Fantasy Hockey Streaming Targets: Week 11

It’s another typical week in the NHL with Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday serving as the league’s busiest nights. In daily fantasy leagues, you want to get as many games into your lineup as possible to maximize your potential production. This week, that means targeting teams that play on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. I’ve gone over some of the best teams to target below. Good luck!

New York Rangers

The Rangers are probably the best team to target on the wire this week. Their schedule offers terrific streaming value with games on Monday, Friday, and Sunday, and they have a slew of viable fantasy options sitting at 50% ownership or less. Of those options, your first choice has to be @Ryan Strome. Strome continues to eat big minutes in ideal situations for the Rangers. He’s currently centering @Artemi Panarin and @Kaapo Kakko on line two, while also playing a prominent role on the team’s top power-play unit. He’s worth owning not only for this week, but for however long he remains glued to the hip of Panarin. Strome even offers a little bit of roster flexibility with centre and right-wing eligibility in Yahoo! leagues.

Strome’s line-mate Kakko is a fine consolation prize should the former be unavailable in your league. Last summer’s second-overall pick offers a lot of upside as Panarin and Strome’s third wheel, and Rangers head coach Alan Quine is finally loosening the reigns on last summer’s second-overall pick. Kakko played at least 18 minutes in four of his last five games. He’s currently owned in 41% of leagues. Finally, in deeper leagues, @Pavel Buchnevich (12% owned) is your best bet. Quine is hoping a little bit of line-juggling can snap Buchnevich out of his slump. The 24-year-old Russian will skate with @Chris Kreider and @Mika Zibanejad despite not having registered a point in eight straight games. The cold streak is more than a little discouraging, but the usage is too good to ignore.

Dallas Stars

The Stars have a great streaming schedule this week with games on Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, but the top-heavy nature of their roster leaves little value on the wire. @Roope Hintz is the lone fantasy asset on this team that is somewhat available. He’s scored 12 goals and added three assists in 27 games this season while averaging two shots a game. His ATOI sits a little low for the season at 15:58, but that only speaks to his upside, and he’s playing in all the right situations. On top of being on the first power-play unit, Hintz has cemented himself a top-six role as the team’s second line centre, with @Joe Pavelski being his current and most frequent collaborator on the wing. The second-year player is currently available in 63% of Yahoo! leagues.

If you’re really desperate, @Esa Lindell (25% owned) and @Mattias Janmark (0% owned) are worth taking a look. They don’t offer a lot of upside, but their usage gives them a reasonable floor this week. Lindell plays a ton of minutes with the Stars’ top-six at 5v5, and Janmark is expected to be the third member of the Hintz line this week, while also seeing some time with the second power-play unit.

Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers are a solid target early and often this week with games on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. As is always the case with this team, @Zack Kassian is the first streaming option worth mentioning. Kassian’s ownership sits at just 48% despite spending nearly the entire season on @Connor McDavid’s right wing. The 28-year-old power forward is taking full of advantage of this dream opportunity, with 11 goals and 11 assists in 32 games to show for it. I say it seemingly every week, but Kassian is worth owning so long as he remains on that top line.

Edmonton has been doing a lot of line juggling lately, so you’ll need to keep an eye on their lineup as the week unfolds. As it stands right now, @Joakim Nygard (0% owned) and @Sam Gagner (0% owned) look to be the top options for deeper leagues. Nygard will be third member of the McDavid line for the start of Monday’s game, at the very least. Nygard fared well in his one-game audition on McDavid’s wing last week, picking up an assist and three shots on net in just under 18 minutes of ice-time. Gagner is another major benefactor of Edmonton’s concentrated effort to deepen their lineup. He’ll skate with @Leon Draisaitl and @James Neal on the Oilers’ second line on Monday. The 13-year-veteran has three assists in his last four games.