Week 21 of the fantasy hockey season usually means it’s quarterfinals time for most. For others it may mean the final week of the regular season, which could be just as important. If you have the bye, congrats! Don’t sit back, though. Keep an eye on the waiver wire and set yourself up. It’s all about streaming at this time of the season as good players will get dropped this week and the weeks to come as teams fight to move on. Take a look at the weeks ahead with the streamer’s guide to the fantasy hockey playoff schedule.
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There are only seven teams scheduled to play four games this week, so get your hands on a couple if you can. Four teams only play two games, so it makes it hard to roster bubble players and I’ve listed a few I’d move on from below.
I’ve been saying all year that the best way to get the better of your opponent in head-to-head formats is to attack the smaller scheduled nights in the NHL. Sometimes that’s hard to do during the regular season, because you want to be patient with some of your underperforming players. You can throw that strategy out the door as it’s all about volume and opportunity now. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday are key days in Week 21.
Attacking the schedule
Mon – 2 games
Tue – 10 games
Wed – 4 games
Thu – 11 games
Fri – 4 games
Sat – 12 games
Sun – 5 games
There are double-digit games on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday this week, so you can bet your opponent will have a full starting lineup on all three of those days. You just may as well, which will make for their best against your best. This is where you look ahead to those three days and figure out which players may not make your starting lineup. You can swap those options out by targeting four-game streams or players on teams playing on the lighter scheduled nights.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Calgary Flames start the week strong with games on Monday and Wednesday. The Flames have a game on Sunday and it’s a huge bonus to have someone on the last day of the matchup. The Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights all have three games from Wednesday on, which includes a Sunday matchup.
Toronto Maple Leafs – (Mon, Wed & Sat)
Andreas Johnsson, LW/RW
Andreas Johnsson has played his way onto the second line in Toronto and he’s been playing on the power play as well as the penalty kill. The rookie has an impressive 19 goals with five of them coming in his past eight games. He registered 10 shots on goal in a game two weeks ago. You can ditch him after Wednesday’s game if you want.
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Ron Hainsey, D
Can you believe Ron Hainsey leads the NHL with a plus-33 rating? Wild stuff. He’s been getting more ice time with Jake Gardiner and Travis Dermott sidelined, therefore he’s been getting more hits and blocks. It’s a very deep league add and someone who could help start your week the right way.
Calgary Fames – (Mon, Wed, Thu & Sun)
Mikael Backlund, C
Mikael Backlund leads the Flames in goals (4), points (8), shots (23) and takeaways (8) over the past two weeks. Backlund has a team-high 83 faceoff wins in the last month as well. As you’ll see below, Calgary has four games this week with three of them falling on important days.
Washington Capitals – (Wed, Fri & Sun)
Jakub Vrana, LW/RW
Jakub Vrana has picked up at least one point in nine of his past 14 games. He continues to play in a top-six role with Washington which has helped him reach career highs in goals (19) and points (40).
Winnipeg Jets – (Tue, Fri & Sun)
Kevin Hayes, C
Kevin Hayes’ ownership didn’t quite triple like I thought it would after the move to Winnipeg, but it’s been a good first couple games for the big center. Hayes went scoreless over 15 minutes in his first contest with the Jets, but he picked up a goal and three points in 17 minutes in his second game. Hayes has 15 faceoff wins and four shots as a Jet. The former Ranger spent a lot of time with Nikolaj Ehlers and Kyle Connor in Friday’s game. It’s very good news for Patrik Laine, who has moved up to the top line thanks to four goals over a three-game run last week.
Florida Panthers – (Tue, Thu, Fri & Sun)
Mark Pysyk, D
Mark Pysyk came up in the playoff guide as someone who could help provide a few shots and blocks. It just so happens he has three points in his past two games. Pysyk leads Florida in blocks over the past two weeks and has a combined 30 hits and blocks over that span. Frank Vatrano has cooled off to the point where he’s very hard to hold.
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Troy Brouwer, LW/RW
Heading into Sunday’s game with the Ottawa Senators, Troy Brouwer had a forward-high 31 hits over the past two weeks. Brouwer has five takeaways over that span and it’s resulted in more ice time, but you’re only after him for the cheap hits. I wouldn’t expect much scoring despite Sunday’s goal.
Anaheim Ducks – (Tue, Wed, Fri & Sun)
Ryan Getzlaf is back so maybe this offense will run a bit smoother, but they are a hard pass for me. Getzlaf is the only Duck I’d roster in a standard 12-team league.
Vegas Golden Knights – (Wed, Sat & Sun)
The Vegas Golden Knights are rolling now as the Mark Stone trade has given them some life. They’ve won four straight games and many of their players are in play the rest of the way. The addition of Stone has given them two solid lines and for the first time in awhile, the William Karlsson – Jonathan Marchessault – Reilly Smith line is looking like last year’s dominate trio.
Reilly Smith, LW/RW– Four goals in the past two weeks; career low 8.5 shooting percentage rising.
Paul Stastny, C – Playing in the middle of two volume shooters in Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone.
Shea Theodore, D – Points in four of his past five games; volume shooter.
Nate Schmidt, D – Points in four of his past six games; shot blocker.
Deryk Engelland, D – Ranks inside top 5 in hits past 30 days.
Back-to-backs
For those who are looking to stream goalies, there are several back-to-backs this week.
- Anaheim Ducks
- Boston Bruins – Jaroslav Halak may get Saturday’s start vs. OTT with BOS playing Sunday in PIT.
- Calgary Flames – David Rittich may start Wednesday in ARI.
- Carolina Hurricanes – Tough back-to-back with WPG, NAS but Curtis McElhinney and Petr Mrazek should be owned.
- Detroit Red Wings
- Florida Panthers
- Los Angeles Kings
- Minnesota Wild – Devan Dubnyk has been playing B2B’s. Alex Stalock possible Friday in FLA.
- Montreal Canadiens – Carey Price has been playing B2B’s.
- New Jersey Devils
- Pittsburgh Penguins – Matt Murray played Friday in BUF and Saturday in MTL last week. Casey DeSmith 14 goals allowed last 3 starts.
- St. Louis Blues – Jake Allen likely gets ANH or LA this week.
- Vancouver Canucks
- Vegas Golden Knights – Malcolm Subban could play Saturday in VAN.
Four-game streams
Anaheim Ducks (Tue @ ARI, Wed vs STL, Fri vs MTL, Sun vs LA)
Boston Bruins (Tue vs CAR, Thur vs FLA, Sat vs OTT, Sun @ PIT)
Marcus Johansson, LW
You would think when your leading goal scorer goes down with an injury, you may stumble a bit, but that hasn’t been the case with the Boston Bruins. They’ve won 10 of their past 11 games and eight of the nine David Pastrnak has missed. Jake DeBrusk has stepped up with seven goals and 13 points in those nine games and he has a new winger now in Marcus Johansson who picked up a point in his Bruins’ debut last week.
Calgary Flames (Mon vs TOR, Wed @ VEG, Thur @ ARI, Sun vs VEG)
Detroit Red Wings (Tue @ COL, Thur vs NYR, Sat @ TB, Sun @ FLA)
Anthony Mantha, LW/RW
Anthony Mantha has been feeling it over his past nine games: 4G, 12 PTS, 4 PPP, 34 SOG. He’s been on Dylan Larkin’s line for most of his run, so hopefully things stay that way.
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Florida Panthers (Tue @ PIT, Thur @ BOS, Fri vs MIN, Sun vs DET)
Los Angeles Kings (Tue vs MTL, Thur vs STL, Sat @ ARI, Sun @ ANA)
Anze Kopitar is the only King I’d roster at this time of the year, and I may even suggest moving on from him after this four-game week as he only plays twice in Week 22 (Mar. 11 – Mar. 17).
Pittsburgh Penguins (Tue vs FLA, Thur vs CBJ, Sat @ CBJ, Sun vs BOS)
Jared McCann, C
Jared McCann has taken Bryan Rust’s spot on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ top line, not Patric Hornqvist like expected. McCann may not stick with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, but Rust is expected to be sidelined for awhile so he’ll get a good look. McCann has played 16 minutes in back-to-back games after only averaging 13 minutes per game in February and 12 in January. He has three goals in his past three games and is a sure bet to hit the score sheet if he sticks with Sid. Crosby’s 25 points in the past 30 days are two behind Nikita Kucherov’s league-leading 27.
Jack Johnson, D
Jack Johnson is averaging 26 minutes per game over his past four contests. Kris Letang (upper-body) and Brian Dumoulin (concussion) have missed the past three games and there’s no timetable for either of their return. Johnson is not getting power play time – that’s going to Justin Schultz – but the hits and blocks are piling up for JJ with the extra ice. He has 14 hits, 14 blocks and nine shots in his past five games.
Patric Hornqvist, RW & Zach Aston-Reese
Hornqvist is still playing in a third-line role, but he has been skating on the top power-play unit and he can provide owners with a few hits if needed. Zach Aston-Reese can do the same as he leads the Pens with 21 body-checks over the past two weeks, while playing with Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel.
Two-games
With the following teams only scheduled to play twice this week, there are plenty of players I would drop if I needed a win to get into the playoffs, or a win to move on.
- Chicago Blackhawks – Dylan Strome
- Nashville Predators – Wayne Simmonds
- Philadelphia Flyers – Shayne Gostisbehere; continues to get outperformed by Travis Sanheim.
- San Jose Sharks – Gustav Nyquist
Rest of Season Rankings
(Top photo: Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)