Christmas is now in the rearview mirror, but we do have Boxing Day on tap today. In the spirit of the season, let's go over some players or teams that might be discounted from a lot of fantasy owners, but have good schedules over the second half that require our attention. We will also look at some teams/players to avoid. Data from Natural Stat Trick and scheduling stuff from the wonderful Schedule Planner included in our Frozen Tools.

St. Louis Blues

Most of the league plays two games this weekend, between Friday the 27^th and Sunday the 29^th. Only six teams have a pair of home games, though, and only two out of that handful don't have a back-to-back. One of them is Detroit, and they face Toronto and Washington. Not exactly an easy stretch.

The other team is St. Louis and they're at home Friday to Nashville and Sunday to Buffalo. As far as two homes games go, it is hard to get better matchups than that. Most of the top guys will be rostered in most leagues, but keep an eye on options like Brayden Schenn, Dylan Holloway, and Philip Broberg (assuming they are healthy). They are likely gone in deeper formats, but shallower leagues they make for solid streaming options for the balance of this week.

For those in deeper leagues, Zach Bolduc has had solid production and is getting a regular middle-6 role. He is offering over a hit and about a half-block per game, so there has been some decent peripheral production here, and he's consistently been earning about 13 minutes a night, which is an improvement.  

Carolina Hurricanes

Starting the week of December 30^th, there are eight teams playing at least four games. Four of those eight teams are playing at least half those games at home, and Carolina is one of them. They also have a relatively easy schedule on tap: In Columbus, In Florida, at home to Minnesota, and at home to Pittsburgh. Not that Florida and Minnesota are easy matchups, but they can rack up the production against Columbus and Pittsburgh, and then hopefully can contribute something in the other two games, especially with how Minnesota has played of late.

The Hurricanes have recently been changing their lines, so keep an eye on that, but for deeper formats, guys like Jordan Martinook, Jackson Blake, Jack Roslovic, and Jalen Chatfield are all on the radar. There is also one back-to-back in there (Minnesota/Pittsburgh) so someone other than Pyotr Kochetkov will get a start in net. It may be Spencer Martin, it may be someone else, but it is a streaming spot nonetheless.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Another one of those teams with four games and at least two of them being at home is Toronto. They have three at home with the Islanders, Bruins, and Flyers on tap, and a home-and-home with New York included. Anthony Stolarz is injured, so there is at least one game where someone other than Joseph Woll is going to get a start (another one for Matt Murray?). Something to keep in mind for desperate goalie streamers.

Aside from the big boys, the usual streaming skaters are on the board: Max Pacioretty, Bobby McMann, and Max Domi (in that order) are players to look at. It is hard to rely on him for ice time, but Connor Dewar can put up two hits per game even with a minimal role, so desperate fantasy managers in deeper banger formats should at least consider him.

Early 2025

The two-month stretch from January 6^th to March 2^nd is when fantasy seasons are going to either be made or fall apart. In the middle of that span is the Four Nations Cup, and aside from a random injury or two that may pop up (remember John Tavares at the 2014 Olympics?), there could be some tired players. There are going to be some scheduling quirks, so let's look at some teams to focus on leading up to the 2025 Trade Deadline.

New York Islanders

In that eight-week span, there are four teams playing fewer than 20 games, and the Islanders are one of them with 19. What is worse is that just three of their 19 games are on light days. They have just five games in the first two weeks, and they're all on heavy Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday slates (though the week of January 13^th is three home games against Ottawa, Philadelphia, and San Jose, so the matchups are good).  

New York has recently gotten back both Mathew Barzal and Anthony Duclair, so they are getting healthy for the second half of the season, but they may not be of much use for a lot of fantasy managers until the second half of January (of course, it all depends on depth of league, roster limits, and so on).

Los Angeles Kings

Over half the league plays 21-22 games over that eight-week span, and the Kings are one of them with 21 games. What separates them from the rest of the pack is they have the most games on light days in that stretch (11) and are the only team with at least 10. They don't play the most games, but they might have the most useful schedule of any team in the league.

What could hurt Los Angeles is there aren't a lot of games against poor teams: Seattle, Pittsburgh, Montreal, Detroit, Anaheim, and Columbus are on the schedule, but the rest are against teams either firmly in, or hovering around, a playoff spot. It isn't an easy stretch, but there are a lot of games on days with only 4-5 games, so secondary players like Tanner Jeannot, Alex Turcotte, and Jordan Spence need to be considered for anyone looking to stream.

Utah

There are six teams in those eight weeks playing at least 22 games. Utah plays more home games than anyone else with 15, and in fact have the most home games in that time.  

The first note is that while they have just three games in each of the first two full weeks of January, and just one on a light day, all are at home, those games are against Florida, San Jose, the Islanders, Montreal, the Rangers, and the Blues. That is a pretty good group of games, even if the schedule isn't heavy or on lighter days.

After those first two weeks, the next three weeks have six road games with just five at home. However, five of those 11 games are on light days, and the 11 games include the Blue Jackets twice, the Flyers, the Blues, and the Penguins. Not a bad run there.

For those looking for a bit of help, consider guys like Jack McBain (he may be gone in banger leagues already), Michael Kesselring (if you need point production), or Ian Cole (if you need peripheral production).

Dallas Stars

The last team to look into for that two-month stretch to start 2025 is Dallas. A lot of the top guys will be gone, but there has been a lot of roster (and lineup) movement lately for guys like Mavrik Bourque, Evgenii Dadonov, and Esa Lindell.

Dallas requires attention because of their schedule. Like Utah, they play 22 games over those two months. While just eight of those games are at home, they also have the most games on light days (9) of those 22-game teams, tying them for the second-most games on light days overall (Colorado also has nine). Despite some down years from top players, there are still going to be a lot of nights where they (and others) should be in fantasy lineups.  

Also, the home/away games-played split isn't as bad as it seems. That first week we're looking at – January 6^th through January 12^th – has four road games. Those four road games are against the Rangers, Senators, Flyers, and Canadiens. So, not only do they have 8/18 games at home over the seven weeks after that start, but those four road games constitute a pretty good schedule. Let's hope the Stars' stars can play as, well, er, stars.

The Stretch Run

The NHL Trade Deadline is on Friday, March 7^th. There are 5.5 weeks between March 10^th and the end of the regular season on April 17^th, so while fantasy playoff can differ from league to league, we are going to consider that March 10^th – April 17^th stretch as the final run of the fantasy hockey campaign. For fantasy managers at the top of their leagues and looking ahead to the fantasy playoffs, this is for you.

Pittsburgh Penguins

In those 5.5 weeks, there is one team that plays fewer games than the rest and that's Pittsburgh with 16. They play just nine games from March 10^th to March 30^th, exactly three games each week, and six of those nine games are on a Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday. Anyone out there doing well in their fantasy league and with Penguins on their roster, maybe wait until the end of January or something and then start unloading any option that isn't at the top of the lineup. They probably won't be much help down the road.

Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers

In that span from March 10^th onward, there are three teams that play five sets of back-to-backs: Vegas, Carolina, and Florida. There is no telling what the goaltending situation looks like for each team, but if everyone stays healthy, it seems likely that Vegas will have Adin Hill and Ilya Samsonov while Florida has Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight.

If that is the case for Vegas, then Samsonov is likely to have at least one start each week from March 10^th until April 6^th. The first back-to-back is Buffalo/Detroit, the next is Detroit/Tampa Bay, then Chicago/Nashville, and finishing with Calgary/Vancouver. Samsonov could be in for one start per week for a month and with matchups against teams like Detroit (twice), Chicago, and Calgary. It's hard to ask much more from a streaming goalie, so keep Vegas in mind for the stretch run.

Spencer Knight won't have the same consistency, but he is likely to also get a start on the weekend of March 14^th-16^th and then another one the following weekend. Florida's first back-to-back is Montreal/New York Islanders, and then Washington/Pittsburgh. Getting a pair of games against, say, the Habs and Penguins isn't a bad way to spend a streaming spot. Samsonov should get priority (for now), but Knight is a serviceable second option.

Finally, the Ottawa Senators require attention. Ottawa and Buffalo play the most games of any team over the final 5.5 weeks with 20 games each, but Ottawa has 12 of those 20 at home and, in theory, have a softer schedule.

Of course, there is a lot of time between now and the Trade Deadline. Ottawa could be buyers or sellers, and there's no telling what the lineup looks like 10 weeks out. However, with the heavy home schedule and good matchups, ancillary players like Adam Gaudette, Shane Pinto, and Artem Zub (if healthy) should all be on the radar. If nothing else, set a reminder on your phone for March 1^st to double-check for available Senators for the fantasy playoffs because they look like they'll figure in heavily.