I have to admit, Week 1’s always the most exciting. Despite the shorter-than-normal week with four teams playing only once, it was also our first chance to take stock of this year’s incredible rookie class. Connor Bedard. Adam Fantilli. Zach Benson. Logan Cooley. None of them disappointed.

Week 2 is the week of normalization. I’m willing to bet Auston Matthews doesn’t end the week still on pace to score 246 goals. The Sabres, Panthers, Capitals, Oilers, Kings, Sharks, Kraken and Ducks should win their first games of the season this week. Well, maybe not the Ducks.

While the Ducks’ three opponents – Stars, Coyotes, Bruins – all own a perfect record so far, it’s the Blackhawks who have the hardest schedule with the Leafs, Avs and Knights. Bedard is fun to watch, but this is still not a very good team with Ryan Donato as their top right winger.

The Coyotes, Flames and Wings each play a league-high four games in Week 2, automatically vaulting to the top of the schedule matrix. Admittedly, it is very odd to see the Coyotes at the top of the list. Save it, because it may never happen again this season. The Flames rank second because two of their opponents – Caps and Sabres – have yet to win a game, but they have the hardest schedule with four straight games on the road, including a back-to-back on Thursday and Friday.

There are 24 teams playing three games, but only the Sabres and Kraken play all three at home. That may not be such a blessing for the Sabres, however, because they’re 17-21-4 at home dating back to the previous season. The Kraken were similarly better on the road than at home, but not to the same extent.

Of the teams currently with a perfect record, the Bruins have the best chance to remain unbeaten. They have a four-day break before facing the Sharks on Thursday, then a weekend back-to-back against the Kings and Ducks. That kind of travel – or lack thereof – isn’t so different from playing in their own conference, except the sunnier weather. The Bruins were a huge candidate for regression this season, and we’ve to see it yet.

Here’s your Week 2 schedule:

Pick players from teams at the top of the schedule matrix to maximize games and matchups. Green is good. Red is bad. All advanced stats courtesy naturalstatrick.com. All positions and rostered percentages are courtesy of Yahoo fantasy.

Logan Cooley, C (41% rostered), Sean Durzi, D, Coyotes (57% rostered)

Cooley scored two assists in NHL debut and he’s locked in as the No. 2 center behind Barret Hayton. Durzi is locked in as the power-play quarterback and scored in the season opener. He finished with 23:26 TOI, trailing only Matt Dumba, and both should be good players in a four-game week.

Seth Jarvis, C/RW (46% rostered), Teuvo Teravainen, LW/RW, Hurricanes (34% rostered)

A big season opener for Jarvis with an assist, four shots and seven hits, and he’s getting top-line and PP1 ice time. Teravainen curiously played only 13:09 in the opener despite getting moved to L2 in Andrei Svechnikov’s absence, but his ice time jumped up to 18:09 by the second game. With a goal against the Ducks on Sunday, Teravainen has also scored a goal in every game so far. The Canes’ offense-by-committee approach caps the players at the top, but both Jarvis and Teravainen have a lot of room to grow.

Jonathan Drouin, LW, Avalanche (29% rostered)

The Avs face the Hawks on Thursday and the Canes on Saturday at home, and neither of them have been particularly stout on defense. It’s especially surprising for the Canes, who nearly blew a 3-0 lead against the Kings on Saturday and fell quickly behind the Ducks in the second half of their back-to-back on Sunday.

J.T. Compher, LW/RW, Red Wings (26% rostered)

Compher will get triple-position eligibility soon as their No. 2 center, and despite all jokes about being a third-line player, he’s averaging over 20 minutes per game and starting the season hot with three points in two games. Compher fills multiple categories and the Wings play four games this week.

John Klingberg, D, Maple Leafs (60% rostered)

Klingberg is an add for the rest of the season as the Leafs’ PP QB. He takes over for Morgan Rielly, who isn’t your prototypical point man on the power play, and Klingberg’s skating and puck-moving ability is really helping the Leafs zip the puck around. Through two games, Klingberg has three assists and averaging close to 23 minutes per game.

Vince Dunn, D, Kraken (94% rostered)

Until the Kraken offense wakes up, it’s hard to trust Dunn. His career numbers last season was buoyed by an unsustainable shooting percentage, and all 14 goals were scored at even strength. That’s rare to see, and note Justin Schultz is currently the quarterback on PP1.

Devon Levi, G, Sabres (87% rostered)

The Sabres offense has not been able to bail out what continues to be really poor defense by the Sabres. It was a little surprising to see Levi get consecutive starts after allowing four goals on 26 shots in the season opener, and at some point, either Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen or Eric Comrie will draw in. Until the Sabres tighten up in their zone or their offense wakes up, Levi’s a dicey play against the Lightning, Flames and Isles in Week 2.

(< 50% rostered on Yahoo, on teams with 4 games this week)

Hits/GP

J.J. Moser, D, Coyotes – 3.00
Jeff Petry, D, Red Wings – 3.00
Christian Fischer, RW, Red Wings – 2.50
Nikita Zadorov, D, Flames – 2.00
Liam O’Brien, C, Coyotes – 2.00

Blocks

Jake Walman, D, Red Wings – 4.00
Jordan Oesterle, D, Flames – 4.00
Chris Tanev, D, Flames – 3.50
Josh Brown, D, Coyotes – 3.00
Noah Hanifin, D, Flames – 2.50
Mac Weegar, D, Flames – 2.50

(< 25% rostered on Yahoo)

Ryan O’Reilly, C, Predators (25% rostered)

The offense is a nice surprise. O’Reilly’s shooting rate had dipped in recent seasons, but as the top pivot, he’s averaging three shots and over 21 minutes per game. The Preds will not be a high-scoring team, but O’Reilly’s going to fill a lot of the peripheral categories.

Barrett Hayton, C, Coyotes (14% rostered)

Top-line assignment next to Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz, and also part of PP1. He didn’t score a point in the season opener but played nearly 21 minutes and finished with four shots and nine faceoff wins. He’s criminally under-rostered.

Jamie Drysdale, D, Ducks (14% rostered)

Drysdale and Fowler will split power play duties, but Drysdale is younger and possesses more upside. With an assist in the first period on Sunday, Drysdale has now scored a point in each of the first two games of the season. Missing most of camp due to a contract dispute has not hurt his fantasy value at all.

Gabriel Vilardi, C, Jets (14% rostered)

That RW eligibility is coming, and Vilardi’s fit in seamlessly on the Jets’ top line and PP1. He registered seven shots on goal in the season opener and notched his first point in his second game. Vilardi’s versatility and offensive upside demands your attention.

Sean Couturier, C, Flyers (13% rostered)

Couturier’s already shaping up to be one of the best value picks of the year. He’s showing no rust as the Flyers’ top center despite missing most of the past two seasons due to a back injury. The Flyers can be up and down but Couturier’s averaged 20 minutes and 11 faceoff wins in the first two games.

(< 25% rostered on Yahoo)

Evan Rodrigues, C/LW, Panthers (13% rostered)

A top-line assignment and a four-point effort vaults Rodrigues to the top of the list among performers in Week 1. He should gain RW eligibility soon and he won’t get moved off Aleksander Barkov’s line anytime soon. Rodrigues has a high floor because of his high-volume shooting.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, Panthers (12% rostered)

OEL is a little snakebit with zero points in his first two games but he’s been playing over 70 percent of the power play minutes as their top QB. It’s a very dangerous and talented power play, and OEL should get his first point before long. He’s safe to roster at least until Aaron Ekblad or Brandon Montour return.

Ivan Provorov, D, Blue Jackets (6% rostered)

An injury to Zach Werenski saw Provorov move up to the top PP unit. Provorov can be a polarizing defenseman but he’s been averaging over 23 minutes per game and notched two assists, one hit and four blocked shots Saturday against the Rangers. He can fill all the categories and in line for a bounce-back season after struggling over the past three seasons in Philadelphia.

(< 25% rostered on Yahoo)

Matt Coronato, RW, Flames (6% rostered)

That minus-6 rating is indeed ugly, but with a role on PP1, where he scored his first career goal against the Pens, and a four-game week puts Coronato among the top streamers of the week.

Ryan Donato, RW, Blackhawks (5% rostered)

As long as Donato shares the ice with Bedard, he’s a great streaming play. Donato’s been a presence in front of the net and collecting his points off Bedard’s rebounds. Donato played a season-high 21:31 on Saturday against the Habs and faces little competition as their top right winger. Taylor Hall is expected to play Monday, so their season-opening top line will be intact.

Daniel Sprong, RW, Red Wings (5% rostered)

Sprong has been a hot commodity in fantasy with a goal in consecutive games and eight shots on goal. He’s incredibly streaky and the Wings are stacked on the flanks, so ice time may be hard to come by. Regardless, with a four-game week and a hot hand, Sprong is one of the best streamers of the week.

Nils Hoglander, LW, Canucks (0% rostered)

Hoglander had a mediocre camp, starting in the top six only to eventually drop into the bottom six and in danger of starting the season as a healthy scratch. He’s playing very limited minutes, but through two games he’s scored three points and dished out four hits. There’s a chance he moves up the lineup, potentially to Elias Pettersson’s line, since Conor Garland’s minutes has been limited as well.

Joseph Woll, G, Maple Leafs (19% rostered)

Woll will get the call Monday for his first start of the season. Considering the Hawks’ only elite offensive weapon is Bedard, this should be a relatively easy win for the Leafs. Ilya Samsonov has struggled in the first two games of the season with a .839 SP, and this is Woll’s chance to establish some sort of timeshare.