Welcome back from the holiday break! Time flies when we only have a few days off but it's back to daily NHL action and we're here to give fantasy owners some help. They (we) could be forgiven for overlooking some fantasy teams as the hustle of the holiday season can take precedent, and some may be focusing on the World Junior tournament taking place in Moncton and Halifax.

I thought it would be worth looking over the next two weeks, the scheduling, and how it can help fantasy owners. We will be using our Frozen Tools Schedule Planner to see which teams can provide some aid and which could provide some pain over the next couple weeks as we make our way through the holidays and into 2023.

The Off-Day Teams

There are two teams that are tied for the most games played in this span (7) and also have three games on light days, and they are at the opposite ends of the spectrum: Boston and Chicago. Let's talk about those teams a bit.

Boston starts this stretch with a road back-to-back in Ottawa and New Jersey, finishes the stretch on January 7^th and 8^th with a road back-to-back in San Jose and Anaheim, with Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles in between. That means there's a nine-day stretch where they only have three games and only one of those (vs. PIT) is on a light day. The other two are the second day of a back-to-back. In that sense, there are some great matchups in here, but it could be an issue for those with Linus Ullmark as their fantasy goalie. He is likely to start a maximum of five games, maybe less depending on what they do in that middle stretch. The scheduled teams aren't tough as a whole and they are playing seven games, but it's some awkward pacing.

Then there's Chicago. Not sure who is relying on Blackhawks skaters at this point but two of their three light-day games are at home to San Jose this coming Sunday and at home to Arizona on January 6^th. Those are winnable games, or games where they stand a chance of scoring more than one goal, anyway. Tyler Johnson has seen some top-line action for Chicago, and he was on the top PP unit earlier in the season. He could be an option for people getting desperate.

Anaheim's Wild Schedule

The Ducks only play six games in this stretch, but no team plays more than seven. What is curious about Anaheim's schedule is every single game is on a light day. They have zero games in the next two weeks on a Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday. With just two games this week, they might be a source for a single-day stream, but they have four games next week, all at home: Philadelphia, Dallas, San Jose, Boston. A couple tough games, a couple not-tough games, and all on M-W-F-Su. That Monday (January 2^nd) and Wednesday (January 4^th) are especially light with just three games each day. Lukas Dostal might be available as a streamer, or a PP option like Mason McTavish. If you're in a league deeper than "maybe I should roster Mason McTavish," perhaps Frank Vatrano might be hanging around or even John Klingberg. Yeesh.

Buffalo's Utility

There won't be many (any?) situations where fantasy owners would sit players like Tage Thompson, Jeff Skinner, or Rasmus Dahlin. With that out of the way, Buffalo has four games this week and a pretty reasonable schedule: at Columbus, vs. Detroit, at Boston, at Ottawa. That is a good four-game week with players available for a lightly scheduled Sunday.

The problem comes the week after as the Sabres have just two games from January 2^nd through January 8^th: at Washington and vs. Minnesota. There could be useful streamers the first week, especially when the weekend rolls around, but not much to chase after in the second week.

Light Days, Light Weights

There are three teams – aside from Anaheim – that play six games and have at least four of them on light days: Florida, New Jersey, and Pittsburgh. It should be stated that each of those teams play three games in each weekly segment, so there's no Buffalo problem of having a two-game weeks.

Florida has some good matchups in this span but the problem is their light days don't have an easy schedule: at Carolina (Dec. 30^th), vs. NYR (New Year's Day), at Detroit, at Dallas. There might be a soft-ish game in there but it's not as if we're running out to stream against the Coyotes, or Blue Jackets, or Ducks on light days here. Fantasy owners will have to look at what they need come the weekend as the team plays three games in four days starting on Thursday.

New Jersey might have the toughest schedule of the three. They are home to Boston, in Pittsburgh, at home to Carolina, in Detroit, at home to St. Louis (B2B), and then at home to the Rangers. The usual guys like Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Dougie Hamilton will be rostered. What is throwing a wrinkle here is how much they've moved their lineup around in the last five games or so. We have see Alexander Holtz on the top PP unit, Fabian Zetterlund on the top line, and Bratt moved around the top-6. It makes it harder to stream but beggars cannot be choosers.

Finally, we have the Penguins. They start out of the holiday break with a back-to-back against the Islanders and Red Wings, so things could be worse. Then that matchup with New Jersey on Friday before having the weekend off. They start next week in Boston, then travel to Vegas on Thursday and Arizona on Sunday. While that Sunday – January 8^th – might be a scheduled 'Light Day', there are eight games taking place that afternoon/evening. Even if it's in Arizona, there are options across the league like Boston in Anaheim, Calgary in Chicago, Washington at home to Columbus, Winnipeg at home to Vancouver, and Toronto at home to Philadelphia. There are lots of options for that final Sunday so don't feel compelled to run out and grab Jeff Carter or Marcus Pettersson.

Avoid The Flyers

There is just one team playing fewer than six games in these two weeks and it's Philadelphia with five. The compounding problem is that the schedule is soft: California road trip, home to Arizona, then home to Toronto. Most of those teams are having a lot of trouble keeping the puck out of their net, so it might be worthwhile to go look for guys like James van Riemsdyk, Owen Tippett, or Cam York.

It will also largely depend on what type of league fantasy owners are playing in. For those that lock rosters at the start of each week, it's tough to go grab some Flyers and leave them on the bench for their two-game week out of the holiday break. Then fantasy owners run the risk of everyone going for the same players the following week with those Anaheim/Arizona matchups. Outside of the top guys like Travis Konecny, Tony DeAngelo, and Carter Hart, it may be a better idea to avoid the Flyers, at least for the first week.

Los Angeles's Conundrum

There is one team that is playing six games but none of them coming on an off-day. Los Angeles plays each of the next two Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday nights, and the schedule is brutal: Vegas twice, Colorado, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Boston. While the Avalanche are injured, they have gotten some reinforcements back recently, and Nathan MacKinnon's return could come very soon (the original timeline was early January). That puts fantasy owners looking to stream in a pickle: go get lesser options in tough matchups or go with what's on the roster?

The compounding problem is recent line changes from the Kings. We have seen Arthur Kaliyev on both the first and third lines over the last couple weeks, Adrian Kempe resume his top-line role, Viktor Arvidsson down on the third line with Kaliyev, and Gabriel Vilardi's ice time getting depleted. It can put fantasy owners in a bind outside of the usual suspects like Kevin Fiala and Anze Kopitar. What I will say is that playing only on heavily-scheduled game days gives fantasy owners some options besides just going with the lesser Kings skaters. There are teams like Colorado and Ottawa that could have some useful pieces in better matchups on the same days as Los Angeles.

Cracking on the Kraken

Aside from the three teams mentioned earlier having at least two games on light days in the first week – Florida, New Jersey, and Pittsburgh – the Seattle Kraken have games this week on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. There are just 14 total games on those three days, and Seattle is at home for all of them: Calgary, Edmonton, and the Islanders.

There should be lots of streaming options available here as Seattle does tend to spread out the scoring. My assumption is guys like Matty Beniers, Andre Burakovsky, and even Jordan Eberle are all rostered. That still leaves names like Jaden Schwartz, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Jared McCann, or Justin Schultz that are available for use. Considering this week's schedule, the Kraken are one of the most valuable teams in the league for the next six days.

Alright, those are some of the highlights in the NHL's schedule over the next couple of weeks. After that, it's pretty consistent sailing right into the All-Star break in early February. Good luck in your fantasy matchups and enjoy the World Juniors!