<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 7 – Strength of Schedule</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screen-Shot-2024-11-18-at-8.19.43-AM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="812" src="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screen-Shot-2024-11-18-at-8.19.43-AM-1024x812.png" alt="" class="wp-image-184772" srcset="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screen-Shot-2024-11-18-at-8.19.43-AM-1024x812.png 1024w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screen-Shot-2024-11-18-at-8.19.43-AM-300x238.png 300w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screen-Shot-2024-11-18-at-8.19.43-AM-768x609.png 768w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screen-Shot-2024-11-18-at-8.19.43-AM-1536x1218.png 1536w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screen-Shot-2024-11-18-at-8.19.43-AM-150x119.png 150w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screen-Shot-2024-11-18-at-8.19.43-AM-600x476.png 600w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screen-Shot-2024-11-18-at-8.19.43-AM-696x552.png 696w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screen-Shot-2024-11-18-at-8.19.43-AM-1392x1104.png 1392w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screen-Shot-2024-11-18-at-8.19.43-AM-1068x847.png 1068w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screen-Shot-2024-11-18-at-8.19.43-AM.png 1672w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></a></figure>



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



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Week 7 Streaming Targets</strong></h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Utah Hockey Club</h2>



<p>The Utah Hockey Club are one of just three teams with four games this week and has the No.1 Strength of Schedule overall. They’re also one of two who play on Sunday, so they could play a pivotal role in winning you a matchup.</p>



<p><strong>Nick Schmaltz (C/RW) – 21% Rostered</strong></p>



<p>Schmaltz is still searching for his first goal of the season, but you have to imagine it’s coming soon. Schmaltz is on pace for 169 SOG and 371 shot attempts, both of which would be career-highs. He entered the 2024-25 season with a career SH% of 14.2, a rate that would give him five goals already. If he had five goals and 12 assists (17 points) in 17 games, he wouldn’t still be available in 79 percent of leagues.</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="188"></div>



<p><strong>Matias Maccelli (LW) – 4% Rostered</strong></p>



<p>Maccelli had a sluggish start to the season, with just three assists in seven games while averaging just 12:35 TOI/gm. Things have picked up in the last month, though, scoring three goals and three assists (six points) in his last 10 games and seeing his ice time bumped up to 14:56. This is more in line with what we saw from Maccelli during the last two seasons. He’s not going to flip a matchup by himself, but he’s a strong deep-league target who should chip in some offence this week.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">San Jose Sharks</h2>



<p>The Sharks also have four games this week and the second-ranked schedule. The offence has started to perk up recently, giving their top-6 plenty of fantasy value.</p>



<p><strong>Fabian Zetterlund (LW/RW) – 34% Rostered</strong></p>



<p>Zetterlund has found himself back on a line with Mikael Granlund and William Eklund, a trio that enjoyed success together last year and has already outscored opponents 3-0 at 5v5 this season. Zetterlund is a player with great shot volume but isn’t overly consistent. This season, he has three-plus shots in 37 percent of his games but has one or fewer shots in the same amount of games. Still, he’s been hot lately, with 10 points (4G / 6A), 24 SOG and an impressive plus-12 rating in his last 11 games.</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="220"></div>



<p><strong>William Eklund (LW) – 12% Rostered</strong></p>



<p>Eklund probably won’t score many goals this week because his shot volume is awful, but he’s a great source of assists. Eklund has 13 points (2G / 11A) in 18 games this season but has averaged just 1.6 SOG/gm. He plays massive minutes (20:29 ATOI) and should chip in this week, considering he has a point in 61 percent of his games this season.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Edmonton Oilers</h2>



<p><strong>Viktor Arvidsson (LW/RW) – 20% Rostered</strong></p>



<p>Ensure Arvidsson is back in the lineup on Monday before wasting a pick-up on him. Arvidsson has missed the last two games but took part in their previous morning skate, a sign that he’s close to playing. Arvidsson hasn’t been overly productive this season but has been better in the last month than he was early in the campaign. Arvidsson has five points (2G / 3A) and 27 SOG (3.0 SOG/gm) in his last nine games and should be back on a line with Leon Draisaitl.</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="162"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Players with three games to consider:</h2>



<p><strong>Pavel Zacha (BOS – C/LW) – 12% Rostered</strong></p>



<p>Zacha has played over 20 minutes in four of his last five games and has two goals and two assists in those games. He’s skating on the top line with David Pastrnak and on the top PP unit, giving him plenty of opportunity to be productive this week. Boston has the easiest Average Opponent Rating in the NHL this week, with meetings against Columbus, Utah, and Detroit on tap.</p>



<p><strong>Anthony Cirelli (TBL – C) – 17% Rostered</strong></p>



<p>Cirelli’s value will significantly depend on Brayden Point’s availability this week. With Point out, Cirelli has recently been centring the top line and also on the top power-play unit. He’s taken advantage of it, with two goals and two assists (four points) in his last four games. But he’s been great all season, posting 16 points (4G / 12A) in 16 games. He has more upside with Point out, but should be serviceable no matter what. Tampa Bay has the second-easiest average opponent this week, facing Pittsburgh, Utah and Dallas.</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="175"></div>



<p><strong>Tyler Seguin (DAL – C/RW) – 35% Rostered</strong></p>



<p>The trio of Seguin, Matt Duchene and Mason Marchement has been incredible so far this season, scoring 3.6 GF/60 and Seguin has picked up a point in 10 of 12 games (83.3%). The veteran forward has 11 points (5G / 6A) in his last nine games and could be in for another big week, since the Stars have the third-easiest average opponent rating. They will take on the Ducks, Sharks and Lightning.</p>
