Welcome back to The Oil Rig‘s weekly fantasy update! We’re now amidst Fantasy Hockey Playoffs in both of the most common league schedules. This week, we want to give you the upper hand at the most important time.
The focus of playoff fantasy sports shifts towards winning at all costs. Roster management decisions change by comparison to the regular season to favour the amount of opportunities that players have to win you your current week matchup.
NHL weekly schedule
Games per day from March 17 to March 24
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 8 |
You can’t ask for a better schedule than the one we have ahead of us in Week 23. Off-nights account for 22 of the 53 games scheduled, an increase from week 22. Managers will be able to add/drop players in do-or-die scenarios throughout the week, including eight games on Sunday. Make sure to use every one of your add/drops during playoff rounds to maximize your games played.
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 the 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.
Teams playing two times this week:
- Boston Bruins
- Florida Panthers
Teams playing four times this week:
- Buffalo Sabres
- Dallas Stars
- Detroit Red Wings
- Los Angeles Kings
- Minnesota Wild
- Montreal Canadiens
- New Jersey Devils
- New York Islanders
- Ottawa Senators
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- Utah Hockey Club
- Vancouver Canucks
Off-night tracking
Here is a list of teams to consider adding players from in an effort to increase your total games played in the week.
| Team | Off-night Games |
|---|---|
| Anaheim Ducks | 3 (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 3 (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) |
| New Jersey Devils | 3 (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) |
| New York Islanders | 3 (Monday, Wednesday, Sunday) |
| Utah Hockey Club | 3 (Monday, Friday, Sunday) |
| Vancouver Canucks | 4 (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) |
Back-to-back tracking
Use this week’s back-to-back games to plan out some extra goalie starts in spots where teams will be leaning on backup goaltenders.
| Team | Back-to-Back Games |
|---|---|
| Buffalo Sabres | Saturday, Sunday |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Friday, Saturday |
| Dallas Stars | Wednesday, Thursday |
| Detroit Red Wings | Monday, Tuesday |
| Edmonton Oilers | Wednesday, Thursday |
| Los Angeles Kings | Saturday, Sunday |
| Minnesota Wild | Monday, Tuesday |
| Montreal Canadiens | Thursday, Friday |
| New Jersey Devils | Friday, Saturday |
| New York Islanders | Saturday, Sunday |
| New York Rangers | Friday, Saturday |
| Ottawa Senators | Saturday, Sunday |
| San Jose Sharks | Saturday, Sunday |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Saturday, Sunday |
| Utah Hockey Club | Thursday, Friday |
| Vegas Golden Knights | Friday, Saturday |
Strength of schedule
Easy schedules
| Team | Opponents |
|---|---|
| New York Rangers | Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks |
| Vegas Golden Knights | Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators |
Difficult schedules
| Team | Opponents |
|---|---|
| Minnesota Wild | Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, Washington Capitals, New Jersey Devils |
| Nashville Predators | Carolina Hurricanes, St Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights |
| Seattle Kraken | Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars |
Hottest teams
Last 10 games played
- Washington Capitals 9–1–0
- Carolina Hurricanes 9–1–0
- Colorado Avalanche 8–1–1
- Los Angeles Kings 8–1–1
- St Louis Blues 8–1–1
Coldest teams
Last 10 games played
- Philadelphia Flyers 1–8–1
- Columbus Blue Jackets 2–7–1
- Boston Bruins 2–7–1
- Chicago Blackhawks 2–6–2
- Detroit Red Wings 3–7–0
Fantasy hockey team of the week
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
Dylan Holloway – 55.9 FPTS
The Blues are 8–1–1 in their last 10 games played and are winners of their last six straight games. Dylan Holloway is on a seven-game point streak, which includes 3G, 8A and a +5 rating. Oilers fans are shaking their heads, wondering what could have been.
Centre
Auston Matthews – 61.1 FPTS
Matthews led all skaters in fantasy points with 3G, 3A over 4GP in week 22. His production included 5PPP, 19SOG and 6BLK. Look for Matthews to have another big point total in week 23 when the team plays three of the league’s weakest teams.
Right wing
Matt Coronato – 51.8 FPTS
Fans outside of Calgary may not be familiar with Matt Coronato yet, but he’s making noise north of the border as the season draws close the an end. He turned in his best week of the season with 4G, +5, 12SOG and 3BLK. It’s worth noting the chemistry that Coronato and Jonathan Huberdeau are developing as wingers on Calgary’s second line and PP1 unit. The Flames are winners of their last 3GP.
Defence
Thomas Harley – 45.20FPTS
Harley enjoyed two multi-point games over the week en route to a 3G, 2A, +4, 12SOG, 4BLK stat line. What won’t make headlines is the 31:11 TOI that Harley played in a 3–2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He plays an enormous role for the Dallas Stars and won’t be overlooked as one of the league’s top defenders for long.
Goalie
Filip Gustavsson – 63.2 FPTS
It was a perfect 3–0 week for Gustavsson, including a shutout victory against the Seattle Kraken where he turned aside 34SOG. The Wild have a difficult stretch of games ahead in week 23, facing three of the league’s top teams.
Streamers of the week
It’s basically expected that the league’s top players will be the ones you want on your roster week in, and week out. But those players aren’t likely to be available for you to pick up. Here are some players who are hot with low ownership percentages that you should consider picking up for the week.
Matt Coronato (RW) – Calgary Flames 5% Rostered
Coming off a strong week, which included 4G scored, Coronato holds the hot stick for the Flames. Look for his streak to continue against a weaker Kraken team on Tuesday night before the Flames take on Dallas and Edmonton to close out the week.
Logan Cooley (C) – Utah Hockey Club 49% Rostered
Utah has 4GP on the week, including three games in the span of four days from Thursday through Sunday. Cooley has played well of late, riding a four-game point streak that includes 3G, 2A and 8SOG. Consider adding Cooley towards the end of week 23 in order to maximize your games played with a player finishing off the year in strong form.
Jonathan Huberdeau (C,LW) – Calgary Flames 51% Rostered
The past two weeks for Huberdeau include three multi-point games. His upside makes for a smart play alongside Coronato in week 23 for managers seeking upside. The greatest opportunity comes against the Kraken.
Scott Wedgewood (G) – Colorado Avalanche 16% Rostered
Wedgewood has won his last five starts for the Avalanche and is likely to play 1–2 games again during week 23 action. The Avalanche are one of the league’s strongest and hottest teams. Wedgewood has an opportunity to be featured on a number of championship rosters in 2024–25.
The final stretch
It’s time to dig in right now. This week could be a make-or-break week, and those who go into it with active management will give themselves the best chances to come out on top.
Follow The Oil Rig on social media!
