Fantasy Hockey 2026-27: Weekly Strength of Schedule and Streaming Targets — Week 1
The dust of the preseason has settled and it’s time to drop the puck on the 2026-27 NHL season.
If your fantasy hockey teams look anything like mine, you probably already have Connor Bedard, Seth Jarvis, or someone else in your IR slot, opening up a spot to test-drive a couple of sleepers or start streaming right away.
That’s where our weekly schedule planner comes in. It ranks all 32 teams by True Games, which measures how much a team’s schedule is actually worth for streaming. A four-game week isn’t always better than a three-game week. True Games accounts for who a team plays and whether those games fall on nights when a streamer can actually crack your lineup.
How True Games works
Games played are where every schedule analysis starts, but that leaves out a lot. True Games adjusts each game for three things:
1. Matchup strength. Each game is weighted by how many goals a team is projected to score against that opponent, based on both teams’ strength and home-ice advantage.
2. The opposing goalie. Facing a team’s backup isn’t the same as facing its starter. Our goalie start projections estimate who is likely to be in net for every game, and we adjust each matchup based on that goalie’s recent performance.
3. Light nights. A game only helps if a streamer makes it into your lineup. On a busy night, your regulars fill most of the spots, and your streamer only gets in if there’s an opening at his position. In a standard 12-team Yahoo league with daily lineups, a streamer has about a 50% chance of cracking your lineup on a 13-game night and roughly a one-in-three chance on a full 16-game slate, compared to almost a sure thing on a light night.
Put together, True Games shows what a team’s week is really worth to a streamer. A team with three games against weak opponents on light nights can beat a team with four games against top opponents on busy nights.
Week 1 Strength of Schedule
Week 1 Streaming Targets
New York Rangers
Gabe Perreault – RW – 25% Rostered
Perreault was a completely different player after the Artemi Panarin trade to Los Angeles last season. Before the trade, he had just eight points (3G / 5A) in 23 games while averaging 15:54 TOI/gm. After the deal, he posted 19 points (9G / 10A) in 26 games while averaging 17:57 TOI/gm, mostly on the top line with Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafrenière.
That’s where he’ll start in 2026-27, and it’s a trio that scored 3.2 GF/60 while posting reasonably strong underlying numbers (28.4 SCF/60) last season. It would be nice to see Perreault bump up his shot volume this year, but he’s a great Week 1 streamer because he has legitimate breakout appeal and could have staying power on your roster beyond this week.
Oliver Bjorkstrand – RW – 3% Rostered
Bjorkstrand comes over from the Lightning, where he played a very limited role a season ago, and lands in the Rangers’ top-6 alongside J.T. Miller and Pavel Dorofeyev. On paper, it looks like a trio that could make some noise this week.
Let’s not forget that before going to Tampa Bay, Bjorkstrand had 59 points (20G / 39A) with strong shot volume in a larger role with the Kraken. A return to 16-plus minutes per game could re-unlock some of that offence in Bjorkstrand’s game. He’ll also start on PP2 for the Rangers after tying his career-high with nine power-play goals last season.
Vegas Golden Knights
Ivan Barbashev – LW – 26% Rostered
Barbashev was quietly one of the best free-agent pickups a season ago, finishing with a career-high 61 points (23G / 38A) in 82 games. He’s seemingly being overlooked again outside of banger formats despite remaining strapped to the hip of Jack Eichel.
With some extremely friendly matchups this week, the Golden Knights’ top line could get off to a red-hot start. Barbashev recorded at least one point in 55% of his games last season and had multi-point efforts in 17%. He should have plenty of opportunities to get on the scoresheet this week.
Brett Howden – C/LW – 5% Rostered
If you didn’t watch the NHL Playoffs, you’re probably wondering why Howden is on this list. But the last time we saw him, he led the playoffs with 14 goals and scored in 12 of his final 19 games.
I by no means expect him to maintain the 34.1 SH% he posted during the playoffs, but don’t let that distract you from the fact that he remains on a line with Mitch Marner and William Karlsson. That trio carried a solid 2.8 xGF/60 and could pick up right where they left off with matchups against Chicago, Anaheim and Vancouver this week.
Victor Olofsson – LW/RW – 1% Rostered
Olofsson is more of a deep-league target, but the Golden Knights aren’t wasting any time getting back to the five-forward power play. That’s where Olofsson has thrived throughout his career, scoring 36.4% of his goals with the man advantage. To put that into perspective, Alex Ovechkin has scored 35.6% of his career goals on the power play.
Olofsson is also back on a line with Tomas Hertl, a duo that scored 3.2 GF/60 together in 2024-25 during his first stint with Vegas. Between the favourable schedule and premium power-play deployment, there’s some sneaky upside here for deeper formats.
Florida Panthers
Carter Verhaeghe – LW – 42% Rostered
I said throughout the preseason that I felt Verhaeghe was being disrespected in the Fantasy Hockey draft process. He’s become somewhat of a forgotten man in Florida, even though he’ll start right where he left off last year, on a line with Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk.
That trio was excellent once Tkachuk returned from injury last season, scoring 3.3 GF/60 while generating 3.2 xGF/60. The first game of the week is tough in Carolina, but then the Panthers travel to San Jose and Anaheim, where offence should come much easier.
After a horrible first half of the season, Verhaeghe finished with 27 points (14G / 13A) in his final 37 games last year—a 32-goal, 30-assist pace over 84 games. Not bad for a player you can stream off the waiver wire.
Anton Lundell – C – 10% Rostered
Lundell was on pace for a career-high 56 points last season, but that came while playing over 19 minutes per game with Aleksander Barkov out of the lineup. With Barkov back, Lundell will likely settle closer to 17 minutes per game, limiting his chances of returning to that 56-point pace.
Still, he’s a solid deep-league streamer this week given Florida’s schedule and carries a little extra value in banger leagues, where he’s averaged 1.3 hits per game over the last two seasons.
Edmonton Oilers
Vasily Podkolzin – LW/RW – 22% Rostered
Podkolzin was a must-draft late in banger leagues, but starts the season on the waiver wire in almost every format that doesn’t count hits. The case for streaming him is simple: he’s starting the season as the bulldog alongside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl at the top of the Oilers’ lineup.
There’s some offence to go along with the physical style, too. Podkolzin had 21 points (10G / 11A) in 40 games during the second half of last season.
The Oilers may only have three games and two light nights this week, but back-to-back games against Vancouver to open the season set Podkolzin and company up for a potentially hot start. Stream him for those first two games, then drop him for someone who plays Friday/Sunday from the Rangers, Golden Knights, Red Wings, Jets or Ducks.