Fantasy Hockey 2024-25: 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 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.

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.
SCORE: The sum of all the Defensive Ratings the team will face this week.
AVG Opponent: The Average Defensive Ratings that the team will face this week.
The strength of the Schedule is determined by the sum of defensive ratings because we want players who play the most games but also have the easiest matchups.
Light Nights: A night in the NHL with eight or fewer games.

Week 15 – Strength of Schedule

Week 15 Streaming Targets

The Strength of Schedule is largely irrelevant this week because Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are jam-packed, and Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday are so light. The only thing that really matters is light nights. There are only three teams with two light-night games, and those are the only three teams that we care about this week.

Edmonton Oilers

Viktor Arvidsson (LW/RW – 21% Rostered)

The Oilers’ second line of Arvidsson, Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin has been excellent this season and are the top streaming options of the week. The trio is averaging 3.5 xGF/60, 33.3 SCF/60 and 14.4 HDCF/60 at 5v5 this season. In his last nine games, Arvidsson has picked up three goals, five assists (8 pts), and 27 SOG (3.0 SOG/gm). His shot volume during that stretch (12.2 SOG/60) is much more reminiscent of what we saw out of him in his prime and significantly better than his first 18 games of the season (9.1 SOG/60). He provides a steady floor and has the bonus of playing with Draisaitl, who leads the NHL in 5v5 points this season (32).

Vasily Podkolzin (LW/RW – 5% Rostered)

Arvidsson would be my preferred stream in non-banger leagues, but Podkolzin is a strong fall-back option for the same reasons. That line has played incredibly well, and Podkolzin comes into the week with five points (2G / 3A) in his last eight games. His shot volume isn’t quite as good (2.0 SOG/gm during that stretch), but he provides a lot more in banger formats. Podkolzin has averaged 2.4 hits per game since mid-December and 2.2 hits/gm this season.

Buffalo Sabres

JJ Peterka (LW/RW – 28% Rostered)

I had extremely high expectations for Peterka entering the season, so writing him up as a streamer is unfortunate. In fairness, he should be more than 28 percent rostered, considering he has 14 points (2G / 12A) in his last 13 games. Peterka’s dip in shot volume has held him back this season. He averaged 10.1 SOG/60 last year, dropping to 7.0 SOG/60 this season. His shots have perked up a bit in his previous 10 games (25 SOG, 8.5 SOG/60), giving some hope that the goal-scoring will pick up moving forward. Either way, thanks to his strong assist totals, he has a solid floor, and we know there’s goal upside here.

Jason Zucker (LW – 26% Rostered)

Zucker has cooled off recently, going pointless in his last three games, but he was red-hot before that. Zucker has 17 points (10G / 7A) in his previous 19 games. Zucker is a great addition because he continues to skate on the top line with Tage Thompson and the top power-play unit. This deployment has led to elite usage lately, averaging 19:41 TOI/gm in his last five games.

Dylan Cozens (C – 22% Rostered)

Cozens is the third member of the Thompson/Zucker line, but it hasn’t led to as much production for the 23-year-old. He enters Week 15 with a serviceable eight points (3G / 5A) in his last 12 games. He doesn’t offer much of a floor in terms of shot volume (1.5 SOG/gm over that stretch, but he will contribute some hits for banger leagues. Cozens averages 2.0 hits/gm on the season.

Carolina Hurricanes

Jordan Staal (C – 23% Rostered)

Staal is coming off one of the season’s most unexpected weeks. After scoring just four goals in his first 40 games of the season, Staal had five goals and two assists in four games last week. His line has always been dominant at 5v5 but they lack finishing ability. It gets better when Andrei Svechnikov plays with him and Jordan Martinook like he is right now. So there’s reason to believe Staal can stay hot this week. Just don’t expect him to shoot 62.5 percent again. If you’re in banger leagues, Staal provides a decent floor, averaging 1.4 SOG and 1.6 hits per game this season.

Jack Roslovic (C/RW – 10% Rostered)

Roslovic has quietly had a really strong season. Playing with Sebastian Aho more often than not, Roslovic is tied for fifth in the NHL in 5v5 goals (14) and tied for 47th in 5v5 points (21) this season. Unfortunately, he doesn’t provide anything on the power-play, but as long as he’s skating with Aho and Seth Jarvis, he’s a threat to have a nice week at 5v5.