2025-26 NHL Fantasy Hockey Week 15 Primer And Pickups: Oilers Play Five Times

We have a five-game week alert in the NHL, and this time, it's the Edmonton Oilers.

If you have Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl on your fantasy hockey roster, you should have a significant advantage in Week 15, and if you're the unlucky fantasy team facing them, there's plenty of work to do. 

The good news is there are plenty of back-to-backs to take advantage of, allowing you to optimize your schedule so you can get five games out of a single roster slot, too. 

All of the 13 teams that play at least four times this week have a back-to-back, including the Oilers, Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes, which have two sets each. Ideally, you'll want to stream a player for a Monday-Tuesday back-to-back, and then capture three games over the rest of the week. 

The back-to-backs also mean lots of backups will be in action, and teams such as the Vancouver Canucks or Sens may end up using their third-string option, providing easy targets for managers who want to stream players playing against them. 

Travel and fatigue will be an issue this week and likely going forward as the Olympics approach. The Oilers, for example, play back-to-back on the road, return home for a single game and then split their next back-to-back at home and on the road. It's conceivable they go undefeated with four of the teams they're facing currently out of playoff position, but the extra travel and lack of stability in net will work against their favor. The Sens face the same dilemma with two back-to-backs, where they split home and road games. 

All positions and rostered percentages are courtesy of Yahoo Fantasy.

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.

McCann and Matty Beniers have benefitted from playing with each other, though McCann still is the steadier and better offensive option. Their offense was very limited against the Canes, but they've got four games coming up, including the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils, both of which are reeling right now from blowout losses. 

The Buffalo Sabres are playing like a completely different team right now. Colten Ellis has some value as a streamer, but Luukkonen figures to get the bulk of the starts as the incumbent. He's been a big reason why the Sabres have ripped off 13 wins in their past 14 games, and this time next week, he will likely be rostered in the majority of Yahoo leagues. Don't miss out. 

Thatcher Demko was swiftly placed on IR on Sunday following his injury on Saturday, which means he's out for at least a week. Given how the Canucks' season has been going, there will be no rush to get him back, and that could mean Lankinen gets the bulk of the starts for the rest of the season. He has not been as sharp as he was last season – unsurprisingly – and will provide most of his fantasy value through volume, with third-string rookie Nikita Tolopilo serving as his understudy. 

No word on when Tom Wilson will return, but Leonard has been thriving lately playing L2 on a kid line with Justin Sourdif and and the first power-play unit. Leonard provides goal-scoring upside with shots and hits, and in his past six games, he has scored two goals and five assists. At this rate, Leonard could be a hold for the rest of the season if he can get regular top six minutes. 

Yurov steps in as the Minnesota Wild's top center with Joel Eriksson Ek injured, and he played 18:16 in a 4-3 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday. Yurov provides modest offensive upside as he continues to develop and gain experience in the NHL, but this is a great spot for potential offensive upside skating between Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. Yurov showed he has some offensive pop during the short-lived hot streak from their all-Russian line with Yurov between Yakov Trenin and Vladimir Tarasenko. 

The big change during Byram's hot streak is the increased shot volume, and the hope is that it continues. Long considered one of the league's best young skating defensemen, Byram has posted underwhelming offensive numbers despite his ability to hold onto the puck and jump up on offense. Now that the Sabres' offense is sharp and humming, Byram has a lot of value for managers looking for points. 

The Canucks have been a wasteland on offense, but there's an opportunity with DeBrusk, who is a very streaky scorer and has scored three goals in six games since his benching on Dec. 29. He's on pace for a career high in shots with four games in Week 15, including two against vulnerable opponents, Ottawa and Columbus. 

Stephenson did not play Saturday to be with his family while awaiting the birth of his child, and Trouba did the same. The 'dad bump' – where a player outperforms in the games following the birth of their child – is real, and there's been plenty of evidence to prove it so. If managers are looking for a potential short-term bump, Stephenson has 15 points in his past 18 games, while Trouba was piling up the points earlier this season and may do so upon his return. 

The word is Tristan Jarry is expected to return in Week 15, which means Ingram's fantasy value will be limited to streaming status. He's alternated starts with Calvin Pickard, though Ingram still has more fantasy value, especially factoring in his two most recent performances (.911 SP).

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