www.rosterresource.com
This site has fast becoming one of my favourites.
They are pretty quick on updating their team grids with line combinations.
For example, a solid line combo for the Kings last night is JAD-Carter-Amadio.
And
roster resource has that correct in their team grid.
The site nicely, visually, pairs of LD-RD and LW-C-RW presentation. (Some line combination web sites just thrust players their in text form, not identifying who is on which wing or side)
Personally, each morning, I use a combination of:
1. Reviewing TOI in ESPN Box Scores
2. Going to rotoworld.com & reading "Player News"
I use these as my updates as to how players are being deployed - or which players are seeing increase in TOI.
For people wanting to capitalize on immediate line combination switches (
say, in morning practice), then you need Twitter links to team beat writers.
Guys like Jeremy Rutherford (STL) or Aaron Portzline (CBJ) or Charlie O'Connor (PHI) or Ansar Kahn (DET) or Arpon Basu (MON) or Jon Rosen (LA)... every team has one or two "beat writers" that will sometimes tweet out morning line combinations.
I think the forums even may have a collection thread of this... but its hit & miss with which beat writers are best tweeting out morning lines - because that's pretty much the only way the info DOES get out to the public in real-time.
Also - theathletic.com has done a great job of poaching/contracting these beat writers for their own site.
They are also pretty good at listening to what their readers want... so I won't be surprised if they soon find a way to amalgamate update line combinations somewhere onto their site.
Right now, one of the big mistakes that some sites make is that they have line combinations available (based on data)... but the user still has to siphon through it themselves.
Better is to simply THRUST key changes in front of the reader. LWL has started doing this with a UP/DOWN line identifier when a player switches lines.
I like that, but its still not THRUST-Y enough for me.
What I'd really prefer is a single-link that shows players who have shifted lines in... say... last 48 hours... or last 24 hours - user can click/decide. Now THAT would be a tool!