Welcome back to The Oil Rig‘s weekly fantasy update! We continue aiming to bring you the information you need to show up your friends (or enemies) and get bragging rights by winning your league.
Each week we provide a schedule breakdown showing which teams to stream players from, who is hot and who is cold, some sleeper picks with low owned percentages to keep an eye on, and some Edmonton Oilers fantasy hockey updates.
Keep checking back on Mondays for a new update each week.
NHL weekly schedule
Games per day from November 18 to November 24
Week 7 matchups will require managers to make the most of their matchups and opportunities from Monday to Thursday. Focusing add/drops early in the week will be key knowing 15 of 18 games scheduled between Friday and Sunday are played Saturday. With so many games occurring on Saturday, lineups will obviously be overflowing. Expect most teams to have their starting goaltender in net with very few games scheduled on either side of the busy day.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 6 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 15 | 1 |
Keep these resources at the top of your season-long tool list. Use them to guide your transactions. These become more valuable as the season goes on and teams establish themselves in overall power rankings.
https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/nhl-weekly-schedule
Left Wing Lock – Strength of Schedule
Seven teams play two times this week:
- Los Angeles Kings
- Montreal Canadiens
- Nashville Predators
- New Jersey Devils
- Seattle Kraken
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- Vancouver Canucks
Only three teams play four times this week:
- Edmonton Oilers
- San Jose Sharks
- Utah Hockey Club
Off-night tracking
In contrast to last week’s schedule, we’re back to seeing 70% of the scheduled games being played on Tuesday, Thursday, and specifically Saturday. Monday and Wednesday represent the best opportunities for managers to get extra games played during the week. Teams with two or more games on off nights this week include:
- Anaheim Ducks – Mon/Fri
- Buffalo Sabres – Wed/Fri
- Dallas Stars – Mon/Wed
- Philadelphia Flyers – Mon/Wed
- San Jose Sharks – Mon/Wed
- Toronto Maple Leafs – Wed/Sun
- Utah Hockey Club – Mon/Sun
Back-to-back tracking
Nine teams play on back-to-back nights this week. Use teams to plan for backup goaltender appearances to bolster your weekly totals:
- Anaheim Ducks – Mon/Tue
- Buffalo Sabres – Fri/Sat
- Carolina Hurricanes – Wed/Thu
- Edmonton Oilers – Mon/Tue
- Pittsburgh Penguins – Fri/Sat
- San Jose Sharks – Wed/Thu
- Utah Hockey Team – Sat/Sun
- Vegas Golden Knights – Wed/Thu
- Winnipeg Jets – Fri/Sat
Strength of schedule
Easy schedules
- Anaheim Ducks – DAL/CHI/BUF
- Buffalo Sabres – LAK/ANA/SJS
Difficult schedules
- Colorado Avalanche – PHI/WAS/FLA
- Montreal Canadiens – EDM/VGK
- New Jersey Devils – CAR/WAS
Hottest teams
Last week we highlighted targeting backup goaltenders from the league’s hottest teams. This remains a smart strategy. Let’s take that thought one step further and aim to roster the starter/backup duo from these teams. This strategy works well in leagues where you can get down to just two goalies on your roster, typically giving you the advantage of having an extra skater.
Here are the NHL’s hottest teams during their last 10 games played:
- Florida Panthers 8–2–0
- Carolina Hurricanes 8–2–0
- Toronto Maple Leafs 7–2–1
- Washington Capitals 7–2–1
- Winnipeg Jets 7–3–0
Coldest teams
Last week I recommended considering fringe players from these teams as drop candidates. Keep that thought and try to decrease your exposure to teams projected for weak +/- rankings and lower points scored. Above all else, get rid of these goalies any way you can.
Here are the NHL’s coldest teams during their last 10 games. Incredibly, they are all boasting identical records in their last 10:
- Montreal Canadiens 3–6–1
- Detroit Red Wings 3–6–1
- Anaheim Ducks 3–6–1
- Columbus Blue Jackets 3–6–1
- St Louis Blues 3–6–1
Who’s hot?
Mason Marchment (LW) – Dallas Stars
What a week for the Dallas Stars winger who produced 4G, 5A with a +5 rating over his last 3GP. Marchment has risen sharply in roster percentage to 41% but he remains available in more than half of league formats.
Brayden Schenn (C,LW) – St Louis Blues
Despite the struggles of the Blues team, Schenn has been productive tallying 2G, 2A in his last 4GP. Schenn remains a physical player with 9 hits and 6 blocked shots during the same stretch.
Fabian Zetterlund (LW,RW) – San Jose Sharks
The Sharks have lost three straight games but Zetterlund has remained a plus player with offensive and accessory contributions over the stretch. He’s managed 1G, 2A, a +4 rating with 5SOG, 6HIT and 10BLK.
Dustin Wolf (G) – Calgary Flames
Wolf shut out the Nashville Predators Friday night on 29 shots against. He previously had a strong start against the Los Angeles Kings where he turned aside 28 of 29 shots faced in a 3–1 victory. His record has now risen to 6–2–1 on the year and his .921 SV% stands out from a Flames team entrenched in transition.
Who’s cold?
Rickard Rakell (C,RW) – Pittsburgh Penguins
Rakell was one of the most commonly added players during the second half of October where he was on a point-per-game pace. Since then, he’s fallen off in offensive production. He has zero points over his last 6 GP despite playing top-six minutes alongside Sidney Crosby on the Penguins’ top line and PP1 unit.
Streaming candidates for the week
William Karlsson (C) – Vegas Golden Knights – 39% Owned
The Golden Knights play three times in four nights from Wednesday to Saturday. Karlsson will have plenty of opportunities against Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal during that stretch. Since returning to the lineup, he has 4G, 5A in 10GP despite seeing inconsistent ice times which have varied from 13:01 to 19:43 per game.
Josh Norris (C) – Ottawa Senators – 29% Owned
Norris has scored 3G in his last 4GP while contributing 1A and 11HIT. The Senators play a fast-paced style which often lands them in high-scoring games whether the result is good or bad. Norris is currently elevated to the Senators’ first line and PP1 unit playing with star Brady Tkachuk where he is seeing more than 19:00 TOI per game.
Darnell Nurse (D) – Edmonton Oilers –59% Owned
Keep an eye on the status of Darnell Nurse this week as the Oilers play four times. Nurse has recently provided some offensive upside with 2G, 1A against the Predators but I’m going to recommend that you add Nurse for some of his accessory category contributions. Prior to getting hit by Ryan Reaves on Saturday night, Nurse had amassed 30SOG, 26HIT, and 19BLK across his last 10GP.
Update after publishing: Kris Knoblauch provided a Monday morning update on Darnell Nurse, stating that he would miss five to ten games. While Nurse won’t be fantasy relevant for this week, keep an eye on him when he potential returns next week or the week after.
Dustin Wolf (G) – Calgary Flames – 55% Owned
Wolf has started four of the Flames’ last six games and earned victories in three of those appearances. His only loss came to the Boston Bruins on the road. Wolf is establishing himself as a rising star in the NHL and certainly the top goaltender on the Flames roster. We’ll soon see his 55% owned mark in the rearview mirror and you’ll be kicking yourself for not acting sooner.
