Two games on Wednesday and two games on Friday. Daily lineup managers, this is the week to work the bench, with the scoring period from Oct. 19 to Oct. 25 packing 48 games around some very quiet nights.
The Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs get four games apiece, and the Wild have the best schedules of the week for both skaters and goalies. The Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals are stuck at two.
The Avalanche are the best streaming target in leagues with weekly transactions, with four games and an average of only 10 other teams in action on the same nights. Watch for afternoon puck drops at 1 p.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Every Monday, we'll mine the waiver wire for lesser-rostered performers who have the potential to help fantasy teams in a variety of leagues. We'll also present several strong streaming candidates for the immediate week ahead.
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Forwards
Dylan Strome, C, Washington Capitals (1.71 FPPG, 33.3% available): Strome has moved to a Capitals top line with Alex Tuch and Jordan Kyrou, and he's kept his spot on the top power-play unit. The timing is the catch: a two-game week against a tough slate makes this a long-term add rather than a play for this week. Two points in his past three games and last season's 1.62 FPPG suggest the floor holds either way.
Jack Quinn, RW, Buffalo Sabres (2.19 FPPG, 58.0% available): Quinn has five points in his past three games, and the underlying numbers back up the surge: his line with Noah Ostlund and Zach Benson is 6-1 on goals at 5-on-5 across 95 minutes, with 66.9% of the shot attempts. Add a regular spot on the top power-play unit and he's a well-rounded add for the long haul. Just don't expect much this week, with only two games against the toughest slate for top-six forwards.
Viktor Arvidsson, RW, Detroit Red Wings (1.91 FPPG, 74.2% available): Lining up with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond is a nice place to be, even if the trio is 1-3 on goals at 5-on-5. They're carrying 55.8% of the shot attempts, so the goals should even out, and Arvidsson already has three power-play points from his spot on the top unit. A western road trip through Seattle, Vancouver and Calgary helps with those opponents combining for the sixth-friendliest slate for top-six forwards.
Alex Laferriere, C/RW, Los Angeles Kings (2.00 FPPG, 40.7% available): Laferriere has yet to cash in on the power play, but he's on the ice for 74% of the Kings' time with the extra skater, and the top unit is generating 3.92 shot attempts per two minutes. Those points should come. In the meantime, 19 hits through six games give him a floor in leagues that count them, and his C/RW eligibility adds lineup flexibility.
Will Cuylle, LW, New York Rangers (1.72 FPPG, 35.0% available): Cuylle has been cashing in on a line with Eeli Tolvanen and Noah Laba, and he's matching last season's 1.73 FPPG almost exactly. That consistency is the selling point, since the trio is getting outshot (45.7% of the attempts) despite a 3-1 edge on goals. The week ahead helps: the Ducks, Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators combine for the seventh-friendliest slate for top-six forwards.
See also:
Joel Eriksson Ek, C, Minnesota Wild (1.60 FPPG, 30.8% available)
Boone Jenner, C/LW, Washington Capitals (2.14 FPPG, 78.2% available)
Mason McTavish, C, St. Louis Blues (2.44 FPPG, 40.7% available)
Brayden Schenn, C/LW, New York Islanders (1.61 FPPG, 76.4% available)
Ryan Leonard, RW, Washington Capitals (1.93 FPPG, 66.6% available)
Elias Lindholm, C, Boston Bruins (1.66 FPPG, 67.7% available)
Defense
Seth Jones, D, Florida Panthers (2.31 FPPG, 30.1% available): Jones has heated up in a hurry, with seven points in his past three games, and only 14 skaters have more fantasy points across the past two weeks. With Aleksander Barkov out until at least late November, the Panthers need offense from somewhere, and Jones is a fixture on the top power-play unit with five points on the advantage already. He's still available in nearly a third of leagues, and that shouldn't last.
Neal Pionk, D, Winnipeg Jets (2.12 FPPG, 72.0% available): With Josh Morrissey out until at least Nov. 1, Pionk has stepped into top-pair minutes and the top power-play unit for the Jets. Five points in his past three games are the flashy part, but the real foundation is 24-plus minutes a night and a steady stream of hits and blocks, which account for nearly half of his fantasy points. He's available in nearly three-quarters of leagues.
Travis Sanheim, D, Philadelphia Flyers (1.70 FPPG, 31.2% available): Injuries to Rasmus Ristolainen and Cam York have pushed Sanheim's ice time to a staggering 27:32 per game over his past three, and 21 blocked shots have done most of the fantasy work. He's not on the power play and his pair with Oliver Bonk is 0-4 on goals at 5-on-5, so this is a play for leagues that reward blocks. Two of the Flyers' three games land on light nights.
See also:
Alexandre Carrier, D, Montreal Canadiens (1.70 FPPG, 93.3% available)
Martin Fehervary, D, Washington Capitals (1.90 FPPG, 71.4% available)
Tyler Kleven, D, Ottawa Senators (2.03 FPPG, 78.3% available)
Justin Faulk, D, Detroit Red Wings (1.51 FPPG, 34.2% available)
Goaltenders
Jet Greaves, G, Columbus Blue Jackets (2.35 FPP60, 49.5% available): Cam Talbot has taken three of the past seven starts, but Greaves still holds the edge in the Blue Jackets crease after posting 2.06 FPPG across 55 games last season. This week is the downside: only two games, and neither is a top-10 matchup for goalies.
Dylan Garand, G, New York Rangers (4.20 FPP60, 45.4% available): With Igor Shesterkin out for the season and Joonas Korpisalo on IR until at least Nov. 9, Garand's only competition is Spencer Martin, who hasn't started any of the Rangers' past 10 games. Three wins and a .927 save percentage through six games is a solid opening, and he's still available in nearly half of leagues. None of this week's three opponents offers a particularly favorable matchup for goalies, but volume is the draw.
Lukas Dostal, G, Anaheim Ducks (0.49 FPP60, 58.7% available): It's been a rough start for Dostal, and that's exactly why he's sitting on the wire in most leagues. The schedule makes a strong case for buying low anyway. The Ducks have four games and the second-best goalie schedule of the week, including the Rangers and Devils, both favorable matchups for fantasy goalies. Even a share of that crease is worth chasing.
See also:
Pyotr Kochetkov, G, Carolina Hurricanes (4.08 FPP60, 49.6% available)
Devon Levi, G, Edmonton Oilers (2.50 FPP60, 68.7% available)
Jacob Markstrom, G, Florida Panthers (2.43 FPP60, 38.4% available)
Juuse Saros, G, Nashville Predators (1.78 FPP60, 31.6% available)
Short-term streamers
Gabriel Landeskog, LW, Colorado Avalanche (1.74 FPPG, 73.2% available): The Avalanche are this week's top team for streaming, and Landeskog is an easy way in. He's on the second line with Nazem Kadri and Brock Nelson, has three points in his past three games and chips in hits. With three of Colorado's four games on light nights, he can slot into a daily lineup with little competition.
Blake Coleman, RW, Minnesota Wild (1.46 FPPG, 43.0% available): Coleman has gone quiet with no points in his past three games, but the schedule is too good to ignore. The Wild play four times, and their opponents combine for the friendliest slate of the week for top-six forwards, with two bottom-10 penalty kills on the trip. Now skating on the second line with Ryan Hartman and Bobby Brink, he also adds hits (18 so far) to cover the quiet nights.
Jonas Brodin, D, Minnesota Wild (1.49 FPPG, 96.3% available): Brodin is almost purely a blocked-shots play, with 22 of them making up nearly all of his 13.4 fantasy points. But he's skating 86% of his even-strength time next to Quinn Hughes while Jared Spurgeon and Brock Faber are out, and the Wild's four opponents combine for the fourth-friendliest slate for top-four defenders. That pairing may not survive Spurgeon's return, so treat this as a one-week deep-league rental.
Josh Manson, D, Colorado Avalanche (1.77 FPPG, 74.3% available): Like Landeskog, Manson is a vehicle for the Avalanche schedule: four games, three of them on light nights, against opponents who combine for the third-friendliest slate for top-four defenders. Playing on the top pair with Brent Burns, he gets most of his value from hits and blocks, which account for more than half of his fantasy points.
Alexander Wennberg, C, San Jose Sharks (1.06 FPPG, 86.0% available): Wennberg's slow start is a far cry from last season's 1.75 FPPG, but the role points to a turnaround. He's up to 21-plus minutes a night over his past three games, including more than five minutes on the top power-play unit, and his new line with Tyler Toffoli and Mason Marchment is controlling 61.9% of the shot attempts. The Sharks' four opponents combine for the second-friendliest slate for top-six forwards.
John Gibson, G, Detroit Red Wings (-0.61 FPP60, 41.2% available): The Red Wings have the third-best goalie schedule of the week, and all three of their games are top-10 matchups for fantasy goalies, including the Canucks (second) and Flames (first). With no bad draws on the slate, whichever games Gibson gets should be good ones.