Fantasy Hockey: Weekly Strength of Schedule and Streaming Targets — Week 5
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 5 – Strength of Schedule
Week 5 – Streaming Targets
This is a very weird week for streaming because only two teams play multiple games on the quieter nights (MON, WED, FRI & SUN) in the NHL. However, the busier nights (TUE, THU & SAT) aren’t quite as jam-packed as they were last week, so you may have empty spots on your roster for those nights.
Each week, I would advise setting your lineup for the week and checking which spots you have open on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday before making any pickups that play on those days.
Washington Capitals
The Capitals have the perfect streaming schedule, playing Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, so you’ll be able to get these players into your lineup every night this week. They’ve also got the fifth-easiest schedule of the week.
Dylan Strome (C/RW – 26% Rostered)
Strome’s season is off to a nice start, he’s collected two goals and seven assists (nine points) in 13 games while playing 18:06 ATOI. He’s spent some time on the top line but has been more frequently played on L2 and PP1. He’s been an excellent source of PPP with five, tying him with players like Nathan MacKinnon, Mitch Marner, Sebastian Aho, and Jack Eichel for 34th in the NHL. He’s the clear No.1 streaming option for Week 5.
Anthony Mantha (LW/RW – 13% Rostered)
Mantha’s role in Washington seems to change on a game-to-game basis. He’s played on the top line, the second line and the third line so far this season. He’s played as much as 17:20 TOI and as little as 12:03 TOI. There’s no consistency with his usage, but he’s still been relatively productive. He’s scored four goals with two assists (six points) in 13 games, but his 20 SOG is concerning. He’s a volatile pick-up with solid upside should he find himself back in the top-6.
Conor Sheary (LW/RW – 9% Rostered)
Sheary’s role has been much more consistent, playing in the top-6 for the majority of the first month of the season. He’s managed to score four goals with three assists (seven points) in 13 games and is averaging 3.1 shot attempts per game–unfortunately, he’s getting just 57.5 percent of them on net. Still, as of Saturday, he was on the top line with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin, making him the second-highest upside streamer behind Strome.
Marcus Johansson (LW/RW – 4% Rostered)
Johansson has regularly found himself in the middle-6 and on the top power-play unit due to all the injuries to Capitals’ forwards. He’s performed similarly to the other names on this list, scoring three goals and three assists (six points) in 13 games. His shot volume isn’t great, but he’s shooting more than he ever has in his career, so you have a better chance of him scoring than you did in years prior. Four of his six points have come on the PP, so he’s a nice source of PPP this week.
Lars Eller (C – 1% Rostered)
Eller is a desperate deep-league option if all of the other names are gone. He has five points (2G / 3A) in 13 games but barely averages over one shot per game and doesn’t see any power-play time.
Sonny Milano (LW/RW – 0% Rostered)
I would wait to see what Monday’s lineup looks like before picking up Milano in even the deepest of leagues. There’s a chance he could be scratched with Nicolas Aube-Kubel set to make his debut after being claimed on waivers. Milano made his Capitals’ debut over the weekend and had three shots on goal in 13:20 TOI. Still, his spot in the lineup is far from a lock but he could see top-6 and PP2 usage.
Boston Bruins
The only other team with multiple games on quiet nights is the Bruins. They play Monday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, so you may be able to get four games out of them depending on the size of your lineup.
David Krejci (C – 27% Rostered)
Krejci is the obvious top streaming option in Boston, as he’s back on the second line with Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak. Krejci won’t score many goals, but he’s picked up eight points (2G / 6A) in nine games this season. The return of Brad Marchand has pushed him back to PP2, which will hurt his upside, but with so few options this week, he’s one that plays in the top-6 with excellent linemates.
Charlie Coyle (C – 5% Rostered)
Since the Bruins’ top-6 is so highly owned, you’ll likely have to look to their third line for streaming targets this week. Coyle’s been good, scoring five goals with two assists (seven points) in 12 games. He’s shooting 20.8 percent, so his 34-goal pace likely isn’t sustainable, but it’s nice to get a player that plays over 17 minutes per game and has some goal-scoring upside.
Pavel Zacha (C/LW – 3% Rostered)
Zacha has been up and down the Bruins’ lineup so far this season but lands on the third line with the top-6 back to full health. His usage won’t be great, but he’s averaging 2.0 shots per game and sees time on the second power-play unit, so he’s a decent deep-league option.
New York Rangers
If you’re in a league with big rosters and will have lineup spots available on nights with 10 or 11 games, the Rangers have four games this week and the easiest schedule in the NHL. The Rangers did shuffle their lines around in the third period of Sunday’s loss, so their line combos aren’t exactly written in stone heading into the week.
Alexis Lafrenière (LW/RW – 39% Rostered)
Fantasy owners have been growing frustrated with Lafrenière’s lack of production, and it’s kept his owned percentage down and makes him a streaming option in some leagues. Hopefully, he remains on a line with Vincent Trocheck and Artemi Panarin. They’ve averaged 3.4 xGF/60 and 38.1 SCF/60, but Lafrenière is shooting just 5.9 percent with a 7.7 on-ice SH%, so there should be better days ahead.
Kaapo Kakko (C/RW – 10% Rostered)
Kakko was very active on Sunday, scoring one goal on five shots in 16:02 TOI. After a sluggish start, he’s picked up four points (1G / 3A) and 13 shots in his last five games. As long as he’s still on a line with Mika Zibanejad, he’s a great streaming option if you have empty wing spots on Tuesday and Thursday.