October 31 Fantasy Hockey Teams to Stream: Ryan O'Reilly, Darnell Nurse, Jake Neighbours and More
Six teams who have good matchups on Halloween and the players on those teams who are most involved.
Happy Halloween! October 31 is a huge date as a kid, and it even holds significance as a young adult for the costume parties if nothing else. As you get older, though, it’s worse than most days because people are running all over the place and ruining your peace and quiet.
Before I start yelling about my yard, let’s look at six NHL teams with good (or decent) matchups on Thursday and the players on those teams who are most involved. I try to not list injured players, but always check the actives/inactives before game time to be sure everyone in your lineup is playing.
Not everyone listed below will be available, but it’s good to compare usage across the same team. All team and individual stats are from NHL.com.
St. Louis Blues @ Philadelphia Flyers
We’ll start with a game where we can target both teams. The Blues are a decent matchup across the board, ranking eighth in most shots allowed per game and 13th in most goals allowed.
The Flyers are a little trickier proposition: They have allowed the third-most goals per game but only the 24th-most shots per game. Goals are better than shots, so I’ll take the opportunity to target Philadelphia as well.
St. Louis’ Top Shooters and Time on Ice
Forwards (Shots/Average Ice Time)
- Jordan Kyrou (31/18:40)
- Brayden Schenn (27/17:42)
- Jake Neighbours (21/16:04)
- Dylan Holloway (19/15:08)
- Pavel Buchnevich (18/18:37)
- Brandon Saad (15/15:59)
- Mathieu Joseph (14/13:05)
Defenders
- Colton Parayko (20/23:34)
- Ryan Suter (13/20:35)
- Justin Faulk (10/23:41)
- Philip Broberg (9/20:22)
Philadelphia’s Top Shooters and Time on Ice
Forwards
- Travis Konecny (29/20:21)
- Owen Tippett (24/17:16)
- Morgan Frost (24/16:10)
- Sean Couturier (20/15:50)
- Matvei Michkov (19/18:53)
- Joel Farabee (16/13:30)
- Bobby Brink (15/11:35)
- Scott Laughton (13/15:06)
Defenders
- Travis Sanheim (26/23:35)
- Rasmus Ristolainen (10/18:24)
- Jamie Drysdale (8/19:40)
- Egor Zamula (7/18:19)
Anaheim Ducks @ Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh is a friend of the article, meaning they show up often; that’s not a good thing for the Penguins. They rank at the top of the league in both most shots allowed and goals allowed per game. There’s not a better matchup right now.
Anaheim’s Top Shooters and Time on Ice
Forwards
- Frank Vatrano (23/15:38)
- Troy Terry (21/16:55)
- Cutter Gauthier (21/14:41)
- Ryan Strome (20/15:37)
- Trevor Zegras (18/16:58)
- Leo Carlsson (18/17:24)
- Mason McTavish (13/16:31)
- Alex Killorn (11/16:42)
Defenders
- Olen Zellweger (20/19:10)
- Brian Dumoulin (11/18:46)
- Cam Fowler (8/21:36)
- Pavel Mintyukov (7/20:49)
- Radko Gudas (4/18:07)
Washington Capitals vs. Montreal Canadiens
Montreal is just a little bit better version of Pittsburgh. The Canadiens have given up the fifth-most shots per game and fourth-most goals per game in this young season.
Washington’s Top Shooters and Time on Ice
Forwards
- Alex Ovechkin (26/18:21)
- Connor McMichael (22/16:11)
- Tom Wilson (19/18:47)
- Pierre-Luc Dubois (17/17:29)
- Aliaksei Protas (16/14:17)
- Andrew Mangiapane (15/13:59)
- Dylan Strome (15/17:40)
Defenders
- John Carlson (20/26:10)
- Trevor van Riemsdyk (17/20:18)
- Jakob Chychrun (14/18:48)
- Rasmus Sandin (9/19:06)
- Martin Fehervary (6/20:07)
Edmonton Oilers @ Nashville Predators
These two teams are both middling options but have a positive profile: They allow goals but not a lot of shots. Goals are better than shots, so hey, we’ll take it!
Edmonton has allowed the seventh-most goals per game and 29th-most shots per game. Nashville is 10th in goals and 23rd in shots allowed. Neither is a great matchup, but you could do worse.
Edmonton’s Top Shooters/Time on Ice
Forwards
- Jeff Skinner (36/14:35)
- Zach Hyman (28/19:28)
- Leon Draisaitl (26/21:04)
- Viktor Arvidsson (20/15:43)
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (18/19:22)
- Connor Brown (18/13:10)
Defenders
- Mattias Ekholm (29/23:00)
- Evan Bouchard (28/24:23)
- Darnell Nurse (24/21:06)
- Brett Kulak (15/17:28)
Nashville’s Top Shooters and Time on Ice
Forwards
- Filip Forsberg (42/19:39)
- Steven Stamkos (30/19:20)
- Jonathan Marchessault (30/18:30)
- Tommy Novak (21/13:14)
- Luke Evangelista (19/12:18)
- Ryan O'Reilly (17/20:53)
- Gustav Nyquist (12/17:27)
Defenders
- Roman Josi (41/26:38)
- Brady Skjei (26/20:51)
- Alexandre Carrier (11/20:01)
- Jeremy Lauzon (7/18:45)
- Luke Schenn (10/14:01)
