide spark on Sunday.Thats just Micky, Smith said.I actually get on with him quite well off the footy field. Thats part of the role that he plays.Hes a competitor and hes out there to do the best for his team. Were all the same. ' ' '