Fantasy Hockey 2024-25: Weekly Strength of Schedule and Streaming Targets — Week 16
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 16 – Strength of Schedule
Week 16 Streaming Targets
After a week where Light Nights were everything, they are irrelevant this week. You should have empty spot in your lineup every day except Saturday.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning have the No.1 ranked schedule this week and you can get three games out of them in the first five days of the week and then dump them for a weekend streamer.
Nick Paul (C/LW – 11% Rostered)
Paul has recently been skating on the Lightning’s second line (with Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel) and PP2. Hagel-Cirelli-Paul has been excellent at generating scoring chances this season, averaging 3.4 xGF/60, 34.9 SCF/60 and 20.7 HDCF/60 in 88 5v5 minutes together. Paul has played well over the last month, tallying 11 points (5G / 6A) and 30 SOG (1.9 per game) in his last 16 games.
Darren Raddysh (D – 5% Rostered)
If you need help on the blueline this week, Raddysh is your guy. He skates on the top pair with Victor Hedman and has been on a power-play unit with Brayden Point, Jake Guentzel and Nikita Kucherov lately. The Lightning are going with two balanced PP units, so it’s not exactly “PP1” but he’s surrounded by a lot of talent with the man advantage. Raddysh has picked up nine points (1G / 8A) and 24 SOG (1.7 per game) while averaging 19:43 TOI/gm in his last 14 games.
Ottawa Senators
The Senators have the No.2 ranked schedule this week but play on three of the four busiest nights of the week, so make sure you have room in your lineup on Tuesday and Thursday specifically.
Josh Norris (C – 42% Rostered)
The Senators did some mid-game line shuffling on Sunday, so it’s unclear where Norris will play in New York on Tuesday, but he has been skating with Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson as of late. Norris has three goals, two assists, 13 SOG (2.6 per game) and 18 hits (3.6 per game) in his last five games.
Shane Pinto (C – 12% Rostered)
Pinto is the more widely available player in Ottawa and may be the hottest player on the team right now. He has five points (2G / 3A) in his last five games, and if you go back before Christmas, he has seven goals and five assists (12 points) in his last 17 games while averaging 2.5 SOG/gm.
Nashville Predators
The Predators only have three games this week, but they are against the Sharks (2x) and Ducks, so there’s a lot of upside in streaming them. They have the No.3 ranked schedule this week.
Ryan O’Reilly (C – 35% Rostered)
The Predators are a one-line team right now, but O’Reilly is serviceable while skating on the second line and top PP. He has 10 points (6G / 4A) and 32 SOG (2.5 per game) in his last 13 games.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild’s week opens with a tough matchup in Colorado but it gets easier from there vs. UTA, vs. CGY and @ CHI to close out the week on Sunday. They have the No.4 ranked schedule this week.
Marco Rossi (C – 46% Rostered)
The chances that Rossi is available in any competitive league are incredibly slim, but he’s more than a streamer. He’s been a season-long asset for months, and how his Roster% remains under 50 percent is beyond me. Even with Kirill Kaprizov out, Rossi has 12 points (5G / 7A) in 11 games.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have the No.5 ranked schedule and could open the week with a bang, as they play in Chicago on Monday.
Jackson Blake (RW – 1% Rostered)
Available in just about every league, Blake was promoted to the Hurricanes’ top line with Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov on Friday, and the trio dominated. They had an outrageous 21 shot attempts, 10 shots on goal, eight scoring chances and one goal in under 10 minutes of 5v5 TOI together. Blake has managed to score 10 goals this season while playing primarily on the fourth line (11:47 TOI/gm), so he’s an interesting deep-league option when skating in the Hurricanes’ top-6.
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche have the No.6 ranked schedule this week and are one of 13 teams with four games this week.
Jonathan Drouin (LW/RW – 27% Rostered)
Drouin has been excellent since returning from injury on New Year’s Eve, registering 10 points (2G / 8A) in nine games. The Avalanche have shuffled their lines a lot recently, but Drouin has a solidified spot in the top 6 and top PP unit. So long as he’s in that role, he should continue to be productive.
Ross Colton (C/LW – 14% Rostered)
In their last game, Colton skated on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, the most coveted spot in the Avalanche lineup. He finished the game with no points and one SOG in 16:17 TOI. Colton has just five points (3G / 2A) in 11 games since the Christmas break, but he’s worth a stream as long as he’s on Colorado’s top line.
Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo is a great early-week target. They play three games in the first four days of the week, and then you can move on for someone who plays on Friday and Sunday. Team with that schedule are Winnipeg, Utah, Chicago and Vegas.
JJ Peterka (LW/RW – 31% Rostered)
Peterka seemingly makes this list every week, and I continue to talk about how disappointing his goal-scoring has been this season. Well, he’s now gone goalless in his last 11 games but has picked up eight assists and 25 SOG (2.3 per game) during that time. His assist and shot volume provide him with a solid floor, and the ceiling is great if he can rediscover his scoring touch from 2023-24.
Dylan Cozens (C – 23% Rostered)
The last month has been the most productive stretch of the season for Cozens, who has nine points (4G / 5A) in his previous 14 games. His production won’t dazzle you, but he can be consistent contributor this week. Cozens has just four multi-point games in 45 games (8.9%) this season.
Jack Quinn (RW – 5% Rostered)
Quinn has performed well since just before Christmas, scoring five goals with five assists (10 points) in 11 games. He’s done so while skating primarily on the third line, too. With Ryan McLeod going on IR, the Sabres will shuffle their lines ahead of Monday’s game in Seattle. It’s unclear how they will shake out, but Quinn is the most likely candidate to move back into the top-6.