This is the beginning of teams having bye weeks in the NHL Season. While most head to head leagues will have a two week schedule this week given the All-Star Break is also here, it’s still worth planning for. With such a small slate this week, I figured this was a good time to layout what my strategy is during this slow period. I’ll finish the posts with streamers for the next three days. My next post after this will be an updated hold/stream list next Monday after the All-Star Break. Let’s get to it! UPDATE: I will have a post coming out Thursday morning now recapping Monday-Wednesday
Note – This is strategy for head to head leagues. In roto leagues, continue to go about your business as usual given the cap for starts.
Don’t Hold The Fringe – This is fairly straightforward, but it’s worth discussing. A large part of fantasy hockey is maximizing your starts to gain an edge. Unless you’re far out in first place (if you are, congrats!), you need to push every edge that you can. There are very few teams who have two games this week, and a large chunk of them have none (e.g. Buffalo, Columbus, etc.). Obviously you’re not cutting bait with Jack Eichel or Artemi Panarin, but if you grabbed Travis Konecny because he went back onto the first line, you need to drop him for somebody else playing. The Wild, Sharks, and Golden Knights are among the teams that have two games this week (I’ll have a list later) and have a fair amount of streaming options for you to grab.
Come Thursday, Set Up For Next Week – You want to make your moves before anyone else does. A lot of people won’t check their lineups because of the All-Star Game, then go back Monday to make their moves. Get ahead of the curve. Next week, the Jets, Flyers, and Penguins all have three games (and have one game this week). Plenty of teams that have zero games this week will have three next week as well. Meanwhile, the Coyotes and Blues will have zero or one games next week. That means there’s no reason to hold their fringe guys anymore, so don’t. Someone like Bryan Rust looks like a great streamer for next week.
Top Streaming Options For This Week(M-W):
Conor Garland (6.3%) – He’s slowed down a bit, but a back to back with Arizona and Montreal Tuesday and Wednesday is a fairly good spot. Use him and then dump him come Thursday.
Brandon Pirri (27.5%) – Still widely available, Pirri is on the first line with Karlsson and Marchessault right now.
Best Streamers For Monday Only:
Frank Vatrano (5.2%) – He’s skating on a line with Barkov at the moment. Enough said.
Joonas Donskoi (13.2%) – The Sharks play a b2b Monday and Tuesday, so you can use him the next two nights and dump him for somebody Wednesday. Seems ideal.
Tuesday Streamers:
Chris Tierney (20.9%) -Tierney is centering Stone and Tkachuk right now. A home matchup with the Coyotes is a strong spot for Tierney to get on the scoreboard.
Alex Chiasson (20.3%) – He’s back on the first line /end
Wednesday Streamers
Victor Rask (1.1%) – Rask had a point in his first game with Minnesota, so while I absolutely hated the trade from their perspective, that doesn’t mean it can’t help him in fantasy.
Jakub Vrana (12.0%) – As long as he remains on the second line, Vrana is a solid streaming option.
Teams with Two Games in the Next Three Days
Arizona Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights, Washington Capitals
Teams With Zero Games
Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Winnipeg Jets
Teams with Only Two Games in Two Weeks (one each week):
Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks
That’s all for now guys. Let me know any questions or thoughts you have in the comments section below. Thanks for reading, take care!
