Fantasy Hockey: Weekly Strength of Schedule and Streaming Targets — Week 10
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 took that weekly schedule and combined it 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. For context, CBJ currently grades as the worst defensively, with a rating of 92.16. Carolina is the best, with a rating of 12.46.
- SCORE: The sum of all of the Defensive Ratings that the team will face this week.
- AVG Opponent: The Average Defensive Ratings that the team will face this week.
- Strength of Schedule is determined by the sum of defensive ratings, because we want players that play the most games but also have the easiest matchups.
- Light Nights: A night in the NHL with eight or fewer games.
Week 10 – Strength of Schedule
Week 10 Opponent Ratings
Team Ratings are based solely on defensive metrics and goaltending quality in order to identify the best matchups for skaters. They are in no way a reflection of overall team quality. The lower the rating, the better the team is defensively = worse skater matchup.
Week 10 Streaming Targets
- SOS = Strength of Schedule Rank (1 good, 32 bad)
- Light = No. of games on Lighter days (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun)
Arizona Coyotes
The Coyotes have a terrific schedule this week, which includes two games against the Sabres, who have given up an average of 3.7 goals in their last ten games. They’ll also take on the Sharks on Friday, a team playing better lately but still last in the NHL in GA/60 (4.04). Arizona also has a plethora of streaming options to choose from.
Alex Kerfoot (C/LW – 12%)
Kerfoot is not a long-term asset, but in the short term, he’s been a heater, and his usage is elite. In his last eight games, Kerfoot has nine points, averaging 20:01 TOI/gm. He’s skating on the Coyotes’ top power-play unit, which should lead to more PPP (three in his last eight games), but his shot volume (1.6 per game) will limit his goal-scoring upside.
Nick Bjugstad (C – 12%)
Bjugstad has been centring the Coyotes’ second line with Matias Maccelli and Lawson Crouse for most of the season, and the trio has produced an impressive rate (3.5 GF/60 & 3.7 xGF/60). After being held pointless in his first three games of the season, Bjugstad has 17 points (6G / 11A) in his last 23 games. Bjugstad likely won’t have a week-winning week since he only has one multi-point game this season, but he’ll chip across the board (0.3 G, 0.5 A, 1.7 SOG, 1.3 Hits per game in his last 23).
Jason Zucker (LW – 10%)
Zucker is a one-time 30-goal scorer and five-time 20-goal scorer, so he has plenty of goal-scoring upside as a weekly streamer. He was recently promoted to the Coyotes’ top line with Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller, so this is his best chance of the season. Zucker comes into the week with six points (2G / 4A) and 16 SOG (2.0 per game) in his last eight games.
Matias Maccelli (LW – 7%)
Like Bjugstad, Maccelli won’t have massive totals, but he can be a consistent contributor. He has just two multi-point games this season but has at least one point in 17 of his last 23 games (74%). We’ve also seen a drastic increase in shot volume from Maccelli in the previous couple of weeks–he averaged 1.5 SOG/gm in his first 20 games but has been averaging 3.5 SOG/gm in his last six games. If that continues, Maccelli could pop a couple of goals this week to go along with his 0.6 assists per game.
Michael Carcone (LW – 4%)
Carcone is having one of the most hilarious seasons in recent memory. He’s currently tied for 17th in the NHL in goals despite averaging under 11 minutes per game on the season. Carcone leads the NHL in Goals/60 but has relied on an outrageous 34.2 SH%. What he’s doing is obviously unsustainable, but he offers goal-scoring upside as a short-term pickup.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs have the third-best schedule this week, including two terrific matchups with the Islanders and Blue Jackets. Their offence is pretty concentrated, but they have a couple of top-6/PP2 options worth targeting.
Tyler Bertuzzi (LW – 20%)
Bertuzzi has had a hot-and-cold season so far. He had just one goal in his first five games but then picked up seven points (3G / 4A) in 11 games from Oct.24 to Nov.17. Things have gone cold for him again in the last few weeks, as he has just one goal and no assists in his previous eight games. Still, he’s skating on a line with John Tavares and Mitch Marner and sees some time on the second power-play unit, so he’s in a position to produce and heat back up this week.
Matthew Knies (LW – 17%)
Knies has just one assist and eight SOG in his last five games, but he continues to skate with Auston Matthews and William Nylander at 5v5. You couldn’t ask for a better spot in a lineup for a streaming option. Since being promoted to the top-6 in early November, Knies has seven points (4G / 3A) in 13 games.
New York Islanders
Outside of a mid-week matchup with the Bruins, the Islanders have three above-average matchups this week, including two terrific matchups with the Ducks and Canadiens. The Islanders rank 25th in goal-scoring this season, which makes them a little less desirable than most, but they have a couple of players worth looking at.
Anders Lee (LW – 30%)
Lee is a former 40-goal scorer and seven-time 20-goal scorer. However, he had a horribly slow start to the season, posting just two points (1G / 1A) in his first 15 games. He’s starting to heat up, with eight points (6G / 2A) in his last 11 games and was recently bumped to the top line with Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat.
Kyle Palmieri (RW – 6%)
Palmieri has been a consistent but unspectacular producer throughout his career, consistently scoring around a 25-goal, 50-point pace throughout his career. He’s doing it again this season with 15 points (7G / 8A) in his first 26 games–a 22-goal, 25-assist pace. The veteran winger plays consistent minutes at 5v5 and on the power-play and comes into the week with seven points (4G / 3A) and 22 SOG in his last 11 games.
Others to consider:
- Mikael Granlund (SJS – C/RW – 35%)
- Michael Bunting (CAR – LW – 31%)
- JJ Peterka (BUF – RW – 30%)
- Josh Norris (OTT – C – 28%)
- Casey Mittelstadt (BUF – C – 26%)
- Blake Coleman (CGY – C/RW – 18%)
- Robby Fabbri (DET – C – 8%)
- Fabian Zetterlund (SJS – LW – 4%)
- Nils Hoglander (VAN – LW – 2%)
- Joe Veleno (DET – C – 1%)