NHL Power Rankings: Avalanche Lead the Way – Week of [Date]

The Colorado Avalanche began Week 13 with a pair of victories that gave them their second 10-game winning streak of the 2025-26 season. They ended it with just their third regulation loss of the campaign.

The setback marked the official halfway point of the season for the Avalanche, who threatened to break the NHL record for most points through 41 games. Colorado has amassed 69 points with a 31-3-7 record — four fewer than the amount earned by the 1929-30 Boston Bruins, who finished that 44-game campaign at 38-5-1 for 77 points.

While the Avalanche took one on the chin with their 2-1 setback against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Sunday, four teams were undefeated last week while another — the Chicago Blackhawks — went 3-0-1. The Pittsburgh Penguins won all four of their games, including a home-and-home series with the Detroit Red Wings, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Seattle Kraken each posted three victories and the Boston Bruins triumphed twice.

Meanwhile, the Buffalo Sabres kicked off Week 13 with their franchise record-tying 10th consecutive win before falling flat on Saturday with a 5-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets that also ended their seven-game road winning streak.

Six teams couldn’t add to the win column last week, with two of those clubs failing to earn a point. The NHL-worst Winnipeg Jets lost all three of their contests, and the Edmonton Oilers were defeated twice, marking the first time they suffered back-to-back losses since going 0-2-1 from Nov. 17-20.

Each week during the season I’ll rank the league’s top 10 teams based on both the previous week’s performances and overall body of work in 2025-26. I’ll also give brief synopsis for each club that explains why they’re ranked where they are.

Let’s dive into the power ratings entering Week 14 of the 2025-26 NHL season and highlight a few of the teams’ notable accomplishments.

NHL Week 14 power ratings

1. Colorado Avalanche (2-1-0 in Week 13; 31-3-7 overall)

It’s gotten to the point where it’s huge news when the Avalanche fail to earn a point, and it happened on Sunday for only the third time during the first half of the season. Despite the regulation loss at Florida, Colorado owns an 11-point lead in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy and has one more contest on the road before beginning a seven-game stretch at home, where it is 17-0-2. Nathan MacKinnon regained the NHL scoring lead last week after briefly being overtaken by Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, posting back-to-back four-point performances to increase his total to 74 points. The 2024 Hart Trophy winner came up with four straight multi-point efforts before being kept off the score sheet by the Panthers, giving MacKinnon 24 on the season. The 30-year-old center scored three times in Week 13 and tops the league with 35 goals — nine more than Matt Boldy of the Minnesota Wild. It should be noted, however, that NHL goals-against average leader Mackenzie Blackwood (2.07) was placed on injured reserve Friday with a lower-body injury. But the Avs have a very competent backup in Scott Wedgewood, who is second in the league with a 2.17 GAA.

2. Minnesota Wild (1-1-2; 25-11-8)

The Wild squeaked past the Stars in this week’s ratings by earning at least one point in three of their four contests as they continued their seven-game road trip. And they did so without much production from their top two scorers, as Kirill Kaprizov (49 points) only recorded a goal and an assist while Boldy (48) tallied once. Monday’s 4-2 road loss to the Los Angeles Kings marked just the second time in 15 games Minnesota failed to come away with a point. Defenseman Quinn Hughes has not disappointed since being acquired from the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 12, as he has averaged a point per game over his 12 contests with Minnesota. The 2024 Norris Trophy winner had his most productive outing with the club last Friday, matching his career high with four assists in a 5-2 victory against the Anaheim Ducks.

3. Dallas Stars (0-2-1; 25-9-8)

Dallas is in the midst of its worst funk of the season, as it has lost five consecutive contests (0-2-3), including all three in Week 13, so it only makes sense that it falls a spot in the ratings. Jason Robertson landed on the score sheet in every game last week, collecting a goal and three assists. The 26-year-old left wing has notched at least one point in six of his last seven outings. Mikko Rantanen has done so in eight of his past nine contests and is tied for fifth in the NHL with 57 points. The 29-year-old Finnish right wing has posted six multi-point performances during that stretch, including one in last Thursday’s 4-3 loss to the Blackhawks, and has 17 overall this campaign.

4. Tampa Bay Lightning (3-0-0; 25-13-3)

The Lightning had their second straight perfect week and are riding a seven-game winning streak after having swept their three-game California trip with victories over Anaheim (in overtime), Los Angeles and the San Jose Sharks. Tampa Bay allowed three goals in each of those contests but scored a total of 16 and have tallied at least four times in every game during the overall winning streak. Nikita Kucherov has recorded at least one point in each of those seven contests, notched two or more in six straight and scored a goal in five in a row. The three-time Art Ross Trophy winner, who has posted multi-point performances in 16 of his last 21 outings, netted a tally and set up four others in last Saturday’s 7-3 triumph at San Jose for his franchise-record eighth career five-point effort. Kucherov is fourth in the NHL with 59 points, while Darren Raddysh ranks seventh among defensemen with 34 — three shy of the career high he set last season. The 29-year-old has amassed multiple points in three consecutive games and joined Doug Crossman (1992) and Dan Boyle (2006) as the only blue-liners in franchise history to record a hat trick when he accomplished the feat for the first time in his career Saturday against the Sharks.

5. Detroit Red Wings (2-1-1; 25-15-4)

They haven’t been perfect since going 3-0-0 in Week 2, but the Red Wings have been very consistent of late, winning more games than they’ve lost each of the last five weeks. Lucas Raymond (one goal, three assists) has landed on the score sheet in four of his last five contests and captain Dylan Larkin (two goals, one assist) did so in three of Detroit’s four games last week. Veteran James van Riemsdyk has been contributing offensively of late, netting a tally in four of his last seven outings. The 36-year-old left wing is coming off his second multi-point performance of the season as he scored a goal and set up two others in Monday’s 5-3 road triumph over the Ottawa Senators.

6. Montreal Canadiens (3-1-0; 23-13-6)

The Canadiens won three of their four games last week, giving them points in eight of their last nine outings (6-1-2). Nick Suzuki landed on the score sheet in three of the four contests, recording three goals and an assist, while Lane Hutson posted three multi-point performances. The 2025 Calder Trophy winner, who has notched two or more points in eight of his past 13 games, is tied for the NHL lead among defensemen with 35 assists and ranks third with 42 points. Russian right wing Ivan Demidov has come up with four multi-point efforts while racking up 10 points over his last seven outings and tops all rookies in assists (26) and points (36). Meanwhile, Slovakian left wing Juraj Slafkovsky has registered multiple points in five of his past seven contests, amassing five goals and six assists during that stretch.

7. Carolina Hurricanes (1-3-0; 25-14-3)

The Hurricanes began Week 13 with three straight losses, giving them six in eight games (2-5-1), before salvaging the week with a 3-1 road triumph over the New Jersey Devils last Sunday. Sebastian Aho had a monstrous offensive performance in Carolina’s 7-5 loss to Montreal last Thursday, scoring two goals and setting up three others for the second five-point outing of his career. The 28-year-old Finnish center followed with his third multi-point effort in four contests as he recorded a tally and an assist in a 5-3 setback against Colorado two days later. Nikolaj Ehlers enters Week 14 with a three-game goal-scoring streak after going eight consecutive contests without a tally.

8. Pittsburgh Penguins (4-0-0; 20-12-9)

At 39 years old, Evgeni Malkin certainly is in the twilight of his superb NHL career. But the two-time Art Ross Trophy winner was having a solid bounce-back season after finishing 2024-25 with only 50 points in 68 games as he racked up 29 in his first 26 contests. Malkin followed a two-point performance against the Philadelphia Flyers on Dec. 1 with a three-point outing versus Tampa Bay three days later but hasn’t played since due to an upper-body injury. His absence obviously affected the Penguins, who lost their first eight games (0-4-4) without him. They’ve managed to right the ship, however, winning six of their next seven contests — including each of the last five. Two-time Hart and Art Ross Trophy recipient Sidney Crosby, who is just one year younger than Malkin, hasn’t slowed down, as he is in the midst of a seven-game point streak during which he has collected five goals and seven assists while also posting three multi-point performances. Meanwhile, Bryan Rust netted four tallies and set up four others during a six-game point run before coming up empty in Sunday’s 5-4 overtime road triumph over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

9. Buffalo Sabres (1-1-0; 21-15-4)

The Sabres weren’t able to recover in Columbus on Saturday after the Blue Jackets snapped a 1-1 tie with a short-handed goal with just over six minutes remaining in the first period. They fell one short of setting a franchise record with an 11th consecutive victory. The loss was the first since Dec. 8 for Buffalo, which is giving its fans hope that it will end the NHL’s longest active playoff drought at 14 seasons. Josh Doan scored the team’s lone goal in the loss to Columbus and has tallied in back-to-back contests following an eight-game drought. Tage Thompson has notched at least one point in nine of his last 12 outings and leads the Sabres with 37 after recording two goals and an assist in last Wednesday’s 4-1 triumph at Dallas.

10. Washington Capitals (2-1-1; 22-15-6)

I was considering three teams for this spot but chose the Capitals over the Flyers and New York Islanders since they played one more game in Week 13 and earned a point in it. Washington capped its week with a 7-4 victory over Anaheim on Monday, marking the fourth time this season it has produced at least seven goals. Justin Sourdif led the charge against the Ducks as he registered his first career hat trick and added a pair of assists. The 23-year-old right wing, who was acquired from Florida last June, collected half of his 18 points on the season last week with three multi-point performances in which he amassed five goals and four assists. Connor McMichael picked up four assists versus Anaheim to finish the week with six, while Alex Ovechkin scored twice to increase his career total to an all time-best 914 goals. Tom Wilson, who leads the Capitals with 22 goals and 42 points, didn’t play Monday due to a lower-body injury but enjoyed a streak of three straight multi-point efforts during which he recorded five tallies and three assists before being kept off the score sheet in a 3-2 shootout loss to Chicago on Saturday.