With approximately 23 weeks in the fantasy hockey season, we’re just about halfway at Week 10. There will be 12 teams playing a weekly high of four games, with the Rangers and Capitals playing just twice.

Week 10 is really light on the less busy nights on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, though there remains a number of back-to-back with this season’s condensed schedule. If you want to target teams on the less busy nights, it's the Kraken and Mammoth. 

Some highlights in Week 10 include a back-to-back, home-and-home series between the Canes and Flyers on the weekend, the Lightning and Oilers passing through Canadian hockey mecca in Toronto and Montreal, and the Red Wings and Sabres making their annual trek across western Canada. 

Based on points percentage, the Avs have the easiest schedule because they play the Preds twice, and it’s one of those weeks where a player such as Avs winger Artturi Lehkonen may have more value than Kraken sniper Jared McCann even though Lehkonen plays one fewer game.

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.

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

Carter Verhaeghe, LW, FLA (64% rostered)

If Verhaeghe is still available in your league, be sure to roster him. A tough start to the season saw Verhaeghe’s rostered percentage dip to around 50 percent, but his recent scoring binge with six goals in his past six games – four in his past three since becoming a father – puts him back on the fantasy radar. His 10.8 shooting percentage for the season is creeping closer to his career average, which hints that his scoring streak may continue. I’m not sure if there’s any scientific data for this, but it seems like players tend to go on a scoring binge following the birth of their child.

Josh Norris, C, BUF (34% rostered)

When healthy, as he is now, Norris provides goals, face-off wins and hits. He’s scored five points in three games upon his return, and though they’re playing on separate lines now, he often shares the ice with Tage Thompson. The biggest risk with Norris in injuries, but he’s a low-cost pickup right now for top-six and PP1 upside on a talented team.   

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

Gabriel Landeskog, LW, COL (49% rostered)

The points have stopped coming in but I am still encouraged by the ice time, shot volume and some peripheral stats including face-off wins. I think any top-six forward on the Avs will have some fantasy value due to their No. 1-ranked offense, though it is a little bewildering how their even-strength scoring is so much better than their power play.

Patrick Kane, RW, DET (40% rostered)

I’m a big believer that Kane can still be really valuable in points leagues. His sublime skill remains on display on nightly basis and now enters Week 10 with a four-game points streak that has a good chance of being extended with trips to Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton coming up.

Elias Lindholm, C, BOS (28% rostered)

L1 and PP1 roles for Lindholm, and eight assists in five games should garner plenty of attention in fantasy. Even with David Pastrnak out of the lineup, the Bruins offense has managed to keep scoring goals. While Lindholm’s lack of shots caps his fantasy value, he is still their top center with two favorable matchups coming up in St. Louis and Winnipeg.

Mats Zuccarello, RW, MIN (22% rostered)

The Wild offense has sputtered lately but I still like Zuccarello as an option for points. Like Kane, Zuccarello is an elite playmaker who can still make plays despite being one of the older players in the league, and he’s been very reliable skating opposite Kirill Kaprizov. When Marco Rossi returns, I think it’ll maximize this line's potential. 

Nick Paul, C/LW, TB (6% rostered)

The Lightning are understandably having some trouble scoring with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov injured. Dominic James, who has been their 2C, is dealing with an ailment, so we could see Paul move back to center and see increased minutes. He’s more of a matchup center than a scoring center, but he’s helped pick up some of the slack on offense averaging two shots per game with five points in his past six games.

Drew Doughty, D, LA (45% rostered)
Brandt Clarke, D, LA (23% rostered)

Long term, the play is Clarke, but in the short term, it’s Doughty. The Kings are finally playing with a defenseman on their power play units, though it’s frustrating Doughty remains on the top unit when Clarke has more offensive upside. Whoever gets that job on PP1 will have superior fantasy value.  

Tristan Jarry, G, PIT (49% rostered)

Jarry’s had a string of strong performances since his return, and the Pens continue to be a pretty tough team to play against with a better-than-expected defense. Arturs Silovs has really taken a backseat with Jarry getting the majority of the starts, and should that be the case going forward, Jarry will have plenty of fantasy value for volume saves and some wins. He’s won nine of his 11 starts entering Sunday’s game with a 2.61 GAA and .913 SP.

Jakub Dobes, G, MTL (37% rostered)

Dobes has started three straight games, including both games of a back-to-back over the weekend after Sam Montembeault fell ill before Sunday’s game. Should Montembealt miss an extended period of time, look for Dobes to get the majority of the starts with Kaapo Kahkonen serving as the backup.

Dennis Hildeby, G, TOR (20% rostered)

With Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz both out, look for Hildeby to get the starts. He’s shown that he can be a quality goalie; the only issue going forward will be consistency. With the Leafs turning their play around recently with four wins in their past six, Hildeby should be able to provide plenty of saves and some wins.

Brandon Bussi, G, CAR (18% rostered)

With each passing loss for Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov, who returned to the lineup but lost Sunday to the Sharks, the more I think Bussi’s fantasy value will keep rising. He’s won eight of his nine starts this season and really deserves a longer look. The Canes are really good at suppressing shots, so saves is not something their goalies really provide in large volumes, but they are certainly capable of winning plenty of games.  

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

Jamie Benn, C/LW, DAL (26% rostered)

Matt Duchene returned to the lineup and the Stars will likely juggle the lines as they bring him back up to speed, but for the time being, Benn continues to play a top-six role. He scored his fourth goal of the season in his 11th game since returning from injury Sunday against the Pens. Benn can be a good streaming option while he’s in this role but once the scoring binge stops, he’ll have little fantasy value.

Alex Steeves, BOS (2% rostered)

Steeves is making the most of his opportunities skating L1 with Lindholm and Geekie. A proven scorer in the AHL, Steeves is getting his first big opportunity with Pastrnak out of the lineup. He’s scored four points in his past three games and also provides plenty of hits for added value.

Carter Hart, G, VGK (37% rostered)

Hart did not dress Friday against the Devils likely due to some fatigue and wear-and-tear following his (very busy) season debut on Tuesday, but he did draw the start against the Rangers on Sunday. With the Knights winning games again and Akira Schmid posting a shutout following Hart’s first win, it looks like the Knights will go with a rotation until one of them starts outplaying the other.

Adin Hill’s original timeline is to return in December, but there is no return date set. When Hill returns, it’ll be interesting to see how the Knights handle their rotation. In the interim, Hart has some fantasy value playing behind a good team and also showed that he can still be a quality goalie.

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