Fantasy Hockey: Weekly Strength of Schedule and Streaming Targets — Week 15
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 easiest schedule this week.
Week 15 – Strength of Schedule
Week 15 Streaming Targets
Week 15 will be the busiest week of the NHL season so far, with 58 games in total. The week starts with an unusually busy Monday (11 games) because of Martin Luther King Day.
- SOS = Strength of Schedule Rank (1 good, 32 bad)
- Light = No. of games on Lighter days (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun)
- DR = Defensive Ranking (1st = Best Defensive Team, 32nd = Worst Defensive Team)
Philadelphia Flyers (SOS: #1 | Light: 1)
The Flyers are extremely interesting this week because they have a rare five-game week. The problem is four of their five games are on the busiest nights of the week, making it more difficult to fit them in your lineup. The good news is, that almost all of their key contributors are under 30 percent rostered and all carry dual-position eligibility. The Flyers have also caught fire, winning seven of their last eight games and they rank second in the NHL in goals per game (3.99) in their last 10 games.
Kevin Hayes (C/LW) – 29% Rostered
At first glance, it looks like Hayes is skating on the Flyers’ third line but they roll their top three lines out pretty evenly and any one of them could lead the team in ice-time on a given night. The Hayes-Laughton-Allison line has played very well, averaging 3.1 xGF/60. Hayes enters the week with seven points (1G / 6A) and 21 shots (3.5 SOG/gm) in his last six games. If you take it back further, he has 27 points (9G / 18A) in his last 32 games.
Scott Laughton (C/LW) – 26% Rostered
Laughton had just 10 points (4G / 6A) in his first 26 games of the season but has heated up since being paired with Hayes. In his las 13 games, Laughton has 15 points (7G / 8A) while playing 18:09 ATOI. He’s shooting 36.8% over that stretch, so he likely isn’t a long-term option but is a solid streaming target while he’s hot and the Flyers have five games.
Owen Tippett (LW/RW) – 9% Rostered
Tippett is one of the most attractive streaming options that the Flyers have because of his impressive shot volume. He’s carved out a nice role in the Flyers’ top-6 averaging around 16 minutes per game. In his last 15 games, Tippett has 13 points (6G / 7A) and 42 shots (2.8 SOG/gm).
Joel Farabee (C/LW) – 5% Rostered
Farabee’s upside is a little bit limited because he doesn’t shoot very much, but he’s on a heater right now. Riding shotgun with a red-hot Travis Konecny, Farabee has collected 10 points (4G / 6A) in his last 11 games. He has just 20 shots on goal in that span, though.
Morgan Frost (C/LW) – 5% Rostered
Frost has been centring the “top line” with van Riemsdyk and Tippett and has produced 14 points (5G / 9A) in his last 15 games, with two four-point games in there. He’s a deep-league target playing over 17 minutes per game.
James van Riemsdyk (LW/RW) – 5% Rostered
van Riemsdyk has been a pretty consistent contributor for the Flyers this season, picking at least one point in 14 of 23 games. In his last 15 games, the veteran winger has five goals, eight assists (13 points) and 40 shots on goal (2.7 SOG/gm).
Pittsburgh Penguins (SOS: #5 | Light: 3)
The Penguins have four games this week and are the only team with games on all three of the lighter days, so you should have no problem getting them into your lineup. Additionally, they have the fifth-easiest schedule of the week, but they don’t have many low-owned targets.
Rickard Rakell (LW/RW) – 58% Rostered
Rakell continues to skate on a line with Evgeni Malkin and Jason Zucker and has 13 points (7G / 6A) in his last 21 games. His shot volume (3.2 SOG/gm) and usage (19:43 ATOI) make him an attractive streamer in shallow leagues.
Bryan Rust (RW) – 55% Rostered
Rust had a stretch from December 3rd to December 28th where he had 13 points (4G / 9A) in 11 games but has no goals and just three assists in his last seven games. Still, he’s on a line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, and that trio should be able to take advantage of some easy matchups this week. He is one of the highest-upside streamers this week but won’t be available in most leagues.
Jason Zucker (LW) – 23% Rostered
Zucker is the only Penguins’ skater that is somewhat available and worth using a pick-up on. Zucker has eight points (4G / 4A) in his last 12 games, and Zucker-Malkin-Rakell are averaging 3.4 xGF/60, so they should have a good week vs. teams like Anaheim (x1) and Ottawa (x2).
Colorado Avalanche (SOS: #7 | Light: 2)
The Avalanche have the seventh-easiest schedule of the week and two games on light nights. They’ve been scuffling, but hopefully their 7-0 win over the Senators will revive their offence heading into Week 15.
Evan Rodrigues (C/LW/RW) – 20% Rostered
Rodrigues may be the best streaming option of the week. He’s skating on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon, his shot volume is incredible, and he’s red-hot at the moment. Rodrigues has 10 points (3G / 7A) in his last eight games and is averaging 3.0 SOG/gm during that time.
JT Compher (C/RW) – 17% Rostered
Compher was recently bumped from the top power-play unit in Colorado, but he is still playing with Mikko Rantanen at 5v5 and is playing massive minutes (22:17 ATOI in his last 10 games). Compher has tallied eight points (4G / 4A) with 30 shots on goal (3.0 SOG/gm) over his last 10 games.
Alex Newhook (C/LRW) – 2% Rostered
Newhook is coming off of his first career three-point game on Saturday, but that’s really all he’s done since the middle of December. He has just five points (3G / 2A) in his last 15 games, but he’s still on the second line with Compher and Rantanen, so he has the potential to produce for fantasy owners in the deepest of leagues.