Fantasy Hockey Streaming Targets: Week 3

After a busy week two, the third week of the NHL schedule is a little more streamer friendly. The schedule normalizes this week, with Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday serving as the league’s busier nights. That means you should be looking to fit extra games into your lineup on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Most leagues have limits on the number of player acquisitions you can make in a week, so knowing the schedule is key to maximizing the value you’re getting out of your streamers. Only three teams play on at least three of those slower nights this week, with one team playing on all four. I’ve highlighted the top options available on each of those teams below. Good luck this week!

Vegas Golden Knights – Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Sunday

The Golden Knights are a great team to target this week with games on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday. The word has gotten out about Vegas’ dominant top-six, limiting the amount of streaming options available. When looking at players available in at least half of Yahoo! leagues, @Paul Stastny is the obvious first choice. His ownership has gone up in recent weeks, but he’s still on free agents in 60% of leagues. Stastny has produced at a mere point-per-game pace as a Golden Knight, and that should continue so long as his usage remains the same. He centres @Max Pacioretty and @Mark Stone on the Knights “second” line and skates on the top power-play unit. He’s worth owning not only for this week, but for the foreseeable future.

Should Stastny be unavailable, @Cody Glass is your next best bet. Glass saw a lot of attention earlier in the year when he was skating with Pacioretty and Stone, but he’s since retreated to line three with @Cody Eakin and @Brandon Pirri. The dip in usage obviously caps his upside, but Vegas’ third line does create a lot of offense at 5v5. On top of that, Glass is still skating on the team’s top power-play unit. I much prefer Stastny, but Glass is a strong bet to make if you need power-play production later in the week. He’s currently available in 88% of Yahoo! leagues.

Detroit Red Wings – Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday

Detroit offers plenty of streaming value later in the week with games on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Normally a top-heavy team like Detroit doesn’t offer a ton of streaming value, but you might still be able to get a piece of their top line. @Tyler Bertuzzi is owned in just under half of all Yahoo! leagues at 48%. He skates on a dominant line with @Dylan Larkin and @Anthony Mantha and plays the net-front presence on the team’s top power-play unit. He’s arguably the top streaming option of the week, but there’s a good chance he’s already rostered in your league.

If Bertuzzi isn’t available, your next best bet would be @Andreas Athanasiou. Athanasiou possesses high-end offensive talent, but sub-par linemates has limited his production this season. You can’t expect a lot out of him at 5v5 with @Luke Glendening and @Valtteri Filppula as his linemates, but he’s still experienced some of the worst puck luck in the league. Athanasiou has not scored on 12 shots and owns a 3.8 on-ice SH% for the season. Brighter days are ahead for Athanasiou, and he offers value in the short-term thanks to his power-play usage. He’s currently owned in 19% of Yahoo! leagues.

Ottawa Senators – Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday

The Senators draw the golden schedule this week, playing on all four of the league’s slowest nights. The best part about that is the Senators are a terrible team, and plenty of their high-usage players are widely available in free agency. From a streaming perspective, @Colin White is the most obvious Senator to target. He plays a lot of minutes in the Sens’ top-six and skates on the team’s top power-play unit. He is a solid possession player that plays just under 18 minutes a night and is available in 94% of Yahoo! leagues.

Another Senator worth going after this week is White’s linemate, @Vladislav Namestnikov. Namestnikov has seen his usage increase tenfold since coming over from the Rangers, and he’s taken full advantage. He’s picked up three goals and two assists in five games while playing over 19 minutes a night. A 21.4 SH% and a 14.7 on-ice SH% remind us he’s not quite a point-per-game player, but his shot volume is up and he’ll continue to be heavily utilized on a lackluster Sens team. Ottawa’s ideal schedule makes Namestnikov worth rostering this week. He’s currently owned in just 8% of Yahoo! leagues.