Hey guys, this week I thought it would be helpful to focus on finding guys that are playing in extra games in the upcoming week. We are getting down to the nitty gritty and getting in some quality extra starts can make a huge difference in getting every ounce of production out of your fantasy team. When trying to find useful streaming options on a week-to-week basis, I always like to look at how many games each team is playing in the upcoming week.

There are two main benefits here. The first is straightforward, players with more games in a week can rack up more stats. That's simple enough. But the second thing that a lot of fantasy players forget about is trying to find room for these players in your lineup. With the way the NHL schedule is normally formatted, there's a few busy nights per week that see a lot of action, and then there's a few days that are considered off-nights when there are only a few games on. If you are picking up a player who plays in four games in the upcoming week, chances are at the very least they are playing on one of the off-nights and you are guaranteed to get him in your lineup. A mistake a lot of players make is adding guys who look like solid contributors, but then having nowhere to put them on busy nights. So here are a few highlights of guys you could add for the upcoming week that play four games.

Anthony Cirelli

The first player I would like to target is Cirelli of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 24-year-old has found himself a permanent home on the second line of the Lightning alongside Alex Killorn and Steven Stamkos. While his stats might not blow you away, he certainly is capable of producing.  Next week the Bolts have four matchups, three of which are against weaker opponents. Cirelli has posted 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 points this season, which puts him on pace for over 50 points by the end of the year. 

I find him to be extremely useful, as he serves a jack-of-all-trades kind of player. He shoots at a decent rate of 2.1 shots per game. He racks up faceoff wins pretty consistently also, averaging six per game with a total of 277 so far this year. On top of that he averages about one hit and one block per game, so you literally are getting a bit of everything from him. His one downside is that he only sees time on the team's second power-play unit, so his power-play points stats are a bit lacking, having only accumulated five to date.

The Bolts head into next week on a four-game winning streak and will enjoy playing at home for the next three before heading to Chicago next weekend to face the Blackhawks. As an added bonus in Yahoo leagues, Cirelli has dual eligibility on center and right wing. Cirelli is available in most leagues depending on where your league is situated. He is 32% rostered on Yahoo, but he over 60% owned in both Fantrax and ESPN, so if you are in one of those leagues, you may need to look elsewhere. 

Nino Niederreiter

It's crazy to think Niederreiter is an 11-year veteran in the NHL already, it seems like just yesterday he was making waves for being the highest drafted Swiss hockey player ever when he went fifth overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Although the Swiss forward didn't fully live up to his hype as a youngster, he certainly has been a serviceable pro in the league for quite some time now. Fantasy-wise, he doesn't really jump out of the page at you, but there are times when he can make for a decent streaming option. Now is one of those times!

The Hurricanes are slated to play four games next week and Niederreiter has been steadily producing as of late with seven points in his past ten contests. He plays mostly third-line minutes these days, but the 29-year-old has still managed to pot 16 goals and add 12 assists for 28 points this season. The Canes are a deep team and Niederreiter is a good fit with that forward corps, but his limited ice time really limits his fantasy potential. He does manage to add a decent physical presence in addition to his offense. He's racked up 64 hits this season in 45 games, which is a pretty solid number for a forward who can put up 50 points a season.

Niederreiter is a great temporary add for this week because of the Canes busy schedule, and he's pretty much available everywhere. Yahoo has him rostered at just 19%, while Fantrax he is owned 38% and ESPN he is 50% owned. If he heats up next week you could speculate holding onto him longer, but there are plenty of good options out there if you look hard enough.

Damon Severson

Severson is a defenseman who kind of flies under the radar in fantasy, but he's quietly putting together a nice season. The 27-year-old blueliner has served all eight of his seasons in New Jersey and has been with the team through a lot of rough rebuilding years as of late. He is currently on pace to statistically have his best season to date if he can keep up his pace. Through 50 games he has compiled seven goals with 23 helpers to give him an even 30 points which is just under a 50-point pace on the season. You could certainly do worse on the blueline, and he can add a lot of peripheral value as well.

He has over 100 shots on goal this season, which is an average of over two per game and he isn't afraid to sacrifice the body either. He has 53 hits and 61 blocks, both of which average out to be over one per game. He has had a fair amount of playing time this season, which is probably largely thanks to Dougie Hamilton's lengthy IR sabbatical. Hamilton is back now, but for now Severson is still getting decent ice time including a spot on the team’s top power-play unit. 

New Jersey plays four times this coming week and Severson has been red hot, scoring nine points in his last seven games. Despite his best efforts, the Devils are still struggling as a team, but that doesn't mean there isn’t some value there with some of their players. Severson is widely available across all formats. He is only 27% rostered on Yahoo, 58% on Fantrax, and 21% on ESPN. If your team is thin on defenders, I would even consider adding Severson permanently if you can find room for him.

That's it for this week. My condolences if you own a Detroit or Toronto goaltender after last night's dumpster fire of a hockey game! We are getting super close to the end of the fantasy season, so this is the time to maximize your adds and drops and get the most out of everyone. Best of luck in the next seven days. Talk to you next Sunday!