Week 23 is the last week that matters, so I'm keeping this one simple: you're not hunting "best players," you're hunting the most usable points that are still sitting on the wire. Schedule is the cheat code here. Pittsburgh being the only team with five games is a massive edge in a Finals matchup, even if the player isn't a star, because volume plus even a little power-play time can add up fast. After that, it's the four-game teams where roles stay steady: Boston, Florida, Montreal, the New York Rangers, New Jersey, Ottawa, Philadelphia. Those are the spots where you can still find real minutes and special teams touches without guessing who's going to get nine minutes on a random Tuesday.

The names below are all different types of Finals plays. Egor Chinakhov is the obvious "let the schedule do the work" swing, with the only real wrinkle being how Pittsburgh's lines look if Sidney Crosby's injury changes the mix. Alexis Lafrenière is the opposite: not a streamer, just a guy you keep locked in because the Rangers are feeding him top-unit power-play work and the shot volume has stayed up. Pavel Zacha is a clean Boston play because the power-play role is real and he's been finishing well enough to turn those reps into points. Travis Sanheim is the boring-but-useful defense pickup for anyone who needs stability and blocks over four games. Artyom Levshunov is the deep-league gamble where you're betting on role and PP touches more than team scoring.

If you're up in your matchup, lean into the safer volume plays that won't give you dead nights. If you're chasing, take the higher-variance guy with the extra game and the power-play access and hope the week tilts your way.

All player/roster data can be found in Frozen Tools

Lineup info via Dailyfaceoff.com

All information current as of March 25th, 2026.

Egor Chinakhov (19% Rostered on Yahoo) — Pittsburgh Penguins

Role: L2, PP2 | Context: this is a Finals-week pickup that makes sense on the calendar. Pittsburgh has the only five-game slate, they're still playing like the standings matter, and Chinakhov is getting enough ice and PP looks to matter if you're chasing goals/points late. The Sidney Crosby injury on the 26^th needs to be monitored because  he drives a lot of playmaking.

The season line is decent but not the reason you're here: 32 points in 63 games with 17 goals, 119 shots, and basically no penalty baggage. What matters is how his year split once the trade happened. Early on in Columbus, he was kind of floating through low minutes and spot usage, but since landing in Pittsburgh the leash has gotten longer, and it's been most obvious lately. In the most recent quarter he's up around 18 minutes a night, and the power-play time isn't token anymore (over three minutes per game), which is exactly how a guy like this turns from "nice player" into "fantasy relevant." That's also when the points actually showed up: 12 points in his last 11 games, with four of those coming on the power play. He hasn't needed perfect matchups either , he's produced against good teams and in games where Pittsburgh needed offense.

The game log is pretty clean for what you want in a Finals streamer. He's got multiple multi-point games in March (two points on March 10, two points on March 14, two points on March 21), and it hasn't been all empty assists. He's scoring, he's shooting often enough to give you a floor, and he's getting PP opportunities that can cash quickly even if the 5v5 line gets shuffled. You can also see the minutes creeping into that "coach trusts him" range: a bunch of nights in the 16- to 22-minute lane, including games where the PPTOI spikes well past five minutes. That kind of usage is rare on waivers this late in the season, and it's the whole reason he's worth the gamble over a random 3-game option.

Bottom line: if you're in the finals and you need a puncher's chance at offense, five games plus real PP time is the easiest argument you'll get all year. Chinakhov isn't a lock, but he's the exact profile that can quietly give you 3–5 points in a week just because he's on the ice a lot and the schedule is doing the work for you.

Alexis Lafrenière (56%) — New York Rangers

Role: L1, PP1 | Context: if you've been riding him since the Artemi Panarin trade, nothing's really changed. He's still the clearest "top-line touches + top-unit power play" winger on the Rangers, and that's exactly what you want going into Finals week.

The overall line has only gotten cleaner since the last time we talked about him: 50 points in 72 games (0.69 P/GP) with 21 goals, 144 shots (2.0 per game), and enough hits to keep the floor from falling out when the points don't show up. The important part for fantasy isn't just "he's producing," it's how he's producing right now. The fourth-quarter usage has stayed elevated, and the power-play time has climbed into a real featured role (3:44 per night in Q4), which lines up with the finishing kick in his scoring: 13 points in his last 11 games, and he's stacking multi-point nights without needing perfect matchups.

The recent game log is basically what you want to see from a Finals-week hold. He's coming off a three-point game against Toronto on March 25 (seven shots, power-play goal, two power-play points), and he's been living in that 19- to 22-minute range a lot more often lately. Even when he doesn't hit the scoresheet, the minutes and shot volume have been stable enough that you're not sweating a total zero the way you would with a secondary-line streamer.

If you're in a league where he's still floating around on the wire, that's a gift. Otherwise, he's just a keep-it-moving Finals play: lock him in, take the shot volume plus PP1 exposure, and don't overthink it.

Pavel Zacha (47%) — Boston Bruins

Role: L2, PP1 | Context: Boston's got four games in Finals week and Zacha's sitting in that sweet spot where the minutes and the power-play work are legit, but he still isn't treated like an automatic roster guy everywhere.

This has been a real step forward season for him. He's at 54 points in 69 games (0.78 P/GP) with 24 goals, and it's not coming from some fluky one-week binge either. The finishing is high (21.2%), but the bigger fantasy takeaway is that his workload is back in the scoring lanes: he's playing 17 minutes a night, he's taking draws, and he's getting PP1 usage that actually matters (3:04 PPTOI per game). That's why the PPP total is already sitting at 19, which is basically the entire selling point for him in a playoff matchup. If your league rewards power-play production, he's not a "nice streamer," he's a Finals-week starter.

The split that jumps off the page is how steady he's been, even when the line combos bounce around. Quarter by quarter, he's gone: 17 points, then a dip to 9, then right back to 15, then 13 in the last 11 games. That Q4 stretch matters because the role didn't disappear with the schedule tightening up. He's still getting power-play time in the 3- to 4-minute range on plenty of nights, and he's still skating with high-end pieces. The most common attachment is David Pastrňák, and even when Zacha's not glued to him at five-on-five, the power-play reps keep them connected where it counts.

The recent game log is exactly what you want heading into Finals week: he's stacking points without needing the perfect stat line. Over his last eight games he's got 11 points, including multi-point games against Montreal (two goals), Pittsburgh (three goals), and Buffalo (two points). He's also not disappearing when he doesn't score; the ice time is staying in that 16- to 19-minute range, and the faceoff volume keeps him involved. The shot rate isn't huge (about 1.6 per game on the year), so you're not rostering him as a volume shooter, but when a guy is living on PP1 and finishing plays around elite talent, you don't need four shots a night for him to matter.

If he's somehow available, he's an easy add for Finals week. In points leagues, he's one of the better "four-game + PP1" plays on the board. In cats, he's more format-dependent because he isn't a heavy hits/blocks guy, but the goals/PPP ceiling is good enough that you still roll him if you're chasing offense.

What you're watching: keep him on PP1 and keep him near Pastrňák. If those two things hold, he's in your lineup.

Travis Sanheim (35%) — Philadelphia Flyers

Role: L1, PP2, PK1 | Context: if you're in a Finals week where you just need a defenseman who's going to be on the ice all the time, Sanheim is one of the easiest "set it and forget it" volume plays. The ceiling isn't flashy, but the minutes and the categories add up over four games.

Sanheim's season line is basically the same story it's been for a few years, just cranked up in workload: 31 points in 71 games (0.44 P/GP) while playing 24:14 a night. That's real, top-pair usage, and it shows up everywhere. The shots are whatever (1.1 SOG/GP), so you're not adding him for shot volume or random goal spikes. You're adding him because he's giving you a steady stream of assists, plus blocks at a legit rate (129 blocks = 1.82 per game), and he's always out there in the last five minutes protecting a lead or trying to tie a game. In categories leagues, that alone can swing a matchup when your opponent's defense is a bunch of 18-minute guys.

The quarterly splits tell you what his season looks like: stable production with a small power-play bump in the middle totaling 7 points in Q1, 11 in Q2, 8 in Q3, then 5 in Q4 so far. The key part is the usage hasn't moved. He's been living in the 23- to 26-minute range every quarter, and even when the PPTOI jumps (Q2 was 1:50), it's still not him running the top unit. That matters for expectations. If you need a defenseman to go win you PPP, this isn't that profile. If you need a defenseman who won't give you a dead slot and can still chip in points when the Flyers score, he fits.

The recent game log is basically a perfect snapshot of why he's a playoff add. He's got points in four of his last seven (including goals on March 19 and March 21), and the ice time is heavy every single night: 25:19, 28:57, 26:54, 24:30, 28:26, 29:11… it's just constant. The blocks are there too, with multiple games in that stretch where he's giving you 2–4 blocks. That's the kind of floor you want when you're trying to protect a lead in the finals and you don't want your defense streamers going 0s across the board.

In cats/bangers, he's a strong add if you're chasing blocks and still want a little offense attached. In points-only, he's more matchup-dependent because the Flyers aren't a high-scoring team, and his PP role isn't built for big special teams totals. But in a four-game week, the minutes alone can still push him ahead of a lot of "better" names who only play 2–3 times.

What you're watching: keep him on that top pairing and keep the PK usage heavy. If the PP2 time stays around a minute or so, you're mostly living on even-strength helpers and volume categories, which is fine, just know what you're buying.

Artyom Levshunov (7%) — Chicago Blackhawks

Role: L1, PP1 | Context: this is still the same bet as last week. You're not picking him up because Chicago is suddenly going to turn into a four-goal-per-night team –  you're picking him up because the role is legit, the minutes are heavy, and in a Finals week sometimes you just need a defenseman who has the puck on his stick on the power play.

Levshunov's raw season line isn't going to wow anyone: 24 points in 67 games (0.36 P/GP), 11 power-play points, and a ton of negatives on a team that bleeds goals. But the usage is exactly what you want if you're trying to chase offense from the back end. He's at 2:43 of PPTOI per game on the year, and he's basically living around 19–22 minutes a night. That combo is what makes him relevant even when the shot rate is low (1.18 SOG/GP). If your league rewards blocks and hits at all, he's not empty either: 96 hits and 71 blocks are real weekly padding for a defenseman.

The quarter splits explain why he's felt like two different players. Early season he was basically an assist guy who was feeding the PP: 11 points in Q1 with nearly two minutes of PP time, then he got leaned on even harder in Q2 (3:04 PPTOI, 20:33 TOI) and stayed productive. Then the wheels came off in Q3 and Q4 from a fantasy scoring standpoint: 2 points in 17 games, then 2 points in 10 games, even while the TOI stayed high and the PP time stayed strong (Q3 PPTOI actually hit 3:21). That's the frustration with a rookie defenseman on a bad offense. The process can look fine, the points just don't always show up.

If you're looking at the recent log, it's basically all workload and peripherals right now. He's playing 22–26 minutes most nights, he's taking the hard matchups, and he's still getting real power-play shifts (2:26 vs Philadelphia, 2:44 vs the Islanders, 2:59 vs Nashville, 2:58 vs Colorado, 4:19 vs Minnesota). Even when he isn't producing, he's giving you hits and blocks in bunches lately: 5 hits vs Nashville, 4 hits vs the Islanders, 4 hits vs Colorado, 3 hits vs Minnesota, plus blocks basically every night. That's why he's not a total zero even during a cold stretch.

If you need a swing at offense from defense in a deeper league, he's still a fine Finals add because the role is the kind that can produce a random 2-assist night out of nowhere. Just be honest about what you're buying: the floor is minutes, PP touches, and some hits. The ceiling depends on Chicago actually converting on the power play, which is always going to be the scary part.

For this week, I'd treat him as a "need a defenseman, need PP exposure, and I can live with some volatility" pickup. If you have a safer option on a better team with similar PP time, take the safer option. If you're chasing upside from the wire, this is the type of profile you gamble on.