Fantasy Hockey Playoff Strength of Schedule (Week 23 to 25) & Streaming Options
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 throughout the Fantasy Hockey Playoffs (Week 22 to 24)
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.
Playoffs Strength of Schedule Summary (Weeks 23 to 25)
If you’re looking to add players with a good schedule all the way through the playoffs rather than streaming them week-to-week. The Carolina Hurricanes, Ottawa Senators, Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks have the most balanced, strong schedules throughout.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have the second-ranked Strength of Schedule overall, but they have the most balanced schedule across all three weeks. Their weekly schedules rank 8th, 11th and 1st.
Taylor Hall (LW – 14% Rostered)
I said last week in my Week 22-to-24 Playoff Preview that Hall could be a league-winning pickup. He got off to a great start for that format, scoring a hat-trick on Sunday. With a great schedule throughout Weeks 23, 24, and 25, Hall could also be a league-winning pickup in this format.
He has 10 points (6G / 4A) and 28 SOG in his last 12 games, but more importantly, he has eight points (5G / 3A), 17 SOG, and 16:09 TOI/gm since Mikko Rantanen was traded. He’s taken on a much larger role since the Trade Deadline and has led the Hurricanes in points during that time.
Logan Stankoven (C/RW – 21% Rostered)
Stankoven was the prized return in the Rantanen trade, but he’s not playing a large enough role to be a great fantasy asset. He’s scored one goal with three assists (four points) in seven games with the Hurricanes, but he’s played under 13 minutes in three of his last four games. It’s unlikely his role will expand enough for him to be a great pickup, but with the quality of the schedule, he’s worth considering.
Jackson Blake (RW – 1% Rostered)
Blake continues to skate on the top line with Sebastian Aho and on the top power-play unit. The usage is great, but it hasn’t led to much production. He’s been unlucky, though, and positive regression could set in at the right time. Blake hasn’t scored since returning from the 4Nations break (14 games) despite firing 35 SOG and ranking second on the Hurricanes in ixG (5.22). He shot 12.6% in the first 56 games of the season, if he maintained that after the break, he would have four goals and five assists (nine points) in 14 games.
Ottawa Senators
The Senators have the No.1 Strength of Schedule throughout the playoffs but only four light-night games. So check your lineup ahead of time to ensure you can get them into your lineup with regularity. They have the second-best Schedule this week, the 18th-ranked schedule next week, and the sixth-ranked schedule in the Final week.
Dylan Cozens (C – 41% Rostered)
Cozens is obviously the ideal streaming candidate from Ottawa, but he won’t be available in most competitive leagues. He’s been great since joining the Senators, though, scoring three goals with four assists (seven points), 20 SOG and 31 hits in eight games.
Shane Pinto (C – 10% Rostered)
Since the 4Nations Face-off break, Pinto has five goals and one assist in 11 games. He’s second on the Senators in ixG (4.94) and fourth among forwards on the team in ATOI (17:19), so he’s playing big minutes and generating quality looks.
Ridly Greig (C/RW – 4% Rostered)
Similar to Pinto, Greig is playing huge minutes. He’s second among Senators forwards in ATOI (18:32) since the break and is third on the team in ixG (4.13) during that stretch. He’s found a little more offensive production than Pinto, with two goals and five assists (4 primary) in 13 games since the break.
Calgary Flames
The Flames have the third-ranked Strength of Schedule overall, but they are a risky stream due to the lack of goal-scoring as a team. They have some decent options but may not score enough to take advantage of a great schedule over the next three weeks.
Matt Coronato (RW – 4% Rostered)
I wrote Coronato up as a good stream for the Week 22-to-24 playoffs, and he got off to a great start. He scored four goals with 12 SOG and a plus-5 rating in four games last week. Coronato is playing huge minutes in the top-6 and top power-play unit and should continue to be a big factor in the Flames’ offence over the next three weeks.
Connor Zary (C/LW/RW – 3% Rostered)
Zary has been solid since returning from his two-game suspension last Tuesday, scoring one goal with one assist, 11 SOG and 19:53 ATOI in three games. I prefer Coronato, but Zary is a good fallback option in case another owner jumped on Coronato’s heater last week.
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks have the eighth-ranked schedule overall, but it’s pretty balanced across all three weeks. They are a better target if you got a first-round bye and are looking for players in the final two weeks, where their weekly schedules rank ninth and eighth. They have plenty of widely available options on the waiver wire. If you didn’t get a first-round bye, San Jose’s first game this week isn’t until Thursday. So you could stream someone from Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, New Jersey, NY Islanders, or Vancouver, who have two games before Thursday and then drop them mid-week for San Jose’s three games in the final four days of the week.
Tyler Toffoli (LW/RW – 34% Rostered)
Toffoli differs from Eklund because he has excellent shot volume, but his point production isn’t quite as reliable. He has just two points in his last six games, but if you look back to the end of January, he has eight goals and seven assists (15 points) in his last 18 games while averaging 3.4 SOG/gm.
William Eklund (LW – 17% Rostered)
Eklund was hot heading into the break and has continued it since. He has 15 points (6G / 9A) in his last 16 games. Eklund doesn’t possess great shot volume, so his goal-scoring isn’t consistent, but he’s a great source of assists and will chip in on the PP as well.
Will Smith (C/RW – 12% Rostered)
Smith is clearly settling into the NHL in the second half. Since the 4Nations break, Smith has 13 points (5G / 8A) in 13 games while averaging 17:19 TOI/gm. He’s done a lot of damage on PP1 during that time, posting two PPG and 4 PPA. If you have Round 1 bye, Smith is a great addition for the semi-final and final.