It’s good to plan ahead. Though the NHL season doesn’t open until Oct. 4, it’s never too late to analyze arguably the most important aspect of head-to-head fantasy hockey leagues: the schedule.
In case you missed it, click below for the breakdown of key dates and games played by weekday and month, including an early preview of the Week 1 schedule.
There aren’t any real surprises in 2024-25; Wednesdays remain the league’s most quiet nights while Saturdays are packed with action. The Winter Classic will be played on New Year’s Eve as opposed to New Year’s Day, and the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off means a very truncated February.
Related: 2024-25 Fantasy Hockey League Schedule Analysis
Beyond that, it’s time to focus on the teams to target. Though it won’t make or break your fantasy chances this season, it’s best to keep an idea of which teams will be playing the most games on off-nights (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday). The advantage of having players play on nights where your opponent doesn’t have any could be the difference between winning and losing each week.
Here’s a breakdown of each team’s breakdown of games sorted by day and month. The table is sortable for your convenience.
Monday
Fewest games: Ducks, Bruins, Hurricanes, Senators, Penguins, Blues (5)
Most games: Kings (12)
The Kings are great plays on Mondays when the rest of the league is still asleep, and only five other teams (Sharks, Avs, Utah, Devils and Panthers) play at least 10 games on Monday.
The Ducks play a league-low five games on Mondays but, as they did last season, actually play the majority of their games (44) on off-nights.
The Bruins also play five games on Mondays, but that’s deceptive; they play 62 games on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, meaning fantasy managers might find themselves benching players such as Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha quite a bit. I can see Elias Lindholm being a difficult decision on a lot of those nights because, depending on his role, he’s a borderline No. 1 center.
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Tuesday
Fewest games: Kings (9)
Most games: Bruins (20)
This is typically the day where h2h matchups kick into high gear. Three other teams (Flames, Isles, Blues) play 19 games on Tuesday. The Kings are the only team to have less than 10 games scheduled on Tuesdays.
Wednesday
Fewest games: Blues, Islanders, Blue Jackets, Lightning (3)
Most games: Kings, Maple Leafs (13)
Wednesday is the quietest day of the week with only 216 total games, so having any…