Fantasy Hockey Head-to-Head Week 4 Primer

The big takeaway for Week 4 is a two-game Tuesday, which is usually one of the busier nights of the week. The NHL doesn’t seem to want to compete with Halloween, which means Monday’s packed with nine games before it gets busy again on Thursday with 12 games and Saturday with 15 games.

That means Tuesday, Friday and Sunday will feature just two games each. It goes without saying that these are the days to target if you want to gain an edge, or catch up if you’re falling behind. Wednesday is similarly light with four games, with two teams playing the first half of their back-to-back.

In total, there are eight teams playing back-to-back in Week 4, and that’s important because eight other teams are playing just two games. Those eight teams with light schedules will be the ones to avoid since they won’t be getting you any quantity, and only two of them – Avalanche and Capitals – have a winning record, so you’re not missing out on much quality, either.

After Week 3’s Frozen Frenzy on Tuesday, the league does not have a full slate again until Saturday, Jan. 13. Between now and the end of calendar 2023, there are only two days that will feature 15 games – this coming Saturday and Friday, Nov. 24.

Here’s your Week 4 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.

Points percentages as of Saturday.

Thatcher Demko, G, VAN (91% rostered)

It’s not being talked about enough that the Canucks have not allowed a goal at 5-on-5 for two straight games. With a top-notch pairing in Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek, they’re now actually giving Demko some actual help rather than hoping he bails them out. The expected start Thursday in San Jose should be the easiest win they’ll get all season.

Joseph Woll, G, TOR (70% rostered)

He’s got to be the starter, right? It’s not an easy week with the Kings and Bruins, but look for Woll to possibly get two of three starts. Ilya Samsonov should work back into the starter’s crease at some point this season – it’s still early – but Woll’s the No. 1 right now.

Frank Vatrano, C/LW, ANA (65% rostered)

No goal scorer is hotter than Vatrano right now, who already has two hat tricks and on pace to score 82 goals. Obviously, he won’t do that, but there’s a high floor given Vatrano’s high-volume shooting.

Clayton Keller, LW/RW, ARI (97% rostered)
Nick Schmaltz, C/RW, ARI (36% rostered)

This is a good opportunity to stack one of the league’s dynamic duos with the Coyotes playing four games this week. With the Hawks, Ducks and Habs on the docket, this shouldn’t be a difficult schedule even though the Yotes have had trouble winning games lately. Both Keller and Schmaltz are on four-game point streaks and Schmaltz is on a point-per-game pace (again).

Elias Lindholm, C, CGY (82% rostered)

After a hot start, Lindholm has now gone four games without a point and doesn’t look much like the No. 1 center two seasons ago. It’s not all on him since the Flames have struggled, but with only two games in Week 4 facing Jake Oettinger and the red-hot Joey Daccord, points are going to be hard to come by.

David Perron, LW/RW, DET (64% rostered)

Perron’s been Mr. Consistent but he’s now gone three games without a point, his second such streak of the season. His ice time has dipped as he’s now moved off J.T. Compher and Andrew Copp’s line, and now finds himself with youngsters Joe Veleno and Daniel Sprong. He might not be giving up much offensive upside now that he’s playing with Sprong and Veleno, who’s second on the team with five goals, but ice time has dipped below 14 minutes per game. It’s a tough schedule facing Ilya Sorokin, the Panthers on the road and then the Bruins, none of which are on off-days (Tuesday, Friday, Sunday).

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

Hits/GP

Paul Cotter, C, VEG – 3.78
Keegan Kolesar, RW, VEG – 3.00
Nicolas Deslauriers, LW, PHI – 3.00
Jack McBain, C, ARI – 2.86
Liam O’Brien, C, ARI – 2.29

Blocks/GP

Alec Martinez, D, VEG – 4.00
Josh Brown, D, ARI – 3.33
Brayden McNabb, D, VEG – 3.00
Nick Seeler, D, PHI – 2.00
Jani Hakanpää, D, DAL – 1.67

(< 25% rostered on Yahoo)

Sean Couturier, C, PHI (21% rostered)

Couturier’s back on the score sheet with three points in two games and slowly gaining steam in fantasy value again. After going undrafted in most leagues this season, he’s now rostered in over one-fifth of leagues and climbing. He’s scored seven points in eight games and linemate Cam Atkinson is also scoring goals again.

(< 25% rostered on Yahoo)

Sam Bennett, C, FLA (23% rostered)

Bennett was reportedly close to making his season debut Saturday against the Kraken but instead looks like he’ll play Monday in Boston. He’s a multi-category contributor and, though it’s unclear where he’ll play in the lineup, Bennett was their No. 2 center for much of last season.

Wyatt Johnston, C, DAL (18% rostered)

A four-game week works in Johnston’s favor, along with four points in three games. With 12 shots and six blocks, Johnston’s been contributing in multiple categories and, hopefully, his recent scoring spike is a sign of things to come. He’s facing defensively porous teams this week against the Jackets, Oilers and Flames.

Sean Monahan, C, MTL (18% rostered)

An early candidate for comeback player of the year, Monahan’s scored in consecutive games, gone from less than five percent rostered to almost 20 percent rostered in less than a week and playing tons of minutes under Martin St-Louis. His 82 faceoff wins ranks 17th in the league.

Cam Atkinson, RW, PHI (16% rostered)

Atkinson’s scoring goals with regularity once again. His ice time yo-yo’s, but that’s normal with any John Tortorella team, who insists on giving his best performers the most ice time no matter what line or role they play. Atkinson’s playing L1 and PP1 with Couturier.

Joey Daccord, G, SEA (5% rostered)

If you’re short on goalies, you might want to think about holding Daccord for the entire season. He’s started three straight games with a .912 SP on the season, easily outplaying Philipp Grubauer. The drawback with Daccord is the Kraken’s play; they’re routinely getting outshot and have no offensive firepower to provide much goal support.

(< 25% rostered on Yahoo)

Ryan Strome, LW/RW, ANA (13% rostered)

Strome’s riding the coattails of Vatrano’s hot streak and the strong play of Mason McTavish. Moving from center to right wing has been really good for Strome, who’s only gone two games without a point this season. Strome’s on pace for career highs, but we’ll see if he can keep this up considering his career high is 59 points.

Paul Cotter, C, VEG (12% rostered)

Cotter’s been very popular lately, starting from one percent rostered at the beginning of the season. His scoring comes and goes – though it’s a nice schedule this week with three home games – but at the very least, you get a lot of hits. Cotter’s great in 14-team banger leagues.

Matias Maccelli, LW, ARI (5% rostered)

Maccelli’s on a four-game point streak and you should capitalize on a four-game week while he’s hot. He still doesn’t shoot the puck much and he can be really streaky, but it’s a low-risk play since Maccelli can be dropped without consequence once his streak ends.

Joel Farabee, LW, PHI (4% rostered)
Bobby Brink, RW, PHI (2% rostered)

Farabee and Brink have become a nice pairing with Noah Cates at center. It gives the Flyers a very young, promising line with a lot of scoring potential; it’s at least better than Travis Konecny’s line with Scott Laughton and Tyson Foerster, neither of whom have scored a goal. The Sabres defense and goaltending – despite a shutout from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen against the Avs on Sunday – has been questionable so far this season and the Flyers play them twice in Week 4.

Joel Hofer, G, STL (3% rostered)

With a back-to-back at home on Friday and Saturday, look for Hofer to start at least one the games. Hopefully, it’s Saturday against the Habs rather than Friday against the Devils. If that’s the case, Hofer can be a great streaming option coming off a 27-save shutout in his last game and might be able to demand more playing time from Jordan Binnington if he plays well.