2025-26 NHL Fantasy Hockey Week 2 Primer and Pickups

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians and Happy Columbus Day to my fellow Americans.

This is the first time in h2h leagues we’ll get a full week of play, and as a result, no team will play more than four games or fewer than three. It’ll be much easier to manage than Week 1, where I imagine managers were scrambling to fill out their rosters for a last-ditch effort on Sunday with only one game (Capitals at Rangers) and making difficult roster decisions on Thursday (14 games) and Saturday (16 games).

If you want to maximize games played in Week 2, stream players from teams that play twice from Monday to Wednesday (Panthers, Preds, Sens, Wild, Mammoth, Wings, Leafs, Hawks, Lightning, Blues, Flames) and three times from Thursday to Sunday (Bruins, Oilers, Canucks). If you want multi-category coverage with some offensive upside, you might consider streaming Shane Pinto for the first part and Evander Kane for the second part, for example.

If you’re all about streaming players on off-nights (M/W/F/Sun), it’s a pretty good week to do so with the Mammoth, Red Wings and Blackhawks doing just that. I think the Mammoth have a really favorable schedule and the Hawks have looked much better than expected. At a minimum, the Hawks should be able to split the week and win at least two games. The Ducks are normally great for off-nights, but note they’re playing Tuesday and Thursday this week, which is somewhat unusual considering they’re playing at home as well.

We shouldn’t overreact to Week 1, but there are a few things that have already happened, or haven’t happened yet, that I will outline in the recommended pickups below. There are a players worth noting and the list will inevitably get shorter as we move through the first month, but a reminder this is a great time to pick up a potentially season-altering player at a minimal cost.  

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 Saturday evening.

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

Will Smith, C/RW, SJ (43% rostered)

Smith and Macklin Celebrini didn’t get off to a great start but provided three helpers each in a 7-6 overtime loss to the Sharks. The scoring may be sporadic but the upside is immense with Smith and Celebrini playing together.

Elias Lindholm, C, BOS (38% rostered)

Even if the Bruins don’t keep up this pace, Lindholm’s hold on L1 and PP1 is near-unassailable. His shot volume is up, which is a good sign that his scoring pace can be maintained for the next little while and he’s always been of the league’s best for face-off wins.

Jared McCann, C/LW, SEA (31% rostered)

I think the fantasy community is down on the Kraken because they’re a very mid offensive team, but we shouldn’t over look McCann as one of the more reliable 30-goal, 200-shot players out there. He should be rostered in nearly all standard leagues for his offense.  

Marco Rossi, C, MIN (28% rostered)

I still wouldn’t rule out the occasional benching but the Wild are an offensive machine when Rossi’s line with Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov are on the ice. They have a 62.75 percent of the shot share and generate 87 shots per 60 minutes at 5-on-5. I’ve seen enough of Rossi to recommend him be rostered in all leagues for his upside in points.

Frank Nazar, C, CHI (27% rostered)

If Connor Bedard used the naysayers as jet fuel, then Nazar has used it as rocket fuel. He’s up to a goal and five points in three games this season and taken a load off Bedard’s shoulders and emerged as legitimate No. 2 center. This is shaping up to be a huge breakout season for Nazar.

Sam Rinzel, D, CHI (39% rostered)

Do not be surprised if the Calder race is an all-defensemen affair this season with Rinzel joining Matthew Schaefer and Zeev Buium. Rinzel skated just 19:03 against the Bruins because he took a hard hit from Nikita Zadorov and took a few shifts off, but he was right back at it next game skating 25:58 and scored his first goal of the season. If you’re still looking for a defensemen, Rinzel’s one of the few top-pairing players available.

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

Brock Boeser, RW, VAN (45% rostered)
Evander Kane, LW, VAN (35% rostered)

Both Kane and Boeser play PP1. Boeser has a bit more upside playing L1 but considering Adam Foote is a big proponent of more physical play – both as a coach and definitely when he was playing – I think he’s taken a liking to Kane because he’s got an edge that the other Canucks wingers don’t. I think Boeser and Kane offer just modest offensive upside – think 60 points – but the Canucks play a league-high four games in Week 2.

Logan Stankoven, C/RW, CAR (38% rostered)

I think the Canes have found their No. 2 center. It’s early still, but if this continues, Stankoven will have plenty of value going forward considering how Rod Brind’Amour likes a lot of familiarity with his lines and spreading out the minutes.

Zachary Bolduc, RW, MTL (21% rostered)

That’s now a goal in three straight games for Bolduc, and with increasing ice time, I think Martin St-Louis has his new favorite player. There’s good shot volume and I get the feeling Bolduc will start pushing for power play time soon.

Matty Beniers, C, SEA (13% rostered)

… maybe? Beniers has scored three points in two games and we’ve been waiting for his offense to come alive. I’m still not sure if this is real or not, but it does look like Beniers has a bit more explosiveness to his game. McCann is the Kraken’s best goal-scoring winger so that’s a good setup for Beniers.

Filip Hronek, D, VAN (36% rostered)

Hronek is a very reliable depth defensemen in multi-category leagues. He skated over 27 minutes Saturday against the Oilers and through two games has five hits and four blocks. He’s averaging over 24 minutes per game and along with Quinn Hughes are the only two Canucks defensemen to average over 20 minutes.

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

Evan Rodrigues, C/LW/RW, FLA (8% rostered)

Lundell and Bennett are the immediate beneficiaries of the ice time left by Aleksander Barkov, but Rodrigues has picked up some of the slack, too. He’s scored three points in three games and his ice time has continued to creep up. The perfect 3-0-0 Panthers have four games on the road with at least two opponents – Sabres and Flyers – who don’t defend very well.

Barrett Hayton, C, UTA (5% rostered)

Word is that Hayton’s return is imminent, and he’ll likely resume his 1C duties with Clayton Keller on his left wing as has been the case for most of last season and training camp. He scored career highs in points (46) and power-play points (15) last season and he’s generally quite good for face-off wins.

Kevin Lankinen, G, VAN (15% rostered)

With the way Thatcher Demko is playing and with the way the Canucks have used him so far, Lankinen might be used like a traditional backup, spelling Demko only if he needs rest – what an expensive one, too, at $4.5 million. Target date is Friday in Chicago where Lankinen might face his former team. He’s never lost to them with a career 3-0-0, .934 SP, 2.00 GAA record.

Jesper Wallstedt, G, MIN (3% rostered)

The Wild have a pair of b2b coming up which means we might see Wallstedt twice in Week 2. He’s a highly-touted goalie coming off a very poor year in the AHL and his NHL career has not gone to plan so far with a .877 SP and 3.44 GAA in five starts. This will be his first real test and the best date for streaming him is Saturday in Philly if he gets that start. The one thing I am confident is the Wild’s offense – it looks like it could be top-five this season – which means plenty of goal support. Wallstedt will need it.