Fantasy Hockey 2026-27: Weekly Strength of Schedule and Streaming Targets — Week 4
Welcome to Week 4 of the Daily Faceoff Fantasy Strength of Schedule, your weekly guide to which teams’ schedules are worth streaming and which ones to avoid.
This week runs Monday, Oct. 19 to Sunday, Oct. 25, with 48 games on the schedule. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday are light nights with five or fewer games, so target those if you have an open roster spot. Thursday and Saturday are the busiest nights of the week with 12 games each, and Tuesday isn’t far behind with 11. That means streamers will have a tough time cracking your lineup on all three nights.
The Colorado Avalanche lead the way with 4.21 True Games, followed by the Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and Anaheim Ducks. At the other end, the Calgary Flames have the toughest week for streamers at just 1.01 True Games.
Week 4 Strength of Schedule
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche are the top streaming team for the second consecutive week. Colorado is the only team with three Light Nights this week and has some favourable matchups, particularly Monday in Philadelphia. Their 4.21 “True Games” leads the league by a wide margin.
Gabriel Landeskog (LW/RW) – 37% Rostered
Landeskog’s roster percentage is up five percent from last Monday, so the chances of finding him available in competitive leagues are slim. However, after a quiet first five games, Landeskog was an excellent streamer last week, recording two goals, one assist, four SOG and six hits in three games.
His usage remains modest (15:45 ATOI last week), but the veteran line of Landeskog, Brock Nelson and Nazem Kadri has played well, averaging an impressive 3.71 xGF/60. That should give Landeskog plenty of opportunities to continue producing this week. He enters Week 4 ranked second on the Avalanche in 5v5 ixG/GM (0.27).
Jaden Schwartz (C/LW) – 13% Rostered
Last week, I mentioned that Schwartz’s production wasn’t sustainable, but we only needed him to stay hot for a few more games. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. The veteran winger was held pointless with just five SOG and two hits, although he did have a goal called back against Dallas.
Working in Schwartz’s favour this week is his promotion to the top power-play unit. The change happened midway through the Dallas game, and Colorado stuck with those units against Pittsburgh on Friday. That improved deployment gives Schwartz some renewed streaming appeal heading into Week 4.
T.J. Hughes (RW) – 4% Rostered
Hughes was my Stream of the Week last week, and things weren’t looking great until he scored his first NHL goal against Pittsburgh on Friday.
After averaging 15:11 TOI through his first five games, Hughes saw his ice time dip to just 13:20 ATOI last week, limiting his streaming appeal. However, he remains on PP1, and that’s enough to keep him on the radar in deeper formats.
Montreal Canadiens
Montreal has just two Light Nights this week, but their third game falls on an 11-game Tuesday slate, so there’s a good chance you can squeeze three games out of the Canadiens this week.
Chris Kreider (LW/RW) – 21% Rostered
Kreider got off to a nice start in Montreal, recording one goal and three assists in his first three games. However, he’s gone pointless in five straight, putting him on pace for just 11 goals and 43 points this season.
Things likely won’t improve until his underlying numbers start trending in the right direction. His usage is slipping, and he’s generating just 0.15 ixG (11th on the Canadiens) and 2.0 Offence Generating Plays (18th) per game. With those kinds of offensive rates, it’s difficult to project much production from Kreider this week.
The one thing working in his favour is his physicality. His 14 hits (1.8 per game) rank second on the team, giving him some value in banger leagues.
Josh Anderson (RW) – 5% Rostered
So far, Anderson has been everything fantasy owners hoped Kreider would be in Montreal. Through eight games, he’s tallied four goals, two assists, 17 SOG and 18 hits.
On the surface, his 23.5 SH% looks unsustainable, but Anderson is generating a ton of high-quality chances right now. He ranks tied for 37th in the NHL in ixG per game across all situations, despite seeing no power-play time. He ranks fourth in the NHL in 5v5 ixG.
The shot volume and production are reminiscent of the Josh Anderson we saw in Columbus back in the day. Anderson and Alex Newhook are averaging an impressive 3.62 xGF/60 together this season, so there’s plenty of reason to believe Anderson can stay hot this week.
Zachary Bolduc (LW/RW) – 5% Rostered
Bolduc has opened the season with six points (4G / 2A) in eight games. He got off to a similarly hot start last year, recording six points (4G / 2A) in his first 10 games before going pointless in his next nine, so there’s reason to be skeptical about his early production.
He’s currently shooting 25.0% and has scored 2.2 goals above expected, suggesting some regression could be coming. However, like Anderson, Bolduc brings some deep-league banger appeal, averaging 2.1 hits per game since the start of the 2025-26 season.
Alex Newhook (C/LW) – 2% Rostered
Unlike Kreider, Anderson and Bolduc, who offer most of their fantasy value through goals and hits, Newhook is much more of a playmaker.
He’s averaging an impressive 6.63 Offence Generating Plays per game, giving him plenty of assist upside this week, especially if Anderson can stay hot. However, Newhook remains a streaming option for only the deepest of formats.
Florida Panthers
There’s no rush to scoop up any Panthers this week, as Florida doesn’t play its first game until Wednesday in Ottawa. The Panthers have just two Light Nights, but they’re nicely spread out on Wednesday and Sunday.
Carter Verhaeghe (LW) – 43% Rostered
At 43% rostered, Verhaeghe isn’t widely available in competitive formats, but he’s an excellent pickup right now if you can find him. He’s coming off a hat trick on Saturday and has five goals and one assist in his last three games.
Is he going to maintain his 37.5 SH%? No. He currently leads the NHL in Goals Scored Above Expected, so some regression is inevitable. However, he’s averaging 5.7 shot attempts per game, similar to the volume we saw from 2023 to 2025, when he averaged 33 goals and 68 points per 82 games. Another big season could be in store for the Panthers winger.
Anton Lundell (C) – 10% Rostered
Lundell has just one goal and two assists through nine games, but his shot volume has reached new heights. He’s averaging 2.8 SOG and 4.9 shot attempts per game, up from 2.1 SOG and 4.2 shot attempts over the previous two seasons.
He’s been held back by a 4.0 SH% and a 5.2% on-ice SH% so far, suggesting some positive regression could be coming. If he maintains this increased shot volume, Lundell should start seeing better results sooner rather than later.
Eetu Luostarinen (LW) – 1% Rostered
Luostarinen has two goals through nine games, already putting him 18% of the way to his 2025-26 total. He doesn’t bring much offensive upside to the table, but he’s averaged 2.0 hits per game over the last three seasons, giving him some streaming appeal in deep banger leagues.