Fantasy Hockey: Weekly Strength of Schedule and Streaming Targets — Week 11
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.
Last Week’s Streaming Targets (Results)
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 11 – Strength of Schedule
Week 11 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 11 Streaming Targets
- SOS = Strength of Schedule Rank (1 good, 32 bad)
- Light = No. of games on Lighter days (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun)
Because the Christmas break begins on Sunday, this week is condensed into six days, which means we have three extremely busy days (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday) and very few teams playing four games. For this week, we’re going to focus on the following teams:
- Minnesota Wild – They are one of two teams with four games this week and the third-best schedule overall. They only have one light night game, so you’ll have to look ahead to make sure you can fit them into your lineup before adding them.
- Detroit Red Wings – They are the only other team with four games this week but three of them are on light nights, making them the ideal team to target this week. Their average opponent rating is 23rd, so the matchups aren’t terrific but we’re looking for quantity this week.
- Winnipeg Jets – All three of their games this week are on the three light nights, so you’ll be able to jam Jets into your lineup. They also have two juicy matchups vs. MTL (Monday) and vs. DET (Wednesday) but Friday’s matchup vs. BOS isn’t great, unless Charlie McAvoy and Pavel Zacha are still out.
Minnesota Wild
Jared Spurgeon (D) – 22% Owned
I don’t usually recommend streaming defensemen but if you need some help on the blueline, Spurgeon could help this week. However, he’s missed the last two games and appears to be trending towards being a game-time decision on Monday. Make sure he’s going to play Monday before scooping him up. Spurgeon has just four assists in 13 games this season but will operate the Wild’s top PP unit when he’s healthy and will play gigantic minutes with Jonas Brodin still sidelined. Prior to getting hurt himself, Spurgeon played 27:20 and 28:33 TOI in his last two games.
If Spurgeon isn’t ready to go Monday/this week, the Brock Faber (7% Owned) will continue to be a solid option. He’s averaged an outrageous 30:51 ATOI in his last two games (with Spurgeon out) and has been running the top power-play unit. Without the PP usage, he doesn’t carry much offensive upside, so I wouldn’t consider him unless Spurgeon is ruled out.
Marco Rossi (C) – 9% Owned
With the Wild loading up their top line, Rossi has been left to play with Mats Zuccarello and Marcus Johansson on the second line. The trio has played pretty well together, averaging over 31 scoring chances for/60, and Rossi has had two goals on eight shots in his last three games.
Marcus Johansson (LW) – 2% Owned
Johansson is a fine deep-league target, but you have to know you’re probably not going to get any goals from him. He has just one goal and 42 SOG in 28 games this season and has just seven goals in his last 48 games with Minnesota. Still, he’s a decent source of assists and comes into the week with four helpers in his last six games.
Detroit Red Wings
Michael Rasmussen (C/LW) – 11% Owned
Streaming the Red Wings this week will look differently if Dylan Larkin returns to the lineup on Monday or not. If he doesn’t, Rasmussen is set to skate on the top line with J.T. Compher and Patrick Kane yet again. Rasmussen is enjoying the best offensive season of his career and has been hot as of late, picking up eight points (5G / 3A) in his last eight games.
Daniel Sprong (RW) – 7% Owned
Sprong continues to be a player who makes the most of his limited ice time but has actually seen more playing time recently with all the injuries in Detroit. The great thing about Sprong is you know he’s going to shoot. He’s averaging 2.4 SOG/gm on the season and has 11 points (4G / 7A), including three PPP in his last 16 games.
Joe Veleno (C) – 5% Owned
Veleno’s value is 100 percent dependent on Larkin’s status. Veleno has sent the biggest bump in usage with Larkin absent, as he’s averaged an absurd 21:36 TOI/gm in the last four games. He should continue to centre a top-6 line and the top power-play unit if Larkin is unavailable. Veleno has one goal, three assists and nine SOG in those four games.
Winnipeg Jets
Nikolaj Ehlers (LW) – 58% Owned
If you’re in the 42 percent of leagues where Ehlers is still available, he’s a must-add for this week and beyond. I’ve preached patience with Ehlers all season and you’re being rewarded if you held onto him. Ehlers has exploded in recent games, posting 11 points (4G / 7A) in his last seven games and if you look back even further, he has 17 points (8G / 9A) in his last 16 games. How he’s still available in this many leagues is beyond me. With Kyle Connor out long-term, Ehlers should continue to be one of Mark Scheifele’s running mates at 5v5 and will be on the top power-play unit.
Gabriel Vilardi (C/RW) – 34% Owned
If Ehlers isn’t available in your league, his linemate, Vilardi could be. His own% continues to skyrocket, so hopefully, you picked him up before reading this. Vilardi’s breakout season was halted early on by an injury but he has eight points (4G / 4A) in seven games since returning to the lineup. With Connor out, he’s skating with Scheifele and Ehlers at 5v5 and is also on the top PP unit. He comes into the week red-hot, with six points (3G / 3A) in his last two outings. Like Ehlers, he’s an addition for more than just this week.
Cole Perfetti (C/LW) – 21% Owned
Ehlers and Vilardi are the two best pickups but Perfetti is a decent consolation prize if they’re already rostered. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the same quality of linemates at 5v5 but is on the top PP unit. After starting the season with 19 points (9G / 10A) in his first 23 games, Perfetti has gone pointless in his last six games, but the ice-time (15:44 ATOI) and shot volume (2.3 SOG/gm) remain encouraging.
Others to consider…
Dylan Strome (C) – 30% Owned
The capitals have the easiest schedule this week with an average opponent rating of 66.5. The issue is only one of their games is on a light night, so make sure you can fit a strict centre into your lineup on Thursday and Saturday before wasting an add on Strome. The 26-year-old has been hot as of late, picking up eight points (4G / 4A) and 27 SOG (3.4 per game) in his last eight games.
Matias Maccelli (LW) – 11% Owned
Arizona has the fourth-easiest average opponent rating this week but no games on light nights, so look ahead to make sure you can squeeze Maccelli in. Maccelli’s value continues to increase with his recent shot volume bump. The second-year winger has averaged 3.3 SOG/gm in his last six games and has five points (2G / 3A) during that time. If you take a look at his entire season, since starting pointless in three games, Maccelli has 22 points (6G / 16A) and 56 SOG (2.1 per game) in his last 27 games. He has at least one point in 20 of those 27 games (74%).
Philipp Kurashev (C) – 3% Owned
Chicago has the fifth-easiest average opponent rating this week and one light night game. Kurashev has settled in as a permanent linemate with Connor Bedard and his ice time warrants consideration. The 24-year-old has averaged 19:31 TOI in his last nine games and has played over 20 minutes four times in that span. Production-wise, he has five points (2G / 3A), two PP and 14 SOG (1.6 per game) in those nine games.
JJ Peterka (RW) – 35% Owned
I’ve been talking about Peterka for months and quite frankly, he’s one of the best players available on the waiver wire in over 60 percent of leagues. He carries value well beyond this week and has quietly racked up 20 points (10G / 10A) in his last 25 games. That’s more than Kirill Kaprizov, Alex DeBrincat, Alex Ovechkin and Matthew Tkachuk during that stretch. His ice time continues to increase as well, he’s played 18:04 ATOI in his last 11 games, a nearly three-minute per game increase from his first 21 games of the season.