October 10 Fantasy Hockey Teams to Stream: Jordan Kyrou, Noah Dobson, Joel Eriksson Ek and More

Streamers in fantasy hockey are a little different than other sports. There are usually so few stats that it’s a complete guess who might score on a given day, other than the stars who find the net regularly.

You hope a streaming starting pitcher can give you six innings and six strikeouts; streaming a center usually involves hope for volume rebounds and blocks, with points a byproduct of the former.

Football is the easiest fantasy sport in which to stream because you only need to set your lineup once per week for all players rather than worrying about day-to-day management. Some fantasy leagues in other sports also set weekly lineups, but I’m more interested in fantasy hockey leagues in which owners set their lineup every day.

The best streamers are the players most likely to put up numbers. Those potential stats are usually tied to the matchup, and it sometimes includes an expanded role, even for just one game, due to injury or another circumstance.

Rather than try to guess which individual will score a goal, I’m focused more on the teams that offer the best opportunity for opposing players.

The Process

I started with a very simple “formula”: Find teams that were in the top 10 in both most goals against and shots against last season. It will become a more complicated process when we get more games and more information about this year’s squads.

This is far, far from perfect, and using last season's numbers is always a risky proposition, as players, coaches, and schemes change year to year. It’s an easy way to find players who might have the best chance of scoring or grabbing an assist, though, as targeting teams that allow goals is the best way to rack up fantasy points.

Today, let’s look at five teams with good matchups based on the stats from 2023-24 and identify some players who were involved last year and return this season.

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens faced the third-most shots and allowed the sixth-most goals last season. Another positive from targeting these teams is that they’re usually low in the standings, meaning your guys get a bump in +/- probability. Every little bit counts.

The Bruins were close to the middle in both shots and goals last season. They lost to the Panthers 6-4 on opening night but now see a better matchup and maybe a better chance to excel.

Players of note

• Right wing David Pastrnak led the team in goals, assists, and points last year by a wide margin. He scored in the opener and had a team-high five shots.
• Wing Brad Marchand (67) and centers Charlie Coyle (60) and Pavel Zacha (59) were the only other players with over 50 points. Centers Elias Lindholm and John Beecher are other names to know.
• The most used defensemen last season were Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, and Brandon Carlo. McAvoy scored a goal and had an assist Tuesday night, and Lindholm had an assist of his own.
• Zacha and center Trent Frederic scored goals in the opener. Beecher, wing Justin Brazeau, and defender Andrew Peeke all had assists.

Minnesota Wild vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus allowed the second-most shots and goals per game in 2023-24 (we’ll get to the team who was first). Minnesota was a little below average in both shots and goals per game, the type of team that’s only worth focusing on with the right matchups, like this one.

It will be the first game of the season for both the Blue Jackets and Wild, so we only have previous years off which to judge. That makes it tough to really get a feel for current rosters, but that’s the unknown of the early season that every fantasy owner faces.

Players of note

• Jonas Brodin and Brock Faber were the defensemen most on the ice last season, with Jacob Middleton a little behind (among guys who played at least 20 games). Faber was fifth on the team in points, Brodin ninth, and Middleton 10th.
• Left wing Kirill Kaprizov led the team in goals (46) and points (96) by a large margin and was second in assists (one short of right wing Mats Zuccarello).
• Center Joel Eriksson Ek, left wing Matt Boldy, and Zuccarello each had between 60-70 points; Faber and center Marco Rossi were between 40-50 points. Each guy will probably be expected to have similar stats this year with development, luck, and injury the great unknowns.

New York Islanders vs. Utah Hockey Club

I hate this “Utah Hockey Club” thing; they couldn’t have just been the Utah Coyotes for a few years? What opponents won’t hate is that Utah (Arizona last season) faced the ninth-most shots and allowed the eighth-most goals in 2023-24.

The Islanders were a little below average with both shot and goal numbers, right around 20th in each. We haven’t seen New York in action yet this season, but Utah started hot with a 5-2 win over the Blackhawks on opening night (Chicago is another team we’ll be targeting early in the season).

Players of note

• The four most used defensemen from last year are all back: Noah Dobson, Ryan Pulock, Alexander Romanov, and Adam Pelech. Dobson led the team with 60 assists and was second with 70 points.
• Center Mathew Barzal was second with 57 assists and led the team with 80 points.
• Centers Brock Nelson and Bo Horvat had 69 and 68 points, respectively, each split almost evenly between goals and assists.
• Forward Kyle Palmieri was the only other player with more than 40 points (54).

Pittsburgh Penguins @ Detroit Red Wings

Detroit faced the seventh-most shots and allowed the ninth-most goals last year. Pittsburgh was sixth in most shot attempts but only 18th in goals, shooting more than scoring. It’s encouraging to see a team put the puck on net, though, as that’s the way you score goals.

The Red Wings haven’t played yet, but Pittsburgh had a dubious start to their season, dropping last night’s game to the Rangers 6-0. More than last night’s result, the most noteworthy thing so far might be the veterans still in Pittsburgh.

Players of note

• Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are still going at 37 and 38 years old, respectively. Crosby was -2 and Malkin -3 on Wednesday, combining for just three shots.
• Anthony Beauvillier led the team with six shots; fellow wing Michael Bunting was second with five shots. Beauvillier was -1 and Bunting -2.
• Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, and Marcus Pettersson were the most used defensemen last season, and they are all back. Letang and Karlsson each topped 50 points while Pettersson had 30 (each was around 80% assists).

St. Louis Blues @ San Jose Sharks

I said there was one team worse than the Blue Jackets in terms of shots and goals allowed per game last season, and here they are. San Jose was the most attacked unit in 2023-24, which led to them being the worst team in the league, with the least wins and points and the most losses.

St. Louis was in the bottom 10 in both shots and goals last season. They were a team that was very dependent on the matchup outside of their stars.

The Sharks haven’t played a game yet; the Blues won 3-2 over the Kraken on opening night. Things picked up where they left off last year, with center Jordan Kyrou, last year’s top Blue in goals and points, scoring twice.

Players of note

• Kyrou is their top offensive threat, having scored 11 more goals than second-place winger Pavel Buchnevich (who was also second in points).
• Centers Robert Thomas and Brayden Schenn each had 65 points with around 20 goals and 45 assists. Defenseman Justin Faulk was the only other player above 40 points (50).
• Faulk, Colton Parayko, and Nick Leddy were the defenders with the most time on the ice. The latter two had about half the number of points and assists as Faulk.