Fantasy Hockey: Weekly Strength of Schedule and Streaming Targets — Week 2

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 took that weekly schedule and combined it with a Team Defense Score I created using key defensive metrics to find which teams/skaters have the easiest schedule this week.

Week 2 — Strength of Schedule

Easiest Schedules

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins have the easiest schedule of the week, playing in Montreal, then hosting the Kings, and closing out their week in Columbus. The issue for the Penguins is they play on the three busiest nights of the week, making streaming their players a little more difficult. If you want to stuff them into your lineup, here’s who you should consider:

Potential Streaming Targets:

Rickard Rakell (LW/RW – 41% Rostered) Rakell holds long-term value as the third member of the Penguins’ top line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. Through two games, Rakell has one goal, 10 shots and his plus-5 rating is tied for the best in the NHL. He’s likely the only Penguin worth picking up and jamming into your lineup during a busy week in the NHL.
Jeff Carter (C – 6% Rostered) If you want to go deeper into the lineup, Carter is off to a hot-start, scoring one goal with two assists (three points) in two games. The issue with Carter is a lack of usage, as the Penguins’ No.3 centre he’s playing just 14:34 ATOI.
Jason Zucker (LW – 3% Rostered) Zucker is currently skating on the Penguins’ second line with Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust as well as the second power-play unit. He’s scored one goal with two assists in two games. He’s fired six shots on goal but has 13 shot attempts, which should be a sign of increased production moving forward.

New York Rangers

The Rangers have three home games this week, hosting the Ducks, Sharks, and Blue Jackets. They play Monday, Thursday and Sunday, so you should be able to get them into your lineup at least twice without having to make too many difficult decisions.

Potential Streaming Targets:

Alexis Lafrenière (LW/RW – 52% Rostered) Vitaly Kravtsov left the Rangers’ season opener and Lafrenière has been skating on a line with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck since. The 2020 No.1 overall pick has two assists and an impressive 13 shots in three games. The main concern with Lafrenière entering the season was limited ice-time (13:59 ATOI) and limited shot volume (6.0 SOG/60). Both changed drastically in the first week of the season, as he’s playing 17:05 AOTI and his shot volume (15.3 SOG/60) is currently among the best in the league. He’s rostered in over half of Yahoo! Leagues, so he may not be available in your league, but if he is you should be running to the waiver wire to scoop him up.
Kaapo Kakko (RW – 13% Rostered) Kakko has also been given a great early-season opportunity, skating on the top line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. The results haven’t been as strong as Lafrenière’s, but he’s got one goal and seven shots and is much more available on the wire.

Other Streaming Options

[COL] Evan Rodrigues (LW/RW – 9% Rostered) Rodrigues is off to a quiet start in Colorado, failing to register a point with just three shots and a minus-3 rating in two games. Still, he’s playing over 16 minutes per game and had 15.3 SOG/60 a season ago. The Avalanche have a good schedule for streaming, playing Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.
[FLA] Brandon Montour (D – 17% Rostered) If you need some help on the blueline this week, Montour looks like the best option and could turn into a long-term solution. He’s taken on a greater role with Paul Maurice behind the bench, playing over 23 minutes per game and seeing time on the top power-play unit next to Aaron Ekblad. He has one goal and four shots (10 shot attempts) through two games. The Panthers have the perfect streaming schedule for this week, playing Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday with some nice matchups mixed in.
Seattle Kraken: The entire Kraken team is under 50% owned, so there’s a good chance most of them are available in your league. They also have the perfect streaming schedule, playing Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, although the matchups aren’t great. Still, Matty Beniers (50%), Andre Burakovsky (37%), Oliver Bjorkstrand (26%), Jaden Schwartz (9%), and Jordan Eberle (3%) all make good streaming targets.