2025-26 NHL Fantasy Hockey Week 3 Primer and Pickups

I’m not sure if this is recency bias, but it seems there are way more injuries to start the season than usual. Sens captain Brady Tkachuk, Rangers center Vincent Trocheck and Devils starter Jacob Markstrom, are the latest to miss an extended period of time, varying from weeks to months.

With the Olympic break coming in February, the 2025-26 schedule is very condensed, and I wonder if the growing list of injured players will be a season-long trend. It’s worth noting there are 20 teams playing back-to-backs in Week 3, even those that play only three times.

With the condensed schedule, there will be lots of opportunities to maximize games played.

It’s possible to load up on a team playing three times from Monday to Thursday, and then on a team playing twice from Friday to Saturday, to give you five games’ worth of production.

Alternatively, you can get a team that plays twice from Monday to Wednesday, and then three times on Thursday to Saturday to achieve the same goal.

Since there are a week-high 13 games being played on Saturday, I'd prefer the first option to cover your three games from Monday to Thursday, giving you the two busiest nights on Tuesday and Thursday for the first part of your "roster parlay" (for lack of a better term). Of the 20 back-to-backs, 10 of them are Saturday-Sunday. 

There are other variations, including getting three games from Monday to Friday, and then picking one of 10 teams playing back-to-back over the weekend. You can get as creative as you want with your roster spots provided you have the available moves. It is even possible to have a single roster spot filled for all seven days though you’d have to be very active and watch matchups carefully.

It's a little unfortunate that the two teams with the easiest opponents based on points percentage, the Rangers and Blackhawks, play very sparingly in Week 3. The Knights have arguably been the league’s best team, but they have a horrible fantasy schedule with a game on Monday against the undefeated Hurricanes, and then take a four-day break before a weekend back-to-back in Florida state. The four-day break is the longest break for any team in Week 3, so if you’re counting on the Knights PP to get points or Adin Hill to get starts, you might have to make alternate plans.

All positions and rostered percentages are courtesy of Yahoo Fantasy.

Schedule

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.

*A previous version of the schedule matrix was missing the Anaheim game at Nashville. Apologies for the error. 

Season-long adds (< 50% rostered on Yahoo)

Jake Neighbours, LW/RW, STL (29% rostered)

The Blues’ latest lines has Neighbours skating on L1 with Robert Thomas, dropping Jimmy Snuggerud to L2. Neighbours has responded in kind with a pair of goals in his past three games. Given his shot volume and hits, I think Neighbours will end up somewhere around 30 goals and 200 hits, giving him plenty of value in multi-category leagues. It’s difficult to project what the Blues’ lines may look like down the road, but it seems like Jim Montgomery wants some size and ruggedness to play with Thomas.

Jet Greaves, G, CBJ (40% rostered)
Elvis Merzlikins, G, CBJ (12% rostered)

I was on the Jackets wagon early last season and I’m an even bigger believer now. The Jackets may have a losing record right now but their goaltending – the biggest question mark coming into 2025-26 – has been solid. Consecutive strong performances from Merzlikins means the Jackets will likely continue to split the starts, though I still think Greaves is the higher upside play. I didn’t think Greaves was sharp against the Lightning, especially on Ryan McDonagh’s long-range wrister, and they didn’t have their best offensive player in Nikita Kucherov, but it was an overall solid performance. This is a change to roster both goalies in what’s been a very underrated tandem, and the Jackets can provide good goal support.

Mid-term holds (< 50% rostered on Yahoo)

Dylan Cozens, C, OTT (46% rostered)

If you’ve got the room – C can be a deep position – Cozens is on a four-game points streak and he’s great for shots, hits and face-off wins. He’s playing L2 with Drake Batherson and PP1. Cozens’ production isn’t too far off from Shane Pinto’s, who’s rostered in more Yahoo leagues than Cozens but plays lower in the lineup on L3/PP2.

Dawson Mercer, C/RW, NJ (10% rostered)

I think we’re slow to come around on Mercer because he’s been off the fantasy radar for multiple seasons now, but it’s worth noting his four-game points streak and the increase in ice time. The Meier-Hischier-Mercer line has been their best even-strength line and Sheldon Keefe’s most used combo, and generate nearly 60 percent of the shot share when they’re on the ice, per naturalstatrick.com. It’s a sign that Mercer’s production may continue.

K’Andre Miller, D, CAR (39% rostered)

Should Shayne Gostisbehere miss additional time after leaving Saturday’s game due to injury, look for Miller to get more PP minutes. Game flow was a factor, but for a team that likes to spread out the minutes, Miller and Sean Walker mopped up most of the remaining minutes, skating more than 26 minutes each. Miller provides multi-category coverage with shots, hits and blocks.

Jake Allen, G, NJ (23% rostered)

Allen should be picked up now. Jacob Markstrom is expected to miss a couple of weeks with an LBI, which means Allen will be the starter for the rest of the month. He’s been excellent with a .934 SP so far, and only play one back-to-back on Tuesday in Toronto and Wednesday against Minnesota, which means as many as five starts for Allen.

Dan Vladar, G, PHI (11% rostered)

I can’t believe my own eyes – the Flyers have good goaltending?! At this point, it’s clear that Vladar has the upper hand in the battle for playing time and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Rick Tocchet commits to Vladar for consecutive starts at some point. I am not sure this hot streak will last but I do see some potential against a banged-up Sens or the offensively-challenged Isles.

Short-term streamers (< 50% rostered on Yahoo)

Shane Wright, C, SEA (5% rostered)

It took three games but Wright’s offense has suddenly woken; he’s scored three points on 11 shots in his past three games. The Kraken have a back-to-back coming up on Monday and Tuesday, which gives managers a chance to get two games out of a red-hot top prospect before ditching him for another player in a low-cost move.

Josh Doan, RW, BUF (4% rostered)

Doan’s been excellent since joining PP1, scoring five points in his past two games, three of which came on the PP. The shot volume has been impressive with 18 shots already, and he provides some hits for added value.

Alex Lyon, G, BUF (10% rostered)

If you need saves, the Sabres allow a ton of shots. Lyon has been the least of their problems and the Sabres offense – with a little luck – has suddenly come alive with 11 goals in two games. Of course, roster Sabres goalies at your own peril but I do see some upside while the Sabres gain momentum.

Jesper Wallstedt, G, MIN (7% rostered)

I’m not convinced the Wild have a ton of confidence in Wallstedt, but with the way Filip Gustavsson has been playing, they may not have a choice. Wallstedt will see at least one game in Week 3 with the Wild playing back-to-back over the weekend, and hopefully it’s the Sunday home date against the Sharks. If Gustavsson continues to struggle, don’t be surprised if Wallstedt sees a little more ice time than anticipated. He’s been surprisingly good so far this season (.909 SP, 2.35 GAA) after a poor showing in the AHL last season.