We’ve made it to the fantasy hockey playoffs. Congrats to all of you who have made it and have the chance to win a championship. Now, it’s time to be very aggressive and to do whatever you can to maximize starts. I am going to look at the schedule for this week only to figure out the best plan for success with streamers. This post is meant as a compliment to my Playoff Manifesto, which you can read here. Let’s get to it!
Monday’s Games – CBJ @ NYI , OTT @ PHI, TB @ TOR, SJ @ MIN, ARZ @ CHI, NYR @ EDM, CAR @ COL
Tuesday’s Games – DAL @ BUF, WAS @ PIT, BOS @ CBJ, DET @ MON, ARZ @ STL, SJ @ WIN, NJ @ CAL, NSH @ ANA
Wednesday’s Games – CHI @ TOR , NJ @ EDM , NYR @ VAN
Thursday’s Games – PIT @ BUF, MON @ NYI, WAS @ PHI, TBL @ DET, STL @ OTT, BOS @ WIN, DAL @ MIN, ANA @ ARZ, NSH @ LA, FLA @ SJ
Friday’s Games – PHI @ TOR, CAR @ CBJ, VGK @ DAL, NYR @ CAL, ANA @ COL, NJ @ VAN
Saturday’s Games – NYI @ DET, STL @ PIT, FLA @ LA, CBJ @ BOS, BUF @ CAR, CHI @ MON, TOR @ OTT, WAS @ TB, CAL @ WIN, NYR @ MIN, EDM @ ARZ, NAS @ SJ
Sunday’s Games – NJ @ COL, STL @ BUF, NYI @ MIN, VAN @ DAL, PHI @ PIT, FLA @ ANA, EDM @VGK
Monday’s Games – ARZ @ TB, VAN @ CHI, WIN @ LA, VGK @ SJ
The teams in bold denote that this game is the first in a back-to-back set, with the italics denoting the second of a back-to-back. This should make it easier to make a few observations:
The Blue Jackets and Coyotes are the only teams to open the week on a back-to-back. Even though he hasn’t started well in Columbus, Ryan Dzingel makes a solid option. If Josh Anderson was available, he’d be my first choice. Arizona is rolling right now but their options are limited. Christian Dvorak would be my first pick. Note: when I say first choice, it’s from players who are widely available. Obviously if there are guys who are 75% owned who happen to be available in your league, they’re almost certainly a better choice.
Wednesday is the one light day of the week. The only team who plays on Wednesday as part of a back-to-back is the Devils. Not exactly a team I’m looking to use right now. However, Wednesday’s game with the Oilers isn’t so bad. Blake Coleman would be my first choice.
With so many teams playing on Saturday, you’re probably not going to need streamers for that day. That means I would be trying to maximize Thursday and Friday streamers, along with guys who play Sunday and Monday. Anaheim obviously isn’t appealing, but Roope Hintz is a great option for Thursday/Friday while he’s on the top line. Vegas has three games in four nights from Friday to Monday which is outstanding since the one day they don’t play is Saturday. Paul Stastny and Alex Tuch are the best choices.
Tracking backup goalies to stream will be much easier following this post.
Streamers for Monday’s Games only (taking nothing else into consideration but Monday’s games):
Nolan Patrick (9.7%) – He’s playing with Giroux and JVR and is going against Ottawa. Can’t ask for a better spot for Patrick.
J.T. Compher (10.0%) – With Gabriel Landeskog more than likely out for the rest of the regular season, Compher is up on the first line. So is Derick Brassard, making both of them elite options while with MacKinnon despite a mediocre matchup with Carolina.
Alex Chiasson (11.4%) – While he’s not with McDavid anymore, Chiasson is with Draisaitl and remains on PP1. A nice matchup with the Rangers gives Chiasson a nice chance of getting back on the scoresheet.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Wednesday recapping the next two nights of action. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
