Fantasy Hockey 2024-25: Weekly Strength of Schedule and Streaming Targets — Week 24
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 24 – Strength of Schedule
Week 24 Streaming Targets
Nashville Predators
The Predators have the easiest schedule this week. They also play three games in the first four days of the week, so they are a great early-week add, and you can dump them for a weekend streamer to get five games out of one roster slot this week.
Ryan O’Reilly (C – 35% Rostered)
O’Reilly has gone a little bit cold as of late, with just two points (1G / 1A) in his last eight games. But prior to that, he had a run of seven points (2G / 5A) in six games, so he’s capable of putting up a big week. With great matchups and high-end usage (19:12 ATOI on L1 and PP1), he’s a strong streaming option.
Michael Bunting (LW – 7% Rostered)
Bunting has been solid since getting traded to Nashville. He’s only scored two goals with one assist (three points) in nine games, but his shot and hit volume have been respectable, and he’s been productive on the power-play (2 PPG).
Luke Evangelista (RW – 1% Rostered)
Evangelista is available in 99 percent of leagues and is one of my favourite streaming options to start the week. He’s been elevated to the top line recently and has made an impression, scoring three goals with three assists (six points) in five games. He’s always had strong shot volume when he played in the middle-6, so getting an opportunity with O’Reilly and Filip Forsberg could help him unleash some potential. Even if you only hold him for the first two days of the week, he’s got great matchups in Philadelphia and in Columbus.
Florida Panthers
The Panthers have the second-easiest schedule this week, but the third and fourth games aren’t until Saturday and Sunday, so you will have to hold onto them for the entire week and might not even have room for them on Saturday (13 games).
Mackie Samoskevich (RW – 17% Rostered)
Samoskevich has been a great pickup since returning from the 4Nations break, posting 10 points (5G / 5A), 36 SOG (2.3 per game) and 46 hits (2.9 per game) in 16 games. The Panthers have upped his usage in the last couple of weeks, giving Samoskevich 18-plus minutes per game, and even with Brad Marchand in the mix now, Samoskevich remains on PP1. He’s in a terrific spot to deliver a massive performance this week.
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild have the best streaming schedule this week. All four of their games are on light nights (the only team with this schedule), and they also have the third-easiest strength of schedule. Unfortunately, they don’t score a lot of goals, so they don’t have many good streaming targets.
Marco Rossi (C – 32% Rostered)
Rossi may have become available in some competitive leagues with owners getting more desperate in the playoffs. It’s especially likely, considering Rossi’s recent play. He has just two points (1G / 1A) in his last nine games, and his ice-time has diminished in the last couple of games. Still, he’s skating with Matt Boldy at 5v5 and on PP1, so he should be a useful player to have in your lineup four times this week.
Ryan Hartman (C/RW – 11% Rostered)
Hartman has been the most productive Minnesota streamer as of late, recording seven points (4G / 3A) in 13 games since returning from suspension on March 4th. The shot volume has been strong during that time (2.6 SOG/gm), giving him a solid floor on a nightly basis.
Frederick Gaudreau (C – 2% Rostered)
Gaudreau has enjoyed a strong run since the 4Nations break, tallying seven goals and three assists (10 points) in 18 games. Gaudreau has been a bit fortunate to get there, shooting 25.9 percent, and doesn’t offer a great floor with his modest shot and hit totals. But we’re desperate to find Wild skaters this week.
Marcus Johansson (LW – 1% Rostered)
Johansson offers an even worse floor than Gaudreau and very little goal-scoring upside. However, he’s been solid as of late, with nine points (3G / 6A) in his last 14 games.
Washington Capitals
The Capitals have the fourth-easiest schedule this week and three of their four games are on light nights. Unfortunately, their offence is very top-heavy, so there aren’t a lot of good streaming candidates on the roster.
Aliaksei Protas (C/LW – 59% Rostered)
The chances of Protas being available in competitive leagues are likely 0 percent. But on the off chance that an owner dumped him in desperation, he’d obviously make a great streamer this week. Protas is scorching hot, scoring seven goals with seven assists (14 points) in his last 11 games. I’ve been calling for regression from Protas all season, but he’s managed to maintain a 23.6 SH% over his last 66 games.
Connor McMichael (C/LW – 50% Rostered)
Similarly, McMichael likely isn’t available for most of you who are reading this. But he was more likely to be dropped recently, having posted just three points (2G / 1A) in his last eight games. He also spent some time on the fourth line on Sunday, so I would make sure he’s back in the top-6 before adding him anyway.
Anthony Beauvillier (LW – 2% Rostered)
Beauvillier has picked up five points (2G / 3A) in his last nine games despite averaging only 12:24 TOI/gm. However, he could be the only low-owned streaming option from Washington this week. He spent some time on a line with Alex Ovechkin and Pierre-Luc Dubois on Sunday, so he’d be worth considering if he remains in the top-6. I would verify that’s the case in practice before wasting a transaction on a potential fourth-liner.
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche have the fifth-easiest schedule this week, and like the Predators, they have three games in four days to start the week. So you can add an Avalanche skater and hold them through Thursday and then move on to a player who plays Friday/Sunday.
Artturi Lehkonen (LW/RW – 54% Rostered)
The chances of Lehkonen being available are slim, but he was bumped back to MacKinnon’s line on Saturday. He hasn’t had much success away from MacKinnon this season, so this should be a big boost for him in Week 24. Still, I probably prefer his linemate (Drouin), who has been a fixture on PP1 as of late. But Lehkonen is a good fall-back if Drouin isn’t available.
Jonathan Drouin (LW/RW – 34% Rostered)
Drouin is my favourite streamer of the week. He’s played extremely well since being bumped back up to MacKinnon’s line, recording nine points (2G / 7A) in his last seven games. He doesn’t offer much shot volume or goal-scoring upside, but he’s been terrific on the power-play, racking up six of his nine points with the man-advantage. Drouin has also been averaging over 20 minutes per game over his last four games.
Ross Colton (C/LW – 11% Rostered)
If Lehkonen and Drouin are both owned, you could turn to Colton. His usage limits his upside, but he’s managed to register 12 points (2G / 10A) in his last 15 games despite playing just 11:30 TOI/gm. In deep leagues, he’s worth considering for the three games in four days and then moving on for the weekend.