The Calgary Flames have the golden ticket for daily lineup managers this week: four games, all on the light nights of Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. An average of only 7.5 other teams are in action on those nights, making just about any Flame with a pulse a candidate to fill an open lineup spot.
The scoring period from Nov. 2 to Nov. 8 packs in 51 games, with 11 teams getting four. Only the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Seattle Kraken and Washington Capitals are stuck at two. The Anaheim Ducks have the best schedule for skaters, while the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning lead the way for goalies. The Buffalo Sabres (7.67 other teams) and San Jose Sharks (10.5) round out the most efficient streaming options, and watch for early puck drops at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday and 1 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.
More: Rankings | Most added/dropped | Mock Draft Lobby
Draft guide | Who to keep or drop | One pick for every team | Sign up
Forwards
Travis Konecny, RW, Philadelphia Flyers (1.90 FPPG, 36.5% available): Konecny's managers had to sit through 10 games without him, and plenty of them blinked: he's now available in more than a third of leagues. He wasted no time reminding everyone what they let go, with a goal and an assist in his return on Sunday alongside Christian Dvorak and Trevor Zegras. A 1.94 FPPG performer last season, he's a priority add wherever he slipped through, even with a tough three-game slate this week.
Brock Boeser, RW, Vancouver Canucks (1.84 FPPG, 33.4% available): Boeser has found a home alongside Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk, and his power-play time is climbing, up to just over five minutes a night over his past three games. That's where the production lives: five of his nine points have come on the advantage, and four points in his past three games show the role is clicking. Two of the Canucks' three games come against bottom-10 penalty kills.
Rickard Rakell, LW/RW, Pittsburgh Penguins (1.76 FPPG, 42.5% available): With Bryan Rust out until at least early December, Rakell has a long runway alongside Sidney Crosby, and their line is controlling 55.6 percent of the shot attempts at 5-on-5. He posted 2.10 FPPG last season and has four points in his past three games. Four games against opponents who combine for the fourth-friendliest slate for top-six forwards make him a win now and later.
Jake Neighbours, LW, St. Louis Blues (1.82 FPPG, 90.7% available): Neighbours is available in more than 90 percent of leagues despite averaging 2.27 FPPG across the Blues' past 10 games. The formula is points plus physicality: half of his eight points have come on the power play, and his 46 hits give him a floor in leagues that count them. Recent shifts alongside Robert Thomas and Jimmy Snuggerud add some upside, though the shot-attempt numbers (39.5 percent) suggest the scoring may cool.
Matt Coronato, RW, Calgary Flames (1.76 FPPG, 65.7% available): Coronato is quietly piling up assists, with 11 across the Flames' past 10 games, and six of his 13 points have come on the power play. He's skating with Mikael Backlund and Joel Farabee, a combination that's controlling 52.1 percent of the shot attempts at 5-on-5. And yes, he's a Flame, which means four games this week, all on light nights, against opponents who combine for the second-friendliest slate for top-six forwards.
See also:
Robert Thomas, C, St. Louis Blues (1.56 FPPG, 47.1% available)
Jack Roslovic, C/RW, Toronto Maple Leafs (1.96 FPPG, 49.6% available)
Zach Benson, LW, Buffalo Sabres (1.87 FPPG, 78.0% available)
Arseny Gritsyuk, LW/RW, New Jersey Devils (2.09 FPPG, 60.1% available)
Emmitt Finnie, LW/RW, Detroit Red Wings (1.86 FPPG, 84.7% available)
Matvei Gridin, RW, Calgary Flames (1.76 FPPG, 88.9% available)
Defense
Philip Broberg, D, St. Louis Blues (1.91 FPPG, 67.8% available): With Colton Parayko day-to-day, Broberg's workload has spiked to 26:25 a night over his past three games, including more time on the top power-play unit. He's delivered, with four points in that stretch and eight across the Blues' past 10 games, and only 40 skaters have more fantasy points over the past two weeks.
Jake McCabe, D, Toronto Maple Leafs (1.52 FPPG, 69.5% available): McCabe's 36 blocked shots account for most of his fantasy value, and he's playing more than ever, up to 21:36 a night over his past three games. He's averaged 2.30 FPPG over his past five games, and he was a 1.79 FPPG performer across 80 games last season. All three Maple Leafs games this week are at home.
Jamie Drysdale, D, Philadelphia Flyers (1.52 FPPG, 91.9% available): Drysdale is finally getting the kind of deployment that once made him a top-10 draft pick: nearly 24 minutes a night over his past three games and three-quarters of the Flyers' power-play time. Four points in his past three games show it's starting to pay off, and his pair with Travis Sanheim is 6-2 on goals at 5-on-5. He's available in more than 90 percent of leagues.
See also:
Brett Pesce, D, New Jersey Devils (1.52 FPPG, 94.6% available)
Jonas Brodin, D, Minnesota Wild (1.53 FPPG, 94.9% available)
Alexandre Carrier, D, Montreal Canadiens (1.59 FPPG, 91.0% available)
Denton Mateychuk, D, Columbus Blue Jackets (1.82 FPPG, 92.8% available)
Goaltenders
Akira Schmid, G, Florida Panthers (1.56 FPP60, 86.1% available): Schmid has run with Jacob Markstrom's absence, starting six of the Panthers' past 10 games and winning four of his past five appearances. Markstrom could be back soon, so strike while you can: Florida opens the week at home against the Red Wings and Blackhawks, the fourth-best and the best matchups for fantasy goalies.
See also:
Arturs Silovs, G, Pittsburgh Penguins (1.79 FPP60, 71.0% available)
Spencer Knight, G, Chicago Blackhawks (0.64 FPP60, 51.3% available)
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, G, Buffalo Sabres (-0.16 FPP60, 46.4% available)
Tristan Jarry, G, Edmonton Oilers (2.67 FPP60, 80.2% available)
Short-term streamers
Joel Farabee, LW/RW, Calgary Flames (2.50 FPPG, 49.3% available): Farabee was a waiver pick last week, and he's since vaulted to sixth among all skaters in fantasy points over the past two weeks. He's still available in about half of leagues, and the Flames schedule makes him a must-start: four games, all on light nights, against opponents who combine for the second-friendliest slate for top-six forwards.
Viktor Arvidsson, RW, Detroit Red Wings (2.34 FPPG, 47.0% available): With Dylan Larkin no longer a factor, Arvidsson has been skating with Alex DeBrincat and Emmitt Finnie, and he's caught fire with six points in his past three games. The Red Wings play four times against the sixth-friendliest slate for top-six forwards, and the top power-play unit he's on is generating 4.55 shot attempts per two minutes.
Charle-Edouard D'Astous, D, Tampa Bay Lightning (2.01 FPPG, 71.8% available): Last week's long-term stash is this week's start. With Erik Cernak day-to-day, D'Astous has jumped to 21:36 a night over his past three games, and the Lightning play four times against the friendliest slate of the week for top-four defenders, including two bottom-10 penalty kills for his top power-play unit to attack.
Morgan Frost, C, Calgary Flames (1.66 FPPG, 91.1% available): Farabee and Coronato are the headliners, but Frost is the cheapest way into the Flames schedule, available in more than 90 percent of leagues. He's on the same top power-play unit, and four games on light nights give him plenty of chances to cash in.
Mikael Granlund, C/LW, Anaheim Ducks (1.75 FPPG, 38.9% available): Granlund hasn't been the same since an upper-body injury in mid-October, averaging only 0.94 FPPG across seven games since his return. But the opportunity is hard to ignore: he's logging nearly 22 minutes a night, he's on the ice for 81 percent of the Ducks' power-play time, and Anaheim's four opponents combine for the friendliest slate of the week for top-six forwards.
Dennis Hildeby, G, Tampa Bay Lightning (1.59 FPP60, 98.7% available): Andrei Vasilevskiy has taken seven of the Lightning's past 10 starts, but a four-game week with a back-to-back set leaves room for Hildeby. Tampa Bay has the second-best goalie schedule of the week, with the Blackhawks (first), Jets (second) and Red Wings (fourth) all on the slate. If he draws the back half of the back-to-back in Winnipeg on Sunday, he's a strong play.
Scott Wedgewood, G, Colorado Avalanche (-0.15 FPP60, 24.5% available): Back for another week, because the Avalanche schedule is too good to ignore: all four games are top-10 matchups for fantasy goalies, including the Blackhawks (first) on Monday. A back-to-back set to open the week in Chicago and Columbus usually means a start for the backup. His season has been rough, but last season's 3.79 FPPG says the upside is there.