Hutch's Hockey: Final Week Streamers

This is the final push for your fantasy hockey season. If you've got a chance at a title, this is the time to go all out over the final four days to secure it. 

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire: Streaming Players Tips and Tricks

Even if you don't typically employ it as a strategy, this is the best time of year to stream players in redraft formats. You don't have to worry about holding onto a promising player anymore, especially once their season is over. The extreme example of this is dumping all your Avalanche players Monday -- they're the only team whose regular season ends Sunday. I did that in a couple of places when I saw Nathan MacKinnon (undisclosed) was going to be out, especially since it cleared a spot for me to get Joel Eriksson Ek back in action. 

Since the focus is now on short-term options, I'll take a look at players who should be good targets for each day left on the schedule. Things can change quickly this time of year -- lots of players who have played through injuries can be shut down at a moment's notice, and those on playoff teams may be rested at times, so always make sure to have a few options available before making a move. 

Monday

Monday's slate has six games, two of which are between two eliminated teams already. 

At forward, I like Jack McBain versus the Sharks. The Utah forward has five points over six contests in April, and he's added 24 hits, 10 shots on net and a plus-3 rating. He's also seeing time on the second power-play unit. He's been a wrecking ball all season with 287 hits over 80 contests, and he should be riding high after setting a career high in points (27) with his two-assist effort Saturday versus the Stars. 

On defense, it's worth taking a look at Sam Rinzel of the Blackhawks in their game versus the Canadiens. Rinzel has quickly ascended to a top-pairing role with Chicago, not that there was much competition on a young blue line. Since debuting after a 32-point effort in 40 games with the University of Minnesota, the 20-year-old blueliner has racked up three assists, 16 shots on net, 10 hits and a plus-2 rating. It's the minutes that encourage me the most, however -- he's averaging 22:48 per game and seeing power-play time over Artyom Levshunov and Alex Vlasic. 

Karel Vejmelka remains a solid option for those in need of a goalie, and he'll likely start either Monday versus the Predators or Tuesday versus the Blues. If he gets the nod Monday, it would be his 24th consecutive start, though there's a chance Utah will save him for Tuesday when he would have an opportunity to make things more difficult for the Blues. In any case, fantasy managers looking for extra saves could benefit from picking him up for one more start -- and there's still a small chance he plays both of Utah's final two games. Vejmelka starting Monday would be a best-case scenario against a Predators team that has struggled all year, though he took a shootout loss against them Thursday. 

Tuesday

With 10 games Tuesday, this is the last busy day on the schedule. There will be some two-game options left at this point, but it's fine to add a player for one good matchup and replace them later. 

It's worth considering Kent Johnson in the Blue Jackets' game versus the Flyers on Tuesday. Johnson has a goal and nine assists over eight contests in April, and he's added 10 shots on net and a plus-5 rating in that span. More importantly, the Flyers have surrendered 41 goals over their last 10 games. The Blue Jackets may still have something to play for Tuesday if the results go their way, but Johnson is following up his strong start to 2024-25 with an impressive finish in a top-six role. 

The Blues have been a reliable source of scoring from the blue line this year, with as many as four fantasy-relevant defensemen. None of them have been elite scorers, but I'm taking a look at Cam Fowler for Tuesday's game versus Utah. This will be the Blues' regular-season finale, and after their shootout loss to the Kraken on Saturday, they could be pressured by the Flames for the last wild-card spot. Fowler has nine points over his last nine games, though he's gone without a point in his last three outings. He should benefit from having Colton Parayko back from a knee injury on the top pairing, so give Fowler a look if you need offense Tuesday. If you're looking for more well-rounded production, Parayko is a good alternative. Speaking of injuries, don't forget to check RotoWire's NHL Injury Report and Injury News page to track the status of players like Parayko. 

The Kings have a back-to-back set Monday versus the Oilers and Tuesday versus the Kraken. It's unclear how they'll approach that with their goalies. Normally, it would be smart to play the stronger goalie against the stronger opponent, but it's possible the Kings want to avoid showing Darcy Kuemper to the Oilers, their first-round playoff opponent. Given the Oilers' injury woes and the Kraken's lackluster offense, it's a good time to consider David Rittich in whichever matchup he plays. Rittich's playing time has been limited -- he's 4-2-2 over eight games since the start of February, and his 2.93 GAA and .893 save percentage in that span don't scream confidence. Rittich can be a source of wins, and if he starts Monday versus the Oilers, he could also get the nod Thursday against the Flames if the Kings want to manage Kuemper's workload. In any case, it's a safe bet Rittich will start at least once. 

Wednesday

Wednesday's six-game slate features five matchups between one playoff team and one eliminated team. That leads to lots of potential for favorable usage, especially if the playoff teams rest players and have role players elevated. It's tough to project who will rest two days ahead of time, but 10 of the 12 teams will be in their regular-season finales, so it's safe to assume there will be some changes. 

I really like Connor Brown versus the Sharks. Due to the Oilers' brutal run of injuries, Brown has been elevated to a top-line spot alongside Connor McDavid. A lot can change between now and Wednesday, but those injuries are preventing the Oilers from resting as many players as they'd like. McDavid is just a couple of games back from his own lower-body injury, but he hasn't missed a beat, and Brown is benefiting with four goals over the last three games. That's gold in a matchup versus the league's worst team. 

While the Golden Knights will be on the second half of a back-to-back, Brayden McNabb is a solid option for Wednesday versus the Canucks. The hard-nosed defenseman has three points, a plus-2 rating, 12 hits and 16 blocked shots over seven games in April. The Golden Knights are dealing with absences for Alex Pietrangelo (undisclosed) and Nicolas Hague (illness) heading into the final week, so it's possible they may not be able to rest any blueliners, leaving McNabb in the lineup to pile up hits and blocks while seeing top-four minutes. 

Casey DeSmith has been in the skids recently, allowing 15 goals over a 0-2-1 stretch while sharing the crease with Jake Oettinger. Given the recent workload pattern, it's probable DeSmith will get the nod versus the Predators on Wednesday after Oettinger makes his last regular-season start Monday versus the Red Wings. DeSmith is a little risky given his recent performance, but the matchup is favorable enough for me to be willing to take the risk. 

Thursday

The final day of the regular season features seven games, six of which are exclusively among Eastern Conference teams. 

Will Cuylle is a name to keep an eye on, especially facing the Lightning on the last day of the season. The Lightning have set their goaltending pattern for Jonas Johansson to play Thursday, assuming they rest Andrei Vasilevskiy to keep him fresh ahead of the postseason. That makes Cuylle a strong option in fantasy, as he'll rack up plenty of hits and should be a threat to score while seeing top-six minutes and power-play time. Cuylle enters this week with four points over his last three games, and he's achieved a 20-goal season already. Even if the Rangers rest players, Cuylle is young enough to stick in the lineup for the finale instead of getting bumped aside for prospects. 

Denton Mateychuk has a bright future ahead of him as part of the Blue Jackets' defense. A lot of things will need to go right for them to still be in contention come Thursday, but Mateychuk has been playing well lately. He has six points, 13 shots on net, 16 blocked shots and 11 hits over his last 10 games. Mateychuk is playing in a top-four role with power-play usage, and Thursday's matchup versus the Islanders offers him one more taste of NHL action before he likely returns to the AHL to play during Cleveland's playoff run. 

James Reimer has been an improbable starter late in the season, but he's earned the spot by outplaying Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. If Reimer starts Thursday versus the Flyers, he could be a difference maker on the last day of the season for fantasy managers, as he is one of the most widely available goalies with a favorable matchup for that day. Reimer is 7-3-0 with 30 goals allowed over his last 10 outings, starting in 10 of the Sabres' 14 games leading into this week. Seven of those goals came against the Lightning on Sunday. I don't like Reimer for this week if he only starts Tuesday versus the Maple Leafs -- getting the nod Thursday is critical to his late-season fantasy value. 

With that, this is the last column for me this season. Keep an eye out for all of the RotoWire postseason coverage, as well as the usual fare of offseason content from the whole crew in the coming months. Hopefully, your streamers this week will help you set off some streamers of a celebratory kind by the end of the week. Good luck in these last few days!

Stuck between two players available on the waiver wire? Check out the NHL Player Comparison Tool or the NHL Trending Players to help break the tiebreaker on your waiver wire decisions.