2025-26 NHL Fantasy Hockey Week 18 Primer and Pickups: Olympic Break Throws Wrench In Schedule

This could arguably be the most frustrating week of the fantasy season due to the schedule alone.

Week 18 on Yahoo will be broken up by the Olympic break and, as a result, Week 18 will run from Monday to Thursday before the break, and then Wednesday to Sunday after the break.

There will be no adjustments to any league’s transaction limits or minimum goalie starts despite the extended matchup, and a three-week break where players could get injured at the Olympics, and injured players have time to heal before the NHL returns to play.

The Olympic break could feature some significant changes to rosters when NHL play resumes. Will we see the return of key players from injury, such as Leo Carlsson, Robert Thomas, Brayden Point and William Karlsson? And is it possible someone gets hurt like Shea Theodore and Charlie McAvoy when they played in the 4 Nations Face-Off?

If the Rangers can’t deal Artemi Panarin before the Olympic trade freeze, does he potentially miss an additional four games after the break until the March 6 trade deadline?

If you want to maximize the four days before the Olympic break, the Sabres, Panthers, Predators, Islanders, Senators, Penguins and Capitals all play three games. Only the Ducks, Bruins and Rangers play once.

The gold-medal game will be played on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 8:10 a.m. EST, and the NHL will resume on Wednesday. It’s a relatively short turnaround considering the travel involved, and the back-to-backs start right off the bat with 18 teams doing so. The Sharks and Kings get the best deal, however, because their three-games-in-four-nights stretch is all played at home.

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.

Fantilli had two assists in three games last week, which wasn’t bad, but note Sean Monahan left Saturday’s game after two periods and did not return due to illness.

If Monahan can’t play, Fantilli should see increased minutes, and he’s got two favorable matchups against the Devils and Blackhawks, neither of whom has been particularly good defensively. He’s been delivering a lot of hits lately, too, with at least four hits in four of his past six games.

McCann’s back on one of his heaters with six goals and four assists in six games, even with ice time capped at just over 16 minutes per game.

The Kraken will have a back-to-back before and after the Olympic break, so McCann fits the bill as a potential streamer. With the Kraken potentially bolstering their offense with another center, it might give McCann a boost and make him worth holding for the rest of the season.

That’s now goals in four straight games for Duchene, and two very easy matchups ahead on home ice against the Blues and Jets before the Olympic break. His return has been somewhat muted on such a deep offense, but he’s proven he can put up good numbers in spite of it. Perhaps this is a good sign that Duchene’s play is really improving, and at the very worst, he’s a viable streamer.

Troy Terry is expected to return on Sunday, which is good for the Ducks' offence overall, and as long as Mason McTavish and/or Leo Carlsson are out, Granlund will see a lot of ice time.

He played over 24 minutes in a hat-trick performance and then 22 minutes against the Canucks, and linemate Beckett Sennecke has scored five points in three games. Increased ice time and an offense that’s found its groove again make Granlund a valuable fantasy asset, especially with triple-position eligibility.

Mantha is streaky but potentially worth holding onto in deeper leagues if you can ride through the cold spells. With five goals in four games, Mantha’s on one of his benders again, and the Pens will play six games in Week 18. Mantha has been featured in this column periodically this season, and for the most part, he’s delivered.

Coyle’s three-game heater - scoring five goals and nine points - ended Saturday against the Blues, but one game won’t end Rick Bowness’ affinity for the big checking center.

If the Jackets can’t re-sign Coyle, they could showcase him for other teams, and note Monahan’s absence could potentially open up more ice time for Coyle. He’s generally not known for his offense but it’s hard to deny how effective he’s been. Long term, I don’t trust Coyle to continue to be putting up numbers akin to a top-six center.

We’re getting closer to Pierre-Luc Dubois’ return, and it’ll be interesting to see where Sourdif slots. So far, though, he’s been a very good multi-category contributor with three games before the Olympic break and then three more after in Week 18.

Over the past month, no Caps player has averaged more points per game than Sourdif (1.08). He’s riding a sky-high shooting percentage, but the floor is pretty good with shots, hits and faceoff wins.

Without Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm, Khusnutdinov is now their top center with Poitras making his season debut. Khusnutdinov is the obvious play serving as the first-line center between David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie, though his ice time hasn’t really increased heading into Sunday’s Stadium Series matchup.

He scored at a sub-20-point pace with the Jackets earlier this season but is now averaging half a point per game with the Pens, and also shooting the puck a lot more.

A change of scenery has been good for Chinakhov, who seems to have pretty good chemistry with countryman Evgeni Malkin and is also getting a few shifts on the top power-play unit. The Pens play a league-high six games in Yahoo’s extended Week 18 matchup, with two games against rival teams faring rather poorly – the Devils and Rangers.

Palat’s only an option if you’re looking for a streamer in the deepest of leagues, and note his ice time has increased steadily since joining the Isles, going from 11:53 in his first game to 17:31 against the Preds in his third game, and recording at least one shot per game.

He barely shot the puck with the Devils, and certainly being in a secure top-six role helps. Palat’s been such a non-factor in fantasy that it’s hard to trust him even with more ice time, but his fantasy value certainly has increased since the trade.

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