<p>Identifying the players with four games each week and filling your roster with those players can increase your chances of winning your fantasy hockey matchup. That’s why our&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/nhl-weekly-schedule/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Weekly Schedule tool</a>&nbsp;is so helpful!</p>



<p>I combined that weekly schedule with a Team Defense Score I created using key defensive metrics to find which teams/skaters have the best schedule this week. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>How it Works:</strong></h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Team Defensive Ratings are given on a scale of 0-100, with 0 being the best possible defensive team and 100 being the worst.</li>



<li>SCORE: The sum of all the Defensive Ratings the team will face this week.</li>



<li>AVG Opponent: The Average Defensive Ratings that the team will face this week. </li>



<li>The strength of the Schedule is determined by the sum of defensive ratings because we want players who play the most games but also have the easiest matchups.</li>



<li>Light Nights: A night in the NHL with eight or fewer games. </li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-week-26-strength-of-schedule"><strong>Week 13 – Strength of Schedule</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screen-Shot-2024-12-30-at-8.55.20-AM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="815" src="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screen-Shot-2024-12-30-at-8.55.20-AM-1024x815.png" alt="" class="wp-image-191621" srcset="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screen-Shot-2024-12-30-at-8.55.20-AM-1024x815.png 1024w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screen-Shot-2024-12-30-at-8.55.20-AM-300x239.png 300w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screen-Shot-2024-12-30-at-8.55.20-AM-768x612.png 768w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screen-Shot-2024-12-30-at-8.55.20-AM-1536x1223.png 1536w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screen-Shot-2024-12-30-at-8.55.20-AM-150x119.png 150w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screen-Shot-2024-12-30-at-8.55.20-AM-600x478.png 600w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screen-Shot-2024-12-30-at-8.55.20-AM-696x554.png 696w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screen-Shot-2024-12-30-at-8.55.20-AM-1392x1108.png 1392w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screen-Shot-2024-12-30-at-8.55.20-AM-1068x850.png 1068w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screen-Shot-2024-12-30-at-8.55.20-AM.png 1708w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></a></figure>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-css-opacity">



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Week 13 Streaming Targets</strong></h2>



<p>This week’s busy nights (Tuesday, Thursday &amp; Saturday) are extremely busy (13, 12 &amp; 12 games), so your lineup on those nights is likely full. I’ll use my league of record as an example:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Tuesday: No Open Slots</li>



<li>Thursday: 1 Open D Slot</li>



<li>Saturday: 1 Open D Slot</li>
</ul>



<p>Look ahead and see if you have open forward slots on those days. If you do, use the Strength of Schedule to target players from teams with easy schedules and four games this week, such as Carolina, Boston, Winnipeg, and Toronto.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="134"></div>



<p>The top options would include <strong>Jack Roslovic</strong> (CAR – 6% Rostered), <strong>Elias Lindholm</strong> (BOS – 36% Rostered), <strong>Morgan Geekie</strong> (BOS – 4% Rostered), <strong>Gabriel Vilardi</strong> (WPG – 56% Rostered), <strong>Cole Perfetti </strong>(23% Rostered), <strong>Bobby McMann </strong>(TOR – 6% Rostered), and <strong>Max Pacioretty</strong> (TOR – 5% Rostered).</p>



<p>If you don’t have openings, your best option is players with two light night games, even if they have more challenging schedules.</p>



<p>* <em>in order of strength of schedule</em> *</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Evan Rodrigues (FLA – C/LW – 5% Rostered)</strong></h2>



<p>Of all the teams with two light night games, Florida has the easiest schedule, ranking 8th/32. Rodrigues is always an interesting streaming target, given his usual spot in the Panthers’ lineup. You can often find him in the top-6 playing with either the Aleksander Barkov line or the Matthew Tkachuk line and on PP2. He hasn’t contributed much in that role, though. He has no goals and one assist in his last 10 games. His shot volume is solid, though, giving him a decent floor. Despite the offensive struggles in the previous 10 games, he remains second on the team in 5v5 SOG/60 (8.42) and first among Panthers forwards.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="185"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Reilly Smith (NYR – RW – 3% Rostered)</strong></h2>



<p>The Rangers are an absolute mess right now, but their top forwards remain highly owned. So, if you want to target their 10th-ranked schedule, Smith is likely the best option available. Smith continues to skate in a top-6 role, and over the last 10 games, he is second on the team in 5v5 ixG/60 (0.93). He has just four goals and no assists in his last 11 games, but he has a decent floor with 2.1 SOG and 1.5 hits per game during that span.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Ryan O’Reilly (NSH – C – 37% Rostered)</strong></h2>



<p>Even though he didn’t reunite with Filip Forsberg on the top line following his injury, O’Reilly has been a point-per-game player since re-entering the lineup on December 12th. He has three goals and four assists (seven points) with 18 SOG (2.6 per game) in seven games. He’s still playing big minutes, but Nashville’s light night matchups are pretty tough (@ WPG and @ VAN).</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="149"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Zachary L’Heureux (NSH – LW – 1% Rostered)</strong></h2>



<p>L’Heureux has been playing on the new-look Nashville second line with Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist, leading to a bump in ice time. He averaged just 10:43 TOI/gm in his first 24 games but has played 15:11 in his last seven games. During that stretch, he leads the Predators in six (3.23). L’Heureux isn’t expected to put up prolific offensive numbers, but he can be productive if he keeps getting to the dirty areas of the ice. During those seven games, he’s 18th in the NHL in ScoringChances/60 (11.3).</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Taylor Hall (CHI – LW – 4% Rostered)</strong></h2>



<p>It’s been a tough season for the former Hart Trophy winner, but his numbers have been better recently. Hall has registered nine points (2G / 7A) and 18 SOG (1.8 per game) in his last 10 games. He’s been skating with Connor Bedard recently, but the Blackhawks have been blown out in back-to-back games, so I’d expect some line shuffling ahead of Tuesday’s Winter Classic. I suggest waiting to add Hall until the weekend when he’ll play his light night games on Friday and Sunday. Both are great matchups, as Chicago will host the Canadiens and Rangers.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="3" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="186"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Michael Bunting (PIT – LW – 11% Rostered)</strong></h2>



<p>Bunting is another player you can wait to add until mid-week. Pittsburgh’s light-night games are on Friday and Sunday, and neither are all that appealing. The Penguins are in Florida and Carolina this weekend. Bunting has been on a heater, though. He’s riding a three-game goal streak and is over a point-per-game with 14 points (7G / 7A) in his last 13 games. The matchups might not be great, but he’s easily one of the more productive players on this list.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Mason McTavish (ANA – C – 8% Rostered)</strong></h2>



<p>The Ducks light night games aren’t until Friday and Sunday. They’ll play Edmonton on Friday and Tampa Bay on Sunday. Neither matchup is very appealing on the surface, but Edmonton will be on the front end of a back-to-back, and Tampa is on the back end. So there’s a chance they avoid each team’s No.1 goalies in those matchups. McTavish has enjoyed a resurgence lately, posting three goals and three assists (six points) in his last nine games. His shot volume has been the most impressive, averaging 3.1 SOG/gm over his previous eight games. If he keeps firing the biscuit, good things will happen this weekend.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="4" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="187"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Robby Fabbri (ANA – C/LW – 0% Rostered)</strong></h2>



<p>It’s been forever since I wrote about Fabbri in a Fantasy Hockey post, but he deserves his flowers. Since returning to the Ducks lineup on December 12th, Fabbri has seven points (3G / 4A) in eight games. Even more impressive, he played 21:10 on Sunday and has been over 20 minutes in two of his last three games. He’s playing big minutes on a line with McTavish and could continue his hot stretch and be a solid streamer this weekend.</p>
