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 for a new update each week.
NHL weekly schedule
Games per day from December 2 to December 8
Week 9 action is fairly typical with Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday accounting for 60% of the total games to be played on the week. Managers will have the greatest flexibility on Friday and Sunday to maximize their total games played.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 3 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 7 |
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.
Daily Faceoff provides a schedule table with each team’s games over the upcoming fantasy week for easy comparison between teams focusing on back-to-backs and off-day games.
Left Wing Lock goes deeper to look at strength of schedule so you can see which teams have easy games coming up and could be focused on for your streaming options.
Three teams play two times this week:
- Anaheim Ducks
- Los Angeles Kings
- Tampa Bay Lightning
Seven teams play four times this week:
- Colorado Avalanche
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- Dallas Stars
- New York Islanders
- Seattle Kraken
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- Winnipeg Jets
Off-night tracking
With our typical schedule in play during week 9 action, we are highlighting teams with three games played between Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. These off-night heavy schedules serve us in efforts to increase the total amount of games played on a week.
| Team | Off-night games |
|---|---|
| Dallas Stars | 4 (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday) |
| New Jersey Devils | 3 (Monday, Friday, Sunday) |
| New York Rangers | 3 (Monday, Friday, Sunday) |
| Toronto Maples Leafs | 3 (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) |
Back-to-back tracking
After seeing 24 teams with back to back scenario’s last week, our total decreases to 15 in week 9. Most teams backup goaltenders played during week 8, so we don’t have to look back very far to see recent performances.
| Team | Back-to-back games |
|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | Tuesday/Wednesday |
| Colorado Avalanche | Saturday/Sunday |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Thursday/Friday |
| Minnesota Wild | Friday/Saturday |
| Nashville Predators | Wednesday/Thursday |
| New York Islanders | Saturday/Sunday |
| Ottawa Senators | Saturday/Sunday |
| Philadelphia Flyers | Saturday/Sunday |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Friday/Saturday |
| Seattle Kraken | Thursday/Friday |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Friday/Saturday |
| Utah Hockey Club | Saturday/Sunday |
| Vegas Golden Knights | Tuesday/Wednesday |
| Washington Capitals | Friday/Saturday |
| Winnipeg Jets | Saturday/Sunday |
Strength of schedule
Easy schedules
| Team | Opponents |
|---|---|
| Ottawa Senators | Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators, New York Islanders |
| New York Rangers | New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins, Seattle Kraken |
| Boston Bruins | Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers |
Difficult schedules
| Team | Opponents |
|---|---|
| Anaheim Ducks | Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild |
| Los Angeles Kings | Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild |
| San Jose Sharks | Tampa Bay Lightning, Floriday Panthers, Washington Capitals |
Hottest teams
Last 10 games played
- Toronto Maple Leafs 8–2–0
- Washington Capitals 7–2–1
- Philadelphia Flyers 7–2–1
- Edmonton Oilers 7–2–1
- New Jersey Devils 7–3–0
Coldest teams
Last 10 games played
- Nashville Predators 2-3-5
- Ottawa Senators 3–5–2
- New York Islanders 3–4–3
- Chicago Blackhawks 3–6–1
Fantasy hockey team of week 9
The Fantasy team of the week highlights the top player at each position from the previous week. Scoring follows Yahoo’s default point settings and categories.
Left wing
Brandon Hagel – 60.6 FPTS
Hagel tallied 8PTS during week 8 action, leading all players across the league. He got off to a hot start with 5A in one game as the Tampa Bay Lightning thumped the Colorado Avalanche 8–2 on Monday night. Hagel is seeing elevated minutes for the Lightning. He reached 28:45 TOI in Saturday’s 5–3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Centre
Macklin Celebrini – 61.9 FPTS
Week 8 may very well be remembered as the breakout week for the 2024–25 first overall draft pick. Celebrini finished the week with 4G, 3A, 11SOG, 6BLK, and a +4 rating. The up and coming centre will take his four-game point streak into week 9 action where the San Jose Sharks will play three road games against Washington, Tampa Bay, and Florida.
Right wing
Adrian Kempe – 49.7 FPTS
Kempe and the Los Angeles Kings top line finished off the month of November in strong fashion, scoring 6G in 4GP. Kempe scored twice while adding 3A, 13SOG, 4BLK, and a +3 rating. He has now scored 7G in his last 8GP making him one of the leagues hottest players.
Defence
Jakob Chychrun – 57.0 FPTS
We are seeing Chychrun playing at the top of his game following the five games that he missed. During week 8 action the Washington Capitals won all 4GP and Chychrun was a major contributor in that success. He produced 3G, 4A, 4PPP, 10SOG, and 4BLK across those 4GP. Chychrun’s production on the Capitals top PP unit is driving his current success.
Goalie
Filip Gustavsson – 55.2 FPTS
Gustavsson comes in as the top goaltender during week 8 action. He started three of the Wild’s 4GP, earning victories in two of those GP. His week was highlighted by a 1–0 shutout of the Buffalo Sabres where he turned aside 39SOG. He now ranks second on the season in FPTS, behind only Connor Hellebuyck.
Banger league player of the week
Marcus Foligno – 8.7 FPTS
Foligno played four times during week 8 action and amassed 21 total hits over that span. His week was highlighted in a game against the Buffalo Sabres he totaled 8HIT and 1BLK during his 12:05 TOI. Foligno has played a limited but effective minutes for the Wild in 2024 where he has 4G, 4A, and a +7 rating in 24GP.
Who’s hot? Who should you stream this week?
It’s basically expected that the league’s top players will be the ones you want on your roster week-in, week-out. But those players aren’t likely to be available for you to pick up. Here’s some players who are hot with low ownership percentages that you should consider picking up for the week.
Kent Johnson (C,LW,RW) – Columbus Blue Jackets – 31% Owned
The Blue Jackets are a wagon in week 9 action. They have four road games scheduled where they travel through Western Canada. The over has hit in all of the last five games they have played while they have combined for an outstanding 26 goals scored. Johnson is playing on the Blue Jackets second line and PP1 unit where he has produced 4G and 3A across his last 5GP. Look for his production to continue this week and keep in mind that you’re looking at a breakout player who has 12pts through only 9GP in 2024–25.
Jake Debrusk (LW,RW) – Vancouver Canucks – 55% Owned
We were treated to a special performance from Jake Debrusk on Sunday night against the Detroit Red Wings. Debrusk scored a hat-trick and added an assist in a thrilling 5–4 win. Looking deeper into his recent production, Debrusk has now scored 7G in his last 5GP. His L1 and PP1 role is being highlighted while the Canucks are without J.T Miller.
Jared Spurgeon (D) – Minnesota Wild –10% Owned
It’s not often that you find an NHL defenceman who has scored 3G in his past 2GP who is only 10% owned. Spurgeon plays on the Wild’s second defensive pairing and, more importantly, PP1 unit. The Wild have won their last 3GP and are seeing great goaltending from Filip Gustavsson. Look for Spurgeon to contribute offensively in week 9 action and carry a positive +/- rating.
Joseph Woll (G) – Toronto Maple Leafs- 79% Owned
Please go check your league for available goaltenders. While we would never typically include a goaltender who is 79% owned across all Yahoo Leagues, we’re looking at the most productive goaltender from the hottest team in the NHL. Woll has won his last 5GP including a shutout against the Vegas Golden Knights. Woll has won six games in eight starts and carries a 2.13 GAA and .923 SV% into his next predicted start against he struggling Nashville Predators.
Fantasy hockey players to consider dropping
Not everyone is always rosterable. Sometimes, it makes sense to let someone go and pick up one the players above to get you more points this week. Here’s a few players who have gone ice cold lately that it may be time to drop.
Cam Talbot (G) – Detroit Red Wings – 59% Owned
After suffering a LBI against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday night, Talbot has been ruled out for Tuesday’s contest against the Boston Bruins. The Red Wings are likely to take this scenario cautiously with Talbot given that he’s 37-years-old and Ville Husso waits ahead of injured Alex Lyon. With the Red Wings currently below .500 and out of the playoff picture, its important to take stock of the likely outcomes for players of this nature. Look to pick Talbot back up later this season as a capable, veteran streaming option.
