Fantasy Hockey Streaming Targets: Week 15

It’s a typical week in the NHL with Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday serving as the league’s busiest nights. For streaming purposes, you’ll want to target teams playing on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or Sunday. I’ve gone over the top two teams to target and their best available options below. Good luck!

Carolina Hurricanes (4 games) – Monday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday

Carolina owns arguably the most streamer-friendly schedule in the NHL this week. The Canes are the only team with games on at least three of the four slower nights. Picking up a Hurricane today will add at least three games to your lineup this week. Luckily for us, Carolina is one of the deeper teams in the NHL, so there are plenty of viable options on the wire.

The top target has to be @Nino Niederreiter. Niederreiter has undoubtedly been one of the bigger busts in fantasy hockey this season, but his spot in the lineup still affords him plenty of streaming value this week. He’s locked into a spot on @Sebastian Aho and @Teuvo Teravainen’s line at even strength, and he sees some time with the second power-play unit as well. His scoring is sporadic, but his consistent shot volume and ideal usage are enough to make him one of the top players to target on the wire this week. Niederreiter is owned in just 21% of Yahoo! leagues.

If Niederreiter is unavailable, @Erik Haula is a fine consolation prize. Haula’s third-line has seen a recent uptick in ice-time, and that’s coincided with a promotion to the top power-play unit. Haula is making the most of it, registering three goals and five assists in his last nine games. He offers centre/left-wing eligibility and is available in 74% of leagues.

In deeper leagues, you can take a look at Carolina’s so-called first line. @Jordan Staal’s line normally serves as more of a shutdown unit, but their sky-high usage makes them a viable play this week. That much exposure to @Andrei Svechnikov can’t be a bad thing. Staal is owned in 12% of leagues, while his other line-mate, @Warren Foegele, is owned in just 5%.

New York Islanders (5 games) – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday

The Islanders draw the very rare five-game week, but unfortunately just two of those games come on the league’s slower nights. Still, you’re getting at least two games out of any Islander, and they could help fill a random hole in your lineup on a busier night, most likely on defense. For that reason, @Devon Toews makes a lot of sense this week. The offensive-defenseman has taken on more minutes of late, and it’s already led to some concrete production. Toews has two assists in his last five games while averaging over three shots a night. The increased 5v5 ice-time combined with his role atop the Islanders’ power-play makes Toews a high-upside streamer this week.

If you can afford to take on some extra games up front, @Josh Bailey and @Anthony Beauvillier are a both solid options. Both players are currently skating alongside @Mathew Barzal on the top-line and power-play unit. Bailey can play either wing on Yahoo!, while Beauvillier can play centre or left-wing. Their upside is capped, but the heavy minutes on a five-game week is enough reason to add them this week.