Just two more days.

We've waited so patiently since the last puck dropped during the Stanley Cup finals, and now we are just two days from both the 2014-15 NHL season and the fantasy hockey season getting underway.

Most of you have your teams all drafted and ready to go, but most of those drafts took place during a harrowing time of the year for fantasy sports enthusiasts. Your fantasy baseball playoffs were underway, and the fantasy football season is still in the honeymoon phase. It's OK (and likely) that you have some duds on the bottom end of your roster and on your bench. It happens. There is a lot that has changed not only since last season but also since last week. The NHL has a whirlwind preseason schedule that is just wrapping up, and not all cuts will even be made when this is published Monday.

We'll talk a little more about the Forecaster below, but to get you fully prepared for the season, here are some quick capsule notes from all 30 NHL teams based on preseason line assignments, results and injuries:

Anaheim Ducks: You know what? Pick up Dany Heatley. Seriously. It looks very much as if coach Bruce Boudreau favors the aging sniper as the winger for Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Boudreau didn't get to use him there a lot during the preseason due to Heatley's groin injury, but it's not as if anyone else stepped up to claim the role. If Getzlaf and Perry can turn Dustin Penner into a fantasy star, Heatley could easily follow suit. ... Frederik Andersen has clearly beaten John Gibson for the initial shot at the starter's gig, but we are already hearing leanings from Boudreau that this will be a time-share. There isn't much fantasy value here unless you own both.

Arizona Coyotes: The line combinations with which the Coyotes will open the season aren't quite clear. Newcomer Sam Gagner spent some time on the wing in the preseason and would be in a pretty great situation on a top line with Martin Hanzal and Martin Erat. But even as a second-line center, Gagner is an intriguing player available in more than 95 percent of ESPN leagues.

Boston Bruins: Retread 40-goal winger Simon Gagne has gone on the Bruins' team-building retreat and may be in line for a contract after a preseason tryout. While he might begin as a bottom-six winger and penalty killer, that's often how usurpers of fantasy value start. Look out, Reilly Smith!

Jhonas Enroth won the starting gig, so is he worth starting early on this season? AP Photo/Nick LoVerde

Buffalo Sabres: A fairly straightforward top line of Drew Stafford, Matt Moulson and Tyler Ennis seems to be evolving. We are more interested in seeing who debuts on the high-upside second line that coach Ted Nolan will cobble together from Brian Gionta, Zac Dalpe, Cody Hodgson and Sam Reinhart. ... Chris Stewart, Marcus Foligno and Torrey Mitchell appear to be poised to create a dangerous third line that is pretty physically imposing. Stewart had two goals and 20 penalty minutes through four preseason games. He could have fantasy value again. ... Jhonas Enroth clearly won the starting gig in the preseason, and as we've been saying all along, the Nolan-coached, defensively upgraded Sabres are going to make Enroth's job as easy as possible. The wins may not be there, but expect good ratios.

Calgary Flames: We like the line combination of Jiri Hudler, Sean Monahan and Mason Raymond to start the season. If it sticks together, Raymond is the obvious beneficiary, adding his speed to a couple of pretty skilled forwards. ... Just 25 years old, keep an eye on where Mikael Backlund lands. He had a solid preseason and, even with the top line as suggested, still has Johnny Gaudreau, Devin Setoguchi, Joe Colborne or maybe even Sam Bennett as possible linemates. ... Sven Baertschi's dispatching to the AHL is not a good sign for his future prospects. This may have been his final real chance with the Flames. Let's hope for a change of scenery.

Carolina Hurricanes: Ouch. Jordan Staal out for three months with a broken leg, Jeff Skinner leaving the final preseason game with a possible head injury and Elias Lindholm also getting knocked out of Sunday's contest with a foot injury; this is not a pleasant list for the Hurricanes. Lindholm's injury is said to not be too serious, and the extent of Skinner's injury is not known yet. Staal, however, is out for a while. If healthy, Lindholm is the biggest beneficiary, as he will line up with Skinner (if he's healthy).

Chicago Blackhawks: The best news is no news when it comes to a powerhouse fantasy team like the Hawks. The line combinations worked out exactly as expected. Maybe the biggest fantasy impact will come from the signing of Daniel Carcillo. While finding a pugilist worthy of use in an ESPN standard league is not easy -- thanks to the average time on ice statistic -- Carcillo has a history of contributing at least enough to look at him.

Colorado Avalanche: The Avs offense has been sluggish in the preseason, but that shouldn't scare you too much; there is a lot of talent here. It's not clear exactly how the lines will shake out, but the combinations of Ryan O'Reilly and Matt Duchene plus Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon appear set in stone. Alex Tanguay has been playing with O'Reilly-Duchene, which could indicate that Jarome Iginla will play with the two recent Calder Trophy winners. In either case, Daniel Briere would be out of the mix.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Terrible situation for the Blue Jackets with the Ryan Johansen stalemate. Though he signed a deal Monday, he missed the majority of the preseason practices with his team. Factor in the "degenerative back condition" that has Nathan Horton out indefinitely and the five weeks that Boone Jenner will miss with a broken hand and you realize the Jackets will likely start the season without the full strength of what could have been their top line. In the meantime, Cam Atkinson had a hot preseason and rookie Marko Dano might get a longer look with all the absences.

Detroit Red Wings: With Pavel Datsyuk's shoulder injury to start the season, the line of Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist and Johan Franzen won't face any threats to their early-season chemistry. If healthy, this could be one of the best lines in the NHL. Andrej Nestrasil gets a chance to start the season as a potential top-six forward in Datsyuk's absence. ... If the Red Wings keep Xavier Ouellet on their roster to open the season, he will be worth checking out. He had a big preseason offensively among a group of defensemen that is pretty thin on offense after Niklas Kronwall.

The Stars may use Antoine Roussel as the third member of the Jason Spezza-Ales Hemsky line. Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

Dallas Stars: Antoine Roussel packs some fantasy potential as a power forward if he sticks as the team's second-line winger with Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky. The same can be said of Erik Cole, but his upside is a bit lower given his propensity for injuries.

Edmonton Oilers: It looks as if Darnell Nurse is at least going to get a nine-game look to start the season, but whether he has a fantasy impact or sticks around remains to be seen. Deeper leagues can take note; shallow ones can ignore for now. ... By all accounts, Nail Yakupov was impressive in the preseason with his defensive awareness. Well, at least, impressive compared to himself in past seasons. He is a dark horse to supplant Jordan Eberle on the top line in a possible effort to more evenly distribute the offense. ... Viktor Fasth had a better preseason than Ben Scrivens, but we want to see a better overall approach to team defense before we can endorse either goaltender for fantasy purposes.

Florida Panthers: A speedy combination of Aleksander Barkov, Tomas Fleischmann and Jussi Jokinen appears to be the favored unit to be the team's top line. Fantasy owners have been drafting Barkov, but Fleischmann and Jokinen are largely available in shallower pools. ... And no, this doesn't mean Jonathan Huberdeau has been left for dead. Nick Bjugstad and Scottie Upshall are quite decent linemates for now. And if Bjugstad and Huberdeau both improve as much as they should, the line could become No. 1B -- instead of No. 2 -- quickly.

Los Angeles Kings: A super hot preseason from Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson should be taken to heart by fantasy owners. They will probably form the Kings' second line with Jeff Carter. And the line will probably be very good. ... Marian Gaborik's health is in question for this week. Check on him as the games approach.

Minnesota Wild: The line assignments are in a bit of flux for the Wild, but the bottom line is that no one in the top six is in a bad situation. It appears as though Charlie Coyle has earned a scoring-line role over other challengers, but the team also said it wants to use him at center. Those two statements can't both be true. ... Zach Parise, Mikael Granlund and Jason Pominville have been spending much of the preseason together. That's a combination that would do wonders for what should already be a fantasy breakout season for Granlund. That would leave Thomas Vanek and Mikko Koivu anchoring a second line with Coyle (or Nino Niederreiter or Justin Fontaine). ... Don't ignore Mathew Dumba's potential in deeper leagues. He is an offensive defenseman who had a solid preseason. The Wild are pretty thin on scoring D-men after Ryan Suter. ... With Josh Harding suspended and sporting a broken foot, it's down to Niklas Backstrom and Darcy Kuemper. Kuemper had the better preseason, but not by much. And Backstrom has more experience. Either way, this team needs to upgrade in net.

Montreal Canadiens: Alex Galchenyuk should get a big boost in minutes this season on a second line with Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Plekanec. Look for a big breakout that could be further supplemented with power-play time. ... P.A. Parenteau suffered a lower-body injury over the weekend but is said to have enough time to heal before the campaign starts. He will play with Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais on what is the Habs' top line (for now).

Nashville Predators: We like what coach Peter Laviolette is doing with the Predators so far. It appears his top three offensive players will play on a line together. Novel! James Neal, Mike Ribeiro and Filip Forsberg looked good in the preseason, with Forsberg leading the NHL with 23 shots on goal through five games.

New Jersey Devils: For now, the big factor for fantasy owners will be who plays with Jaromir Jagr. And, for now, that appears to be Mike Cammalleri and Travis Zajac. As mentioned before, this could be a big boon for Cammalleri if he can stay healthy. ... Because Patrik Elias and Martin Havlat have purported chemistry as friends and countrymates, it could leave Adam Henrique on the outside of the top six looking in. Then again, when was the last time Havlat stayed healthy enough to keep anyone down on a depth chart?

Who will be skating on the Islanders' top line with John Tavares? Jim McIsaac/NHLI/Getty Images

New York Islanders: Don't be so hasty by deciding that Nick Leddy is the better fantasy addition than Johnny Boychuk when it comes to the Isles' two new defenders. Leddy has had some positive output while buried on the Blackhawks' depth chart, but Boychuk has probably been pigeonholed even more so into a defensive role with the Bruins. In two AHL campaigns, Leddy managed to cobble together just five goals and 26 points in 53 games. In Boychuk's last AHL season in 2008-09, he scored 20 goals and 65 points in 78 games. That smells more like untapped offensive potential. ... That said, back spasms aren't the end of Lubomir Visnovsky's career. When he is back, he is the best power-play asset the Isles have. ... Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Mikhail Grabovski all got tryouts on the top line with John Tavares and Kyle Okposo. That doesn't rule out Ryan Strome, Josh Bailey or Michael Grabner from getting a shot. If you have to pick one, it's Lee. But don't put too much stock into this yet.

New York Rangers: Derek Stepan's leg injury is a tough start to the season, but it affords a great opportunity for 19-year-old Anthony Duclair. After a phenomenal preseason and a show of chemistry with Rick Nash, Duclair gets to stick around for at least a little while. He's definitely worth a look in most leagues thanks to the opportunity being afforded to him on a top line. ... Speaking of opportunities, Derick Brassard also has one thanks to Stepan's injury. However the lines shake out, Brassard is now the team's best center. That's the case unless Martin St. Louis plays center, as has been suggested. He practiced between Nash and Duclair this week.

Ottawa Senators: While Curtis Lazar had a solid showing in the preseason, the combination of Alex Chiasson, Milan Michalek and Mika Zibanejad didn't look too bad either. He would have to crack that second line to have some value in fantasy leagues.

Philadelphia Flyers: Mark Streit has eight preseason points and looks to have set the stage for a big bounce-back season in the absence of Kimmo Timonen as the Flyers' power-play quarterback. Streit is still available in a lot of ESPN leagues (25 percent), but he shouldn't be ... The Flyers seem intent on shifting center Brayden Schenn to the wing to replace Scott Hartnell on the top line. We shouldn't have to reinforce just how beneficial it will be for him to play with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Evgeni Malkin still hasn't skated as he deals with a yet-undisclosed injury. This destroys the Penguins' depth and removes all initial fantasy value for any forward not named Sidney Crosby, Chris Kunitz or Patric Hornqvist.

San Jose Sharks: Clearly it hasn't been pointed out enough given the fact that he is owned in only 0.2 percent of ESPN leagues, so we'll say it one more time: Matt Nieto is a top-six forward in a very good top six for the Sharks. Nieto is slated to skate with Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture, both of whom are top-50 fantasy forwards.

St. Louis Blues: Despite great chemistry with Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tarasenko, Peter Mueller was sent to the AHL. That leaves some interesting possible combinations for the Blues and some debate as to what is the top line. It seems that David Backes will skate with Patrik Berglund and T.J. Oshie, despite the success of having Alex Steen in Berglund's role last season. Paul Stastny appears to be paired with Steen and either Tarasenko or Jaden Schwartz on the other side. That would leave Lehtera with retread Joakim Lindstrom and either Schwartz or Tarasenko. Again, these are just best bets based on the preseason. The bottom line is that Tarasenko is available in 19 percent of leagues and probably shouldn't be, while one or more of Lehtera, Lindstrom and Berglund are going to be fantasy relevant and are universally available. Berglund is probably the best lottery ticket of the bunch.

He's out with a thumb injury now, but Jonathan Drouin is poised for a big season. Don McPeak/USA TODAY Sports

Tampa Bay Lightning: The Bolts had a few different looks during the preseason, but the most recent one is probably the one to start the season. That means Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson are the names to pay attention to as linemates to Steven Stamkos. However, with Jonathan Drouin coming back from a broken thumb at some point, things could be thrown into flux. ... Perhaps the most impressive preseason in all the NHL came from Nikita Kucherov and Vladislav Namestnikov. The young Lightning forwards developed alongside each other in the AHL, much in the same way Palat and Johnson did. Is there room for them to make an impact, given that the Lightning also have Valtteri Filppula, Ryan Callahan and Alex Killorn looking for top-six minutes? Oh yeah, Brett Connolly too. This is a very interesting mix to start the season.

Toronto Maple Leafs: A broken foot for David Booth opens a door for Josh Leivo to wing the second line with Nazem Kadri and Joffrey Lupul. Leivo has some offense to his game and could be worth a look in very deep leagues. In the meantime, it's nice for those fantasy owners still hoping for a resurrected Booth, as he should have little trouble getting the spot back from Leivo upon his return in four weeks.

Vancouver Canucks: By all accounts, the Radim Vrbata experiment with the Sedin twins is going exactly as planned. But the team is still looking for scoring depth beyond that first line. What is more interesting is who might play the fourth forward role on the power play. Linden Vey has been getting looks with the Sedins and Vrbata.

Washington Capitals: Coach Barry Trotz is used to defensemen scoring a lot. Mike Green has a lot of offense to his game. The two seem to be getting along well based on all reports from the preseason. ... Eric Fehr is likely to get first crack at the top line with Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. That is enough to make him roster-worthy in most leagues -- at least on the bench.

Winnipeg Jets: The reconfigured top line of Evander Kane, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler would put the Jets' most talented players on the ice together and would go a long way to improving the fantasy value of all three players. However, this also goes a long way toward hurting the fantasy value of those left behind, mainly Dustin Byfuglien, Bryan Little and Andrew Ladd. ... Ondrej Pavelec seemed to have silenced his many critics with a stellar preseason. But the preseason isn't the regular season, and the Jets just upgraded their backup with the addition of Peter Budaj. Pavelec's preseason makes him roster-worthy in most leagues, but he still shouldn't be one of your starters. In fact, in very deep leagues, adding Budaj wouldn't be an ill-advised venture.

Forecaster time

To serve as a quick reminder: The Fantasy Forecaster uses available statistics to compare the performance of an NHL team's offense and defense by using goals, shots on goal, power-play and penalty-kill numbers. The formula, to begin the season, is a mix of last season's numbers and preseason statistics. Given that, note that the numbers should be taken with a grain of salt to start the season. The Forecaster is a tool that gets stronger with the more statistics it has to crunch. After a few weeks, we will remove last season's statistics from the formula and drop the preseason numbers and will be using only the relevant numbers from this season. But for now, we need those previous numbers to have something to crunch.

Use the Forecaster to get a snapshot of the team's week ahead, a look at whether it is at home or on the road and a general idea of whether it is facing strong or weak offensive or defensive opponents. Don't use it as an absolute guide of whom to start or sit.

Looking for skaters

Carl Soderberg is a sneaky play in a big opening fantasy period for the Bruins. Brian Babineau/NHLI/Getty Images

Boston Bruins: Nothing like having one of the league's dynamite fantasy squads begin the campaign with a league-high seven games in the first scoring period. While there usually isn't much point in discussing the Bruins for fantasy owners looking to grab a player, as the Bruins' top six forwards and top three defensemen are all owned universally, this could be the exception to the rule. But the schedule is so enticing that some owners may want to consider rolling a third liner like Carl Soderberg. With seven games and a role on the second power-play unit, he will probably outperform secondary options on many teams with only four games during this scoring period. Start him over someone like Coyle? For sure.

Depending on the news ahead of Wednesday, Gagne may be worth a grab and start in your league. Since he may start on the fourth line, this is definitely a gut call for deep leagues. After all, he may not even make the team.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Five games is only average for this scoring period, but the Bolts have the first four games of the season on home ice and, perhaps more importantly in this young season, have a depth chart we can exploit. Drouin's thumb injury really did throw the Bolts' plans for a loop. The decisions have been made even more difficult because of the explosive preseason from Kucherov and Namestnikov. Kucherov piled up some of his six goals in the preseason while skating with Stamkos, but he also looked good playing with AHL linemate Namestnikov. Johnson and Palat look, as usual, pretty inseparable. The pair closed the preseason on a line with Stamkos.

This is all to say that the opening lineup is a subject of debate. Palat and Johnson will probably start on a line with Stamkos, but that could change quickly. Given Kucherov's availability and Drouin's prognosis of missing at least a couple more weeks, starting Kucherov for this first scoring period is a solid idea. If he can work his way back to Stamkos' side quickly, he could stay there longer than anticipated. After all, he is just slightly behind Drouin in terms of overall long-term upside as a scorer in the NHL.

Calgary Flames: It won't be as comfortable as the Bruins' seven games in this first scoring period, but the Flames are the only other squad with that busy a schedule. Why not as comfortable? Well, after opening at home, the Flames hit the road for the remaining six games.

However, from a pure counting stats perspective, it's hard to resist a seven-game schedule for a team with only one skater owned in 100 percent of ESPN leagues. That's right, only Mark Giordano is universally unavailable. Hudler is the obvious first choice to add to the bottom of your roster to start the season, but Raymond and Monahan are the next two less obvious choices. They have been skating with Hudler in the preseason and form a pretty nice top line. Kris Russell is also a solid choice as a final defenseman to begin the campaign.

As secondary choices in deeper leagues, consider Backlund and Gaudreau. Depending on how the depth chart looks, both have a chance to be contributors on a young, up-and-coming Flames offense.

Looking for goalies

Jets netminder Ondrej Pavelec looks like a bounce-back candidate for 2014-15. Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images

Ondrej Pavelec, G, Winnipeg Jets: If it had been even just a good preseason, we would probably still be saying to ignore Pavelec. But it wasn't just a good preseason; it was stellar. In four starts, Pavelec posted a 1.72 goals-against average and stopped 76 of 82 pucks sent his way for a .927 save percentage. This certainly doesn't change the ugly track record, but a full offseason with coach Paul Maurice could signal the change is real. Certainly, those desperately looking for a goaltender to help boost their numbers at the start of the season have to consider that Pavelec is not only coming off a hot preseason but is also largely available. He is on the waiver wire in 83 percent of ESPN leagues.

Cam Ward, G, Carolina Hurricanes: While fantasy owners certainly remember last season -- when Anton Khudobin was the superior Canes netminder -- that doesn't seem to be the case for the Canes' coaching staff. Ward is heading into the campaign as the definite No. 1A out of the two goalies. Available in just shy of 50 percent of ESPN leagues, he is a starter with a pretty good overall track record. Maybe getting anointed to the job will be all it takes to give him a confidence boost between the pipes. The bottom line is that few "starters" should go into the season not owned in fantasy leagues. Given the way the preseason played out, Ward should be owned in more leagues (and definitely in more than Khudobin).

Avoid if you can

Minnesota Wild: The Coyotes, Blackhawks, Hurricanes, Penguins and Canucks all have only four games in this scoring period too, but the Wild's schedule is made worse by the fact that they have only one home game. Besides, it's not entirely clear how the depth chart will shake out, which means guessing at secondary scoring options like Coyle or Niederreiter is not only difficult but probably fruitless given the schedule. You probably still have to start Parise, Vanek and Koivu, but Granlund and Pominville are arguably benchable for better options. And avoid the goaltending situation completely for now.