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 combined that weekly schedule with a Team Defense Score I created using key defensive metrics to find which teams/skaters have the best schedule this week.
* in order of Team Strength of Schedule *
Light nights are not as big of a factor this week because the busy nights aren’t crazy busy. Take a look at your lineup for the week and find where you have holes, and you may be able to stream anyone this week.
The Avalanche have the No.1 ranked Strength of Schedule this week and three light night games, guaranteeing that you’ll get a lot of use out of Mittelstadt this week. Mittelstadt was bumped to Colorado’s top power-play unit for their last game and continues to play big minutes in their top-6. This elite exposure and great schedule make him a fantastic streaming target this week. Mittelstadt hasn’t scored in 13 straight games and has just seven SOG in that time, but he has four assists in his last five games. He should be a strong source of assists this week, but if you need goal-scoring help, you should look elsewhere.
The Kings have the No.4 ranked schedule this week, but just one light night game. As I mentioned, it shouldn’t be a factor, but check your lineup first to ensure you can fit him in. Foegele has a tremendous floor, thanks to his excellent shot volume. Over his last 10 games, Foegele has averaged 3.2 SOG/gm and has chipped in two goals and three assists (five points). You can also consider Alex Turcotte (C – 0%) from the Kings. He was bumped up to the top line with Trevor Moore out on Saturday and had one goal and one assist in 17:07 TOI. Turcotte will become fantasy relevant if he sticks with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe for the week. That line has an outstanding 3.7 xGF/60 and 32.5 ScoringChances/60 in 77:40 5v5 TOI together this season. They just need to stop burying Turcotte in the bottom-6.
Norris isn’t widely available but he’s the lowest-owned of the Senators’ top players. He’s been hot as of late as well, scoring three goals with two assists (five points) in his last six games while averaging 3.0 SOG/gm. The Senators have the No.7 ranked schedule this week, but just one light night game.
The Capitals are one of just eight teams with four games this week, and three are on light nights. If you’re in a league with tighter rosters, you may need these light night games. Protas continues to be widely productive. He has eight points (4G / 4A) and 22 SOG in his last eight games. Of the 456 skaters with at least 300 5v5 TOI, Protas is second in the NHL in Points/60 (3.38).
Dubois also continues to put up solid point totals for the Capitals, scoring two goals with five assists (seven points) in his last six games. After scoring just once in his first 18 games (3.6 SH%), Dubois has found the back of the net three times in his last 11 games (17.6 SH%).
Rodrigues’ role could be more consistent, but more often than not, he’s playing with high-end talent in Florida. The Panthers’ schedule this week is challenging (24th), but all four games are on light nights. If you don’t have any room in your lineup on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday, then Rodrigues makes sense for you. The 31-year-old winger enters the week with five points (2G / 3A) in his last nine games.
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