Fantasy Hockey 2024-25: Weekly Strength of Schedule and Streaming Targets — Week 18
Identifying the players with four games each week and filling your roster with those players can increase your chances of winning your fantasy hockey matchup. That’s why our Weekly Schedule tool is so helpful!
I combined that weekly schedule with a Team Defense Score I created using key defensive metrics to find which teams/skaters have the best schedule this week.
How it Works:
- Team Defensive Ratings are given on a scale of 0-100, with 0 being the best possible defensive team and 100 being the worst.
- SCORE: The sum of all the Defensive Ratings the team will face this week.
- AVG Opponent: The Average Defensive Ratings that the team will face this week.
- The strength of the Schedule is determined by the sum of defensive ratings because we want players who play the most games but also have the easiest matchups.
- Light Nights: A night in the NHL with eight or fewer games.
Week 18 – Strength of Schedule
Week 18 Streaming Targets
Due to the schedule Light Nights take on added importance this week. You are sure to have a full lineup on Tuesday and Saturday, so adding anyone for their games on those days is mostly irrelevant. We want to focus on teams that have great matchups on Monday (1 game), Wednesday (3 games), Friday (5 games) and Sunday (2 games). No team plays on more than two of those days.
New York Rangers
Will Cuylle (LW/RW) – 29% Rostered
Cuylle had a really strong stretch of offence to begin the season, recording 22 points (10G / 12A) in his first 27 games. Things have dried up recently, though, with just five points (3G / 2A) in his last 23 games. He’s been a bit snakebitten, shooting just 6.5 percent during that stretch, so the offence could be re-unlocked sooner rather than later. Cuylle is an especially intriguing streamer in banger leagues, where he carries a solid floor thanks to his hit volume. In that 23-game stretch, he is seventh among forwards in hits with 84 (3.7 per game).
Reilly Smith (RW) – 3% Rostered
If you’re not in a banger league, Smith should provide a little more offence than Cuylle. The veteran winger has scored three goals with seven assists (10 points) in his last 16 games. With the recent addition of J.T. Miller, the Rangers have shuffled their lineup around, leaving Smith in a solid spot on the second line with Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafrenière.
Los Angeles Kings
Quinton Byfield (C/LW/LW) – 31% Rostered
Byfield has been very inconsistent this season, but one thing that has been constant is his usage. Byfield has played big minutes at 5v5 and has been a fixture on the Kings’ top power-play unit. He was bumped to PP2 three games ago but don’t be surprised if he makes his way back up to PP1 before long. Byfield’s offence has perked back up recently, with two goals and two assists (four points) in his last five games and he has 14 points (8G / 6A) in his last 21 games. He has tremendous upside as a streamer but is only available in 69 percent of leagues.
Alex Laferriere (RW) – 18% Rostered
Perhaps no one has cooled off from the first month of the season than Laferriere. He opened the season with 15 points (9G / 6A) in his first 16 games of the season but has just 13 points (4G / 9A) in his last 30 games. Still, Laferriere’s last five games are encouraging. He’s skating on a line with Byfield and Kevin Fiala and recently joined Fiala on PP1. He has two assists and 13 SOG (2.6 per game) in his last five games.
Warren Foegele (LW/RW) – 6% Rostered
Foegele has gone pointless in his last eight games and has just one goal and no assists in his last 13 games. Still, he’s had strong enough shot volume (2.8 per game) and usage (16:57) in his last 10 games to warrant consideration in deeper leagues.
Nashville Predators
Ryan O’Reilly (C) – 37% Rostered
O’Reilly hasn’t produced much recently, with just four points (2G / 2A) in his last 11 games but he’ll continue to eat big minutes and skate on the top power-play unit. The veteran has also mixed in some huge weeks this season, so he’s got great upside as a streaming target.
Tommy Novak (C) – 2% Rostered
Novak is not a household name, but he’s recently heated up, with eight points (4G / 4A) in his last seven games. Along with fellow streaming target Fedor Svechkov (below), the duo has dominated at 5v5 as of late. Together, they are averaging an elite 4.0 xGF/60, 37.8 SCF/60, and 16.4 HDCF/60 in 103:13 TOI.
Fedor Svechkov (C) – 1% Rostered
Svechkov was a first-round pick (No.19 overall) in 2021 and had 12 points (5G / 7A) in 13 AHL games before getting called up. He’s scored three goals with two assists (five points) in his last seven games and will continue to have success if he and Novak continue to torture teams at 5v5.
Luke Evangelista (RW) – 1% Rostered
Evangelista recently returned to the Predators lineup and, after one game with the O’Reilly line, moved to the Svechkov and Novak line midway through Saturday’s game. It’s unclear where he’ll start Monday’s game, but he’s had great numbers with Novak over the last year and a half and has solid shot volume numbers–2.4 SOG/gm in his last 13 games.