Line Change
Eric Gryba out; Patrick Wiercioch out.
Gryba has been in and out of the lineup this season. He was a minus-2 in 16:05 last night vs. the Flyers. He has suited up in 13 contests this season, recording one goal and two assists.
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NHL Scratches & Line Changes
Line Change
Patrick Wiercioch in; Eric Gryba out.
Wiercioch has been a healthy scratch in the last three games, but returns tonight against the Wild. He had his coming-out party in the shortened season, posting five goals and 19 points in 42 games. The 23-year-old is on a crowded blueline in Ottawa and has six assists in 14 games.
Line Change
Set to return from his suspension tomorrow, Kadri is skating with Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk.
The Maple Leafs have had a patchwork roster with Kadri, Tyler Bozak and Dave Bolland out, but Kadri's return will stabilize their top-6. The Leafs went 2-1-0 without Kadri. He has five goals and 14 points in 18 games and a spot on the first line should only help him produce even more.
Line Change
Dmitry Korobov will make his NHL debut tonight and take the place Andrej Sustr.
Korobov, 24, spent last season in the AHL after playing three seasons in the KHL. He has three goals and 25 assists (28 points) in 78 games with Syracuse (AHL). He has six of those assists in 13 games this season.
Line Change
Booth will be a healthy scratch tonight.
Booth will sit while Dale Wiese reenters the lineup after missing the last 10 games with a leg injury. Booth failed to record a point in either of his first two games since returning from a lower-body injury.
Line Change
Nate Prosser in; Mathew Dumba out.
Prosser served as a healthy scratch on Sunday, but he will rejoin the lineup tonight against the Canadiens. Prosser has two assists in nine games, he is not a fantasy relevant defenseman.
Line Change
Grabner will be a healthy scratch tonight.
Grabner has not registered a point and has a minus-4 rating in his last 11 games. The speedy winger has just two goals and eight points in 19 games. He will be replaced by Eric Boulton.
Rielly draws into the lineup tonight with Mark Fraser (knee) hurt.
Rielly has been a healthy scratch in three of the last four games but draws back in tonight vs. the Islanders. In his first 15 NHL games Rielly has six assists and a minus-4 rating. He has a bright future ahead of him, but is not fantasy relevant yet.
Line Change
Bennett has been moved to the top-line with Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz in Penguins practice.
Bennett has not registered a point in four games since returning from a lower-body injury. He has two assists in nine total games this season. Skating with Crosby and Kunitz should help Bennett get things going offensively.
Line Change
Dumba in; Nate Prosser out.
Dumba was scratched in six of the past seven games. Prosser has played well, but the Wild needs to give a 19-year-old a chance to play or it’ll need to eventually make the decision if it needs to return him to Red Deer despite already hitting that 10-game mark to trigger the first of his three-year deal.
Line Change
Murphy will be a healthy scratch tonight.
Murphy has two goals and five assists in 18 games this season. The 20-year-old has averaged 19:18 TOI but will take a seat tonight with Tim Gleason returning to the lineup.
Line Change
Burrows playing with the Sedin twins at Canucks' practice.
Head coach John Tortorella split up the twins and Ryan Kesler at practice this morning and moved Burrows up to the top line. This is likely an effort to get Burrows going offensively - he has three assists in nine games. Kesler was also a minus-4 in the last three games so Torts is shaking thing up. This should help Burrows going forward.
Del Zotto will be a healthy scratch tonight.
Del Zotto has seen his minutes shrink in the recent contests. He usually plays close to 20 minutes but has averaged just 15:52 TOI in his last four games. The 23-year-old has struggled with only one goal and three assists in 16 games. Justin Falk enters the lineup in his place.
Line Change
Hayes will be a game-time decision.
Hayes was acquired in the Kris Versteeg trade yesterday and rotated in on the Panthers fourth line in the morning skate. He will be a game-time decision and could make his Panthers debut tonight.
Line Change
It appears Tomas Tatar will dress tonight vs. Washington.
Tatar appeared to be a healthy scratch tonight, but the Wings sent Luke Glendening to the AHL which opens up a spot in the lineup. Tatar will slide in on the second or third line, depending on where Mike Babcock wants to use him and Daniel Cleary. Tatar has two goals and an assist in 11 games.
Line Change
Komisarek will dress as the Hurricanes seventh defenseman with Radek Dvorak (lower-body) out of the lineup tonight.
Komisarek has dress in three games this season. He has not registered a point and has a minus-1 rating. His best year's are clearly behind him and he is not fantasy relevant.
Line Change
Smith is expected to centre the second line with Joffrey Lupul and David Clarkson.
Smith is not a great skater but he has good offensive instincts so they will start him on the second line instead of burring him on the fourth line with no surrounding talent. Smith has four goals and 12 points in seven games with the Marlies (AHL).
Line Change
Desharnais will return to the Canadiens lineup after being a healthy scratch.
Desharnais was scratched on Tuesday after only posting one assist in his first 17 games. Desharnais had 10 goals and 28 points in 48 games last season, so the Habs are clearly looking for more offence out of the 27-year-old.
Line Change
Stuart in; Matt Irwin out.
Stuart sat on Sunday as a healthy scratch but will return to the lineup tonight vs. Calgary. He has recorded three assists and a plus-1 rating while averaging 19:19 TOI in 11 games.
Line Change
Irwin will be a healthy scratch tonight; Brad Stuart is in.
This will be the fourth time in the last five game that Irwin has been scratched since Dan Boyle has returned to the Sharks blueline. He has three assists in 14 games this season.
NHL Line Changes
NHL line changes are essential in keeping a team’s players fresh on the ice over the course of a hard-fought 60-minute matchup. With shift changes occurring rapidly throughout any given game, we are here to provide you with everything you need to know regarding line changes.
Making sure a team is efficiently making line changes can be essential to their success within a matchup, as it ensures that the players needed on the ice to gain the upper hand are ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. For NHL daily fantasy hockey players, knowing how to track line changes can be important as you look to keep tabs on the players you’ve drafted to your lineup and their production.
On The Fly
Unlike other sports where play must come to a stop in order to make a player substitution, in hockey, players can switch in-and-out of play on the fly. This helps in keeping the breakneck pace of the contest going, increasing the amount of action from whistle-to-whistle and avoiding any unnecessary stoppages.
On the fly changes are generally done when a team is in possession of the puck and are looking to make a transition play from their own end to their opponent’s side of the rink. Players must be aware of the action around them when making an on the fly substitution as a poorly timed switch could leave themselves vulnerable to an odd-man rush on the other end.
In order to make successful line changes on the fly it is up to the team coaching staff to keep players informed on when their line matchups are due to hit the ice. Generally, with both forwards and defensive pairings, line changes go from the first line trickling its way down to the fourth. Depending on the situation of the game, coaches may opt to give a particular line more playing time, increasing the amount of shifts they receive.
Play Stoppages
NHL line changes can also be made during stoppage of play, with both sides being given the chance to put fresh bodies on the ice ahead of the upcoming faceoff. Examples of a play stoppage that would allow teams to make line changes are after minor or major penalties, offsides, icing, and puck out of play calls. These line changes are often much more calculated as each coach has time to survey the other team and decide what would be the most advantageous line combination that will provide them with a competitive advantage.
Bench Configuration
It may seem like a confusing and unorganized area of the game, but in hockey there is a fair amount of strategy put into the bench configuration within a matchup. With both benches positioned in the neutral zone, making sure that players can quickly hop the boards and get into the game is key to making successful line changes. Benches are generally set so that players entering into the game on the fly are in the best possible position on the ice to fulfill their role.
Generally, a bench in hockey will have the forwards positioned closest to the attacking zone, whereas the defenceman will be situated closest to their defensive zone. This separates the forward lines and defence pairings from on another on each end of the bench so that groups can easily stay together. From here the rested forwards ready to enter into the game will be placed in the centre of the bench, positioned near the coaches so they can easily receive instruction before hitting the ice. This is also advantageous as players coming off the ice for a line change will often enter from the opposite side they came onto the ice from, preventing any unnecessary traffic or confusion when making a change. While each team may have their own preferences on how to configure their bench, these are the most common ways they are run.
Line Change Rules
Understanding the rules of NHL line changes in hockey is an understated part of the game and when used correctly can swing the tide of a matchup in your favour. Without in-depth understanding of line changes in hockey, this can cause costly mistakes that can result in minor penalties, lengthy shifts, or mismatches off a faceoff.
Last Line Change
The last line change rule exists so that the home team is able to make an adjustment to whatever lineup the visiting team decides to roll out after a stoppage in play. This rule was designed to make NHL line changes efficient, as well as provide both sides with the chance to strategically place their players based on the lines sent out by their opponents.
For example, after the whistle, the home team’s coach can elect to make a line change to the personnel on the ice. After that, the visiting coach will send out any new players into the game off of a line change. Thanks to the last line change rule, the home team coach is now granted the opportunity to make one last line change before play resumes to counter whatever line changes were made by the opposing team.
For daily fantasy sports bettors this is where having ample knowledge of each NHL team can come in handy. You can envision how each team may look to gain a competitive advantage over their opponent during a possession, drafting players who are set up for success within a matchup.
Penalties & Infractions
While NHL line changes are meant to be an efficient and simple way to keep the game being played at a fast-pace with minimal interruptions, there is still room for serious error during these substitutions. It’s not uncommon to see teams assessed for a penalty due to a botched line change, resulting in a power play opportunity for the opposing team.
A common penalty called as a result of a poorly executed line change is “too many men on the ice”. This penalty results when the offending team has six or more skaters (including the goaltender) on the ice at any given time and comes in physical contact with the puck. While players entering in the game during a shift change are eligible to hop the boards and get in on the action once their teammate is within five feet of the bench, they must time this correctly or they could be hit with a premature substitution infraction. When a bench minor penalty such as too many men on the ice is assessed, it is up to the team’s head coach to decide who serves the penalty based on the players currently on the ice at the time of the penalty.
Another line change infraction to be aware of is in the case of an icing call. Icing is called when a team plays a puck from their own side of the red centre line across the red goal line in their opponents end. When icing is called, a faceoff will be taken from the end of the team that committed the infraction. During an icing call the team that was called for icing is not able to make any line changes, meaning they are forced to keep all players who were on the ice at the time of the infraction in the contest. Their opponents however are allowed to make any line change they desire, making this an incredibly beneficial call if they can strategize correctly.
How Line Changes Impact Fantasy Hockey
NHL line changes can come fast and suddenly so it can be challenging to keep track of certain players over the course of a matchup. This can make it difficult for avid fantasy hockey managers and sports bettors to know when the players they’ve wagered on are on the ice. Some broadcasts now incorporate various display mechanics that allow for you to see who is on the ice at any given time, making shift change tracking much simpler than ever before. Be sure to stay up-to-date on the jersey numbers of any players on your fantasy roster or that you bet on as a failsafe so that you can find them quickly while watching the action unfold.
Knowing how long a typical shift for a player entering into a matchup is can be an advantageous piece of knowledge for fantasy managers and bettors alike. The longer a player’s shift lasts, the higher their chances of registering a point or other statistical milestone which can help you in winning your fantasy matchups and/or bets placed on a game.