Fantasy Hockey 2026-27: Weekly Strength of Schedule and Streaming Targets — Week 5
Welcome to Week 5 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. 26 to Sunday, Nov. 1, with 47 games on the schedule. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday are all light nights with five or fewer games, so those are the nights to target if you have an open roster spot. Tuesday and Thursday are the busiest nights of the week with 11 games each, and Saturday isn’t far behind with 10, which means streamers will have a tough time cracking your lineup on all three nights.
The Edmonton Oilers lead the way with 4.19 True Games, followed by the Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings and Ottawa Senators. At the other end, the Pittsburgh Penguins have the toughest week for streamers at just 1.41 True Games.
Week 5 Strength of Schedule
Edmonton Oilers
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (C/LW) – 59% Rostered
In competitive leagues, you’re probably not finding Nugent-Hopkins on the waiver wire, but I was surprised to see he’s still available in 41 percent of leagues.
Since returning to the lineup, RNH has recorded one goal, one assist and five SOG. More importantly, he’s fired 11 shot attempts while averaging 19:57 TOI/GP. That’s a level of shot volume we’ve rarely seen from Nugent-Hopkins, and while it’s unlikely to continue at that pace, it’s certainly encouraging.
He’s playing huge minutes, he’s back on the top power-play unit, and he’s in a great position to produce. Whether the increased shot volume sticks remains to be seen, but RNH looks poised to deliver solid fantasy numbers for the 16th consecutive season.
Kasperi Kapanen (RW) – 3% Rostered
There aren’t many appealing low-owned streaming options in Edmonton, but Kapanen is probably your best bet until Matt Savoie returns to the lineup.
Kapanen continues to skate in the Oilers’ top six, most recently alongside Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman. He’s recorded four points (3G / 1A) in 11 games this season, but his underlying numbers are fairly modest. He’s averaging just 3.2 shot attempts and 1.8 hits per game, limiting his fantasy floor.
He’s not an especially exciting option, but his top-six role gives him some upside, and upcoming Light Night matchups against Detroit, Calgary and the Rangers make him worth considering if you’re looking to maximize games played.
Calgary Flames
The Flames have the best streaming schedule in both Week 5 and Week 6, making them an excellent team to target over the next two weeks. With the right pickups, fantasy managers can get plenty of value out of Calgary’s upcoming schedule.
Joel Farabee (LW/RW) – 17% Rostered
Farabee opened the season with zero goals and three assists in his first six games, but enters Week 5 riding a four-game point streak, recording two goals and four assists during that stretch.
He’s been one of Calgary’s best skaters, ranking second on the team in ixG/GP (46th in the NHL) and fourth in Offence Generating Plays. He leads the Flames in points (9), assists (7) and power-play points (6), while sitting tied for the team lead in shots on goal (24).
His underlying numbers are equally encouraging. Farabee is averaging 2.4 SOG, 4.0 shot attempts and 19:31 TOI/GP, all strong indicators of sustainable production. He’s driving offence for the Flames and is one of their best streaming options over the next two weeks.
Matt Coronato (RW) – 9% Rostered
Coronato was one of my featured Waiver Wire Pickups on last week’s DFO Fantasy Show because of Calgary’s upcoming schedule. His roster percentage has climbed just four points since then, so he’s still widely available.
Like Farabee, Coronato enters Week 5 on a four-game point streak, recording one goal and four assists. He’s second on the Flames in points (8) and PPP (5), and tied for the team lead in SOG (24).
Shot volume has always been a calling card for Coronato, so it’s no surprise that he’s averaging a healthy 4.6 shot attempts per game. That gives him a solid floor in leagues that count shots, along with plenty of goal-scoring upside.
However, he’s also second on the Flames in Offence Generating Plays, showing that he’s contributing as a playmaker, too. That well-rounded offensive profile makes him an appealing streamer for goals, assists, SOG and PPP.
Morgan Frost (C) – 8% Rostered
There’s good news and bad news when evaluating Frost as a streaming option.
The Good: Frost leads the Flames in ixG/GP, ranking 33rd in the entire NHL. He’s also third on Calgary and inside the NHL’s top 100 in Offence Generating Plays/GP. His underlying offensive numbers suggest there’s plenty of upside.
The Bad: His usage is concerning. Frost is averaging just 15:29 TOI/GP, and he’s played only 13:19 and 12:20 in his last two games. That’s especially disappointing considering Mikael Backlund has been out of the lineup, which should have opened up additional minutes.
Frost has averaged roughly one minute less in the third period of those games, suggesting Calgary isn’t leaning on him as heavily when protecting a lead. Instead, he’s seeing more opportunities when the Flames are chasing games and need offence, which makes sense given his strong play-driving numbers.
The good news? Calgary has upcoming light-night matchups against Toronto, Edmonton and Seattle, three games where the Flames could find themselves chasing the score. That could create some favourable game scripts for Frost, making him an intriguing, albeit somewhat risky, streaming option.
Mikael Backlund (C) – 4% Rostered
Backlund has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury and is questionable for Monday. However, if he’s back in the lineup, he could be one of Calgary’s best streaming options.
One thing you can count on with Backlund is strong usage. Before getting hurt on October 18, he was averaging 18:19 TOI/GP, and his underlying numbers were excellent. He ranked first on the Flames (65th in the NHL) in Offence Generating Plays/GP and fifth on the team in ixG/GP.
That hasn’t translated into much offensive production yet, but the shot volume is extremely encouraging. Backlund leads the Flames with 3.0 SOG and 6.0 shot attempts per game, giving him one of the strongest shot profiles on the roster.
If he’s healthy enough to return to his usual role, Backlund offers an appealing combination of ice time, shot volume and offensive upside at just 4% rostered.
Martin Pospisil (C/RW) – 4% Rostered | Adam Klapka (RW) – 4% Rostered
Pospisil and Klapka are both viable streaming options in banger leagues.
Pospisil has settled in as Calgary’s No. 3 centre, averaging close to 14 minutes per game. He ranks 12th among NHL forwards in hits (42), and while he hasn’t contributed much offensively, his averages of 4.2 hits and 1.6 SOG per game provide a reliable floor in leagues that reward physical play.
Klapka has chipped in a little more offensively, recording two goals and two assists, but his fourth-line role limits his consistency and overall upside. However, his physical production is nearly as strong as Pospisil’s, averaging 3.4 hits and 1.6 SOG per game.
Neither player offers much offensive upside, but both can provide useful category coverage if you’re looking to take advantage of Calgary’s favourable schedule.
Matvei Gridin (LW/RW) – 3% Rostered
Gridin has shown plenty of offensive talent early in his NHL career, recording 25 points (8G / 17A) in his first 47 games. That’s a 45-point pace for a 20-year-old, which is certainly encouraging.
For some perspective, Berkly Catton was selected 20 picks ahead of Gridin in the 2024 NHL Draft and has just one more point despite playing 31 additional games.
So, we know Gridin can produce at the NHL level, but his underlying numbers suggest his fantasy upside may be somewhat limited.
He ranks sixth on the Flames in Offence Generating Plays/GP but just 12th in ixG/GP. That suggests he’s more likely to contribute assists and power-play points than goals and SOG.
Gridin is an intriguing deep-league streamer, especially in points formats, but his limited shot-generation profile makes him less appealing in standard category leagues.
Devin Cooley (G) – 17% Rostered
After a horrific start to the season, Cooley is starting to look more like the goalie we saw last year. As a reminder, he ranked second in the NHL in Quality Start% (73.1%) and Goals Saved Above Expected/60 (+0.604) last season.
He’s been outstanding in his last three appearances, stopping 100 of 104 shots (.962 SV%) and looking much more comfortable between the pipes. His upcoming matchups aren’t particularly favourable, but he’s already beaten Carolina, Minnesota and Detroit over the last week, so he’s clearly capable of overcoming difficult opponents.
If you’ve recently lost Igor Shesterkin, Logan Thompson, Linus Ullmark or Devon Levi, Cooley could be a valuable streaming option over the next two weeks. That said, starting him Wednesday in Edmonton seems like a bad idea given how well the Oilers are playing right now.