We’ve reached what the NHL planned on being the last week of the regular season. Due to COVID, the season goes into next week, but depending on your league format, this could be the end of your season. I assume for most of you in head to head leagues, your season ends on Saturday, while those of you in roto leagues it goes through the new end of the season next week, but either way, it’s time to make your final move. At this point, most of the hard work is done, but everything around the margins matter. I won’t be talking about what guys are holds or not at this point because everything is about your current situation. If you have to cut a star player because he’s going to miss a game, do it, because volume is what counts. In this post, I’m going to break down the schedule for this week and what we’re looking to do as far as streamers go. If you have specific questions, please ask them in the comments section so I can help you out. Let’s get to it!
There are 14 games on Monday, 5 on Tuesday, 9 on Wednesday, 6 on Thursday, 7 on Friday, and 14 on Saturday. If your season goes through Sunday, then there are two games then. That means a few things. We’re going to ignore tonight and Saturday as far as streamers go. Everyone is going to have a full roster on those days anyways so in order to maximize starts, we’re really looking at Tuesday and Thursday to push the margins, then decide on Friday if you need to make another move. Here are the teams playing on Tuesday and Thursday:
NYI@BUF, CHI@CAR, BOS@NJD, PIT@PHI, EDM@VAN on Tuesday
BUF@PIT, NYR@BOS, CHI@CAR, NJD@NYI, MTL@TOR, EDM@VAN on Thursday
The only one of these teams that play on Friday is the Flyers, but as you see, they do not play on Thursday. The vast majority of these teams play Monday, so you can get three games in four nights from whoever you grab, then cut bait with them after Thursday to get new streamers on Saturday.
If your league does include Sunday, Chicago stands out as they’re the only team that plays Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. That makes Pius Suter, Phillip Kurashev, and Kirby Dach among the best options available. If your league ends on Saturday, these guys are still valuable, but obviously less so.
Boston has an incredible week for streaming. They play the Devils twice and then the Rangers twice. With the way they’re playing, you can expect them to score a pile of goals. David Krejci is still available in over 40% of leagues which is absurd to me. Craig Smith, coming off a hat trick on Saturday, is also a great option.
If you’re allowed a bunch of moves in one week, targeting the Sabres with the Islanders and Penguins seems like a great idea. UPL went down injured which means Tokarski will almost certainly be starting the rest of the way, and if not, somebody even worse than him. These teams are jockeying for seeding making Anthony Beauvillier a top end choice, among others on the Islanders. The second line of Pittsburgh, Kasperi Kapanen, Jeff Carter, and Jared McCann are also elite options.
There are so few teams in a battle for a playoff spot that we should expect to see a lot of backup goalies getting action. The problem is that it’s hard to predict in advance what teams will do. Early in the week, Ilya Sorokin will start a game either tonight or tomorrow against the Sabres and he’s available in over 50% of leagues. Can’t ask for a better spot than that as the Islanders have owned the Sabres this season. Add in the Devils twice later in the week and Sorokin is the top option that’s widely available. As mentioned repeatedly for a while, Alex Nedeljkovic should start at least two games the rest of the way so Carolina can keep his rights as a restricted free agent.
If your season goes all the way through to the end, the Canucks are the focal point of streaming. They still have 11 games to be played, while nobody else has more than 7. The problem is that their team doesn’t have a ton of streaming options. Tanner Pearson is probably at the top of the list by default with Nils Hoglander.
Three Point Challenge:
Three Point Challenge: We will do Monday’s games as there is a full slate tonight. I now have 5 correct picks, Veritas remains in second with two with Eli Man Penguin Boy and Chet, with a few people having one. You can not select McDavid, Draisaitl, Kane, Marner, Matthews, Huberdeau, Marchand, MacKinnon, Stone, or Rantanen. I’m going to take Barzal against the Sabres.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back tomorrow recapping the action from this massive slate tonight. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Best of luck to everyone in their fantasy playoffs or deep in their roto leagues! Thanks for reading, take care!
