A month into the season, it’s time to re-calibrate. If you started goalies against the Ducks, Hawks, Jackets, Wings, Habs, Pens, Sharks or Mammoth thinking you had an easy win, you were in for a nice surprise. On the flip side, playing goalies against the Panthers, Wild, Rangers and Blues don’t seem so daunting any more.
Obviously, we’re still relatively early in the season and a lot can still change. I don’t suspect the Oilers and Panthers to be so middling for long, but whether the Rangers can score or not, or if the Wild can score at even strength or get a timely save, is still up for debate.
This has been a season where fantasy mangers who bet big on young players are reaping huge benefits so far. Macklin Celebrini entered Sunday’s games fourth in league scoring, Connor Bedard looks like he’s also taken another step, Nick Suzuki is turning into a shoo-in for the Canadian Olympic team, Leo Carlsson is quickly emerging as a bona fide 1C, Matthew Schaefer is living up to the billing as a No. 1 pick and already the Isles’ best defenseman, and goalies Jet Greaves and Jakub Dobes are forcing their coaches to play them more.
It is not inconceivable – of course, we’re viewing things in a vacuum here – that Celebrini is a top-10 overall pick (ranked 30th in Yahoo’s pre-season rankings) or that Schaefer (ranked 125th) is a top-10 pick among defensemen in redraft leagues next season.
There are 12 teams playing four games in Week 5, and only the Blackhawks are not playing any back-to-backs. They have the most favorable schedule for fantasy purposes, playing on all the off-nights on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Though they are all road games, I think only Sunday in Detroit poses a real challenge, so if you have Spencer Knight or looking to stream Arvid Soderblom for a game, I think it’s a green light for most of the way. Among forwards, I like Ryan Donato best, if only because he’s more consistent than Teuvo Teravainen or Tyler Bertuzzi.
The Mammoth get the short end of the stick, playing against some tough opponents and playing two sets of back-to-backs. That means Karel Vejmelka’s fantasy value takes a hit because he’ll almost certainly split the starts with Vitek Vanecek.
The teams to avoid are the Jackets and Devils, which is unfortunate because both teams provide multiple good options for streaming. The Jackets play Wednesday in Calgary and Saturday in Vancouver, and both are good matchups against teams that have not defended particularly well recently. The Devils play Thursday and Saturday on busy nights, and the competition is tough against the Habs and Pens.
Speaking of the Pens, I do think they’re overachieving and they’re losing a big part of the possession battle. With so much travel this week alternating road and home games, this week will be a tough but revealing test. It’ll be important in deciding if Tristan Jarry or Arturs Silovs have significant value going forward, or if this is now a good opportunity to sell high on any Penguin not named Crosby.
One notable position change recently has been Trevor Zegras getting LW eligibility. This is big because he’s not really a full-time center or wins a lot of faceoffs, and it provides roster flexibility. He’s been featured in this space for multiple weeks and now rostered in over half of Yahoo leagues, so I hope you grabbed him when he was widely available. He’s up to 13 points in 11 games heading into Sunday.
All positions and rostered percentages are courtesy of Yahoo Fantasy.
Schedule
Pick players from teams at the top of the schedule matrix to maximize games and matchups. Green is good. Red is bad. Points percentages are as of Sunday morning.
Season-long adds (< 50% rostered on Yahoo)
Troy Terry, RW, ANA (42% rostered)
Terry has really benefited from playing a much-improved Leo Carlsson and veteran Chris Kreider on the opposite wing. Terry’s on a six-game points streak and seems poised for a fifth straight 50-point season with the potential to push for 70 points. These Ducks are very different under Joel Quenneville than Greg Cronin, with more emphasis on generating offense.
Anthony Cirelli, C, TB (36% rostered)
Cirelli is a strong two-way player and I would not be surprised at all if he sets new career highs across the board with increased ice time and offensive opportunities. He’s averaging close to 20 minutes per game, and I think his goal-scoring pace will ultimately decline, but it should be offset with the increased minutes and similar shooting volume from last season.
Jet Greaves, G, CBJ (33% rostered)
Elvis Merzlikins, G, CBJ (31% rostered)
I can forgive you if you thought the Jackets overachieved last season, but a month into 2025-26 and I think their resurgence is real. Both Greaves and Merzlikins have pushed each other to be better, and while you’ll still get the odd dud game, both goalies have been excellent so far. I drafted both goalies in the last round of my shallow draft this season and have not looked back; they are widely available and should continue to be a strong tandem going forward.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, G, BUF (24% rostered)
It’s a crowded crease in Buffalo but I think UPL still has the lion’s share of the starts and he’s their most trusted option. The Sabres have been streaky but very far removed from their 0-3-0 start when they scored just two goals. Luukkonen should provide plenty of saves and steal the odd game.
Mid-term holds (< 50% rostered on Yahoo)
William Eklund, LW, SJ (44% rostered)
Philipp Kurashev, C/RW, SJ (18% rostered)
Eklund sat out Sunday’s game but his ailment is not expected to be long term. If there’s one thing the Sharks can do, it’s scoring. Eklund’s averaging almost three shots per game this season, a huge increase from last season (1.96) and plays PP1 with Celebrini.
I am far more skeptical about Kurashev, but he’s averaged 20 minutes in his past four games during his points streak and playing in the top six and PP1. For a player not known for shooting the puck very often, he’s averaging a little over two per game. That’s always an encouraging sign, though note his role is not nearly as safe as Eklund’s, and I think Eklund has a much higher potential to be a season-long add.
Will Cuylle, LW/RW, NYR (36% rostered)
Cuylle’s on a four-game points streak and formed a pretty potent ‘Kid Line 2.0’ with Alexis Lafreniere and Noah Laba. The one thing to note is Cuylle’s increased shot volume, and I think the pucks will start going in at some point. With the potential for goals and hits, even with a 40-50-point ceiling, I think Cuylle still has good value in banger leagues.
Pavel Zacha, C/LW, BOS (34% rostered)
I have Zacha ahead of Marat Khustnutdinov because he tends to play more minutes, though both should benefit from the injury to Elias Lindholm. Zacha doesn’t shoot the puck much but he’s been steadily providing assists and face-off wins. He’s the Bruins’ top option in the dot right now and should play in almost all key offensive situations.
Akira Schmid, G, VGK (26% rostered)
The expected return of Noah Hanifin on Tuesday should help the Knights’ goalies, and their starter remains Schmid, though backup Carl Lindbom has been better than expected. There’s about another month before Schmid’s fantasy value drops when Carter Hart becomes eligible to play on Dec. 1, or when Adin Hill returns.
Short-term streamers (< 50% rostered on Yahoo)
Joel Hofer, G, STL (6% rostered)
This is more an indictment of Jordan Binnington’s play than Hofer’s play, though he was quite good in a 3-2 loss to the Jackets with a .914 SP. I think the Blues trust Hofer a lot despite his poor start, and if he can keep this momentum going will surely take starts away from Binnington.
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