Early-season value shifts

One thing that rings true each and every NHL season is that the preseason and training camp are never enough to catch all the nuances contained withing NHL depth charts. What's more, each season begins with some coaches throwing out everything we saw in the preseason and going in a completely different direction. The preseason can also be more difficult to assess how power plays will look, as many teams won't show their best cards in exhibition play.

As a result, taking stock of some tweaks after less than a week of NHL action provides plenty of situations and players worth monitoring.

Andre Burakovsky, F, Washington Capitals: It is not highly regarded Evgeny Kuznetsov playing on the Caps' second line; fellow rookie Burakovsky won the role out of the preseason, and coach Barry Trotz is giving the equally talented young prospect shifts on a line with Troy Brouwer and Marcus Johansson. While Kuznetsov and Burakovsky have huge long-term upside, the short-term winner at the moment is clearly Burakovsky. He has a goal and two assists in his first two NHL games.

Ryan Murphy, D, Carolina Hurricanes: It was certainly a hard read to guess that Murphy would have so much responsibility on the Canes' blue line, especially after he was in the press box for the season opener. But Murphy not only manned the point on the power play, he led all Hurricanes in power-play ice time. The young offensive blueliner clearly has a defined role in the mind of new coach Bill Peters. Power-play quarterbacks don't grow on trees, so Murphy is certainly worth stashing right now in deeper leagues. If the ice time keeps up, he'll be worth nabbing in all formats.

Cory Conacher, F, New York Islanders: After all the shuffling and tryouts on John Tavares' wing through the preseason, coach Jack Capuano ended up going with three who didn't see much time at all together during exhibition play. Conacher's output quieted last season, but he has the makings of a scorer when put in the right situation on a depth chart. Playing every night with Tavares and Kyle Okposo is definitely the right situation for things to happen. While Brock Nelson gets all the attention for starting the season with six points in two games, you should quietly add Conacher. Nelson will keep up a decent pace thanks to a role on the first power-play unit, but even strength is where the bulk of minutes are played.

Sami Vatanen, D, Anaheim Ducks: We are certainly willing to bet that Cam Fowler's rush back from a leg injury has something to do with this, but it's still worth noting that Vatanen is the top power-play defenseman for the Ducks through two games. Even when Fowler is back up to full speed, it is helpful to see that coach Bruce Boudreau now looks at Vatanen as a real offensive threat. Look for the young Finnish defenseman to have a nice bump in production this season, and to be a consistent asset as a No. 4 or 5 fantasy defenseman.

Brandon Sutter, F, Pittsburgh Penguins: Playing on the second line with Evgeni Malkin is a pretty solid role for the normally defensive-minded Sutter. This is probably a short-term romance for Sutter, but he is certainly worth adding in all formats until the bloom falls off the rose. Malkin's move to the wing is also thought to be short term, but the results have been there for the Penguins. It's possible this drags on longer than expected. All the while, Sutter should score at a healthy clip. He has two goals through two games.

Mark Arcobello, F, Edmonton Oilers: The lines were all guesswork for the Oilers leading into the season, with the thought that Leon Draisaitl would surely bump Arcobello from the top six. That is not the case; Arcobello is centering a second line with experienced scorers David Perron and Teddy Purcell. It's a talented trio that could become a long-term line for the Oil.

Forward Rising and Falling

Rick Nash, F, New York Rangers (up 18 spots to No. 80): The Rangers were tinkering with a lot of line combinations during the preseason, and the injury to Derek Stepan only made speculation worse about spreading out the offensive love among several lines. But when the rubber hit the road, coach Alain Vigneault made the right decision and put his stars together. The result: Nash burst out of the gate on a line with Martin St. Louis and Chris Kreider. He has four goals in two and a half games this season (he missed half of Sunday's game after his wife went into labor). Nash won't have to keep this up long to convince everyone that the elite version of the past has returned. Even Stepan's eventual return from the lineup wouldn't be enough to bust up a first line that's doing its job. Buying Nash now could still be a discount given his upside.

Andrew Shaw, C, Chicago Blackhawks (up 62 spots to No. 177): It seemed as though Brad Richards had done enough to win the second-line center job out of the preseason, but in the end, coach Joel Quenneville was loyal to a 20-goal scorer who had the job last season. Shaw is definitely back on fantasy radars on a line with Brandon Saad and Patrick Kane. He also managed to keep his job on the first-unit power play. It's too soon to say if Shaw can improve on the numbers he put up in the same role last season (including 20 goals and 76 PIM in 80 games), but it's certainly fair to expect a repeat in the short term. While Richards loses a lot of shine dropping to the third line, don't forget that some of the players ahead of him on the depth chart have proved brittle (Marian Hossa, for instance).

Defensemen Rising and Falling

Johnny Boychuk, D, New York Islanders (up 18 spots to No. 205): We suspected Boychuk would be the Isles defenseman to own in fantasy following the trades just before the season, but even the highest of hopes didn't expect a start like this. With a goal and four assists through two games, Boychuk is showing just how beneficial it can be to share the ice with John Tavares off and on the power play. He definitely has a scorer's pedigree that was suppressed with the Boston Bruins, but even this hot start isn't enough to take Lubomir Visnovsky completely out of the picture when he returns. Of course, you add Boychuk in all formats where he is a free agent, but making a deal for him now isn't wise. We need to see that he can keep this up when all his internal competition is healthy.

Dougie Hamilton, D, Boston Bruins (up seven spots to No. 175): There was no formal changing of the guard ceremony, but through two games Hamilton leads both Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara in power-play ice time. It's a big nod of confidence from coach Claude Julien to give Hamilton (and even Krug, for that matter) ice time almost equal to that of Chara. Hamilton has a lot of offensive upside that hasn't been played out at the NHL level. This plum ice time on the power play early in the season is a strong indicator that Julien may be slacking the reins.

Goaltenders Rising and Falling

Mike Smith, G, Arizona Coyotes (down 10 spots to No. 134): Devan Dubnyk wasn't supposed to come in and challenge Smith, but after just two games we have the early signs of a goaltender controversy cooking. It's the same formula that resulted in Anton Khudobin eating up Cam Ward's starts last season: Savvy veteran struggles while young hotshot plays steady. Smith allowed six goals to the Winnipeg Jets in the season opener; Dubnyk allowed only two goals to the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings for a victory. It's not much, but one more repeat of the cycle would be all it takes for a full-blown controversy in net. Handcuff Dubnyk to Smith if you rely on the latter in your starting lineup.

Alex Stalock, G, San Jose Sharks (up 19 spots to No. 215): Which goalie do you start when neither of them allows a goal? There were clear hints that the Sharks' crease would be a full-blown time-share. Well, hints confirmed. Antti Niemi and Stalock each have a start this season, and both pitched a shutout. Look for a rotation to set in that hurts the overall fantasy value of both goaltenders, unless you own them both and play with daily lineup changes. For now, Stalock moves up because both goaltenders appear equal at this point. Niemi still has more history on his side, but that's not a strong card to play.

Quick Hits

• A definite surprise out of training camp has forced prospect Adam Larsson to the press box, Damon Severson has legitimate fantasy upside thanks to the roles he is playing. Paired with Andy Greene at even strength, the Devils used Severson's big point shot on the first-unit power play over the weekend.

• Anaheim Ducks retread Dany Heatley is dealing with a lingering groin injury, and Patrick Maroon will continue to line up on the top line in his stead. It's good news for both parties; Maroon gets a short-term boost; Heatley probably skates back into the job when healthy.

• The Philadelphia Flyers have already switched up their lines. Michael Raffl was promoted to the top unit with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek, while Brayden Schenn was booted to the second line. Raffl didn't do a lot with the role last season, but he's worth watching.

• The Montreal Canadiens are tinkering with their offense to find the best combination. Brendan Gallagher has been promoted to the wing with Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais, but we are hesitant to use the term "top" line here. That's because Tomas Plekanec, Alex Galchenyuk and Jiri Sekac are showing a ton of potential on the ice as the "second" line right now. These combinations are bad news for P.A. Parenteau.

• Both Alexander Wennberg and Marko Dano will have a chance to make an impact for the Columbus Blue Jackets before Brandon Dubinsky and Boone Jenner return from injury. Both were 2013 first-round draft picks and have top-six forward potential. Wennberg is currently skating with Scott Hartnell and Artem Anisimov, and Dano has been playing with Matt Calvert and Mark Letestu. We like Wennberg's linemates a little better for his potential.

• It hardly matters if no one on the team is scoring, but Dennis Everberg is playing on a scoring line for the Avs. The undrafted Swede skated with Gabriel Landeskog and Ryan O'Reilly on Saturday. If he is on the right line at the right time when the Avalanche break out of their funk, it could pay dividends for a while.

Infirmary

David Krejci, F, Boston Bruins: Krejci's return on Monday for his season debut will have a significant ripple effect. The biggest question is whether Loui Eriksson can escape the third line and join Krejci and Milan Lucic. Eriksson was thought to be in line to replace the departed Jarome Iginla on the top line, but he has been stuck with Carl Soderberg and Chris Kelly to start the season. Is that a permanent role? Or was it just while Krejci was hurt? Keep an eye on this evolving situation.

Jeff Skinner, F, Carolina Hurricanes: It's officially a concussion, and that puts us into dangerous territory for fantasy purposes. Plan for a long-term absence for young Skinner, especially given his history with concussions. Without Skinner, the Canes are pretty committed to a line of Eric Staal, Alexander Semin and Jiri Tlusty, but there isn't much offense outside of those three.

Evander Kane, F, Winnipeg Jets: The extent of Kane's knee injury isn't known, but knee injuries usually take a player out for at least a couple of weeks, even on the mild side. Dustin Byfuglien gets a short-term boost in value, as he moves up alongside Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele on the Jets' top line.

Jonathan Drouin, F, Tampa Bay Lightning: Drouin is practicing with the Bolts but taking it somewhat easy on his injured thumb. His return will come sooner rather than later, and his position on the depth chart needs to be noted closely. If he is not skating with Steven Stamkos, it is not good news for Drouin. If he is skating with Stamkos, it's bad news for someone else who gets bumped from the role (currently Ryan Callahan and Ondrej Palat).

And now, the weekly update to my top 250, end-of-season rankings, including each player's spot among players at their position, as well as their most recent spot in the rankings: