NHL power ratings: Avalanche attempt to hold off Hurricanes as they enter Week 25 of the 2025-26 season

The Carolina Hurricanes are making a late charge for the Presidents' Trophy, as they've gone 7-3-0 over their last 10 games and are six points behind the Colorado Avalanche with less than two weeks remaining in the 2025-26 NHL season. However, it likely is too late for that objective to be reached.

Colorado leads the league with 110 points and has six games left on its regular-season schedule, while Carolina has just five contests remaining. The Avalanche actually can extinguish the Hurricanes' slim hopes Tuesday with a regulation victory over the St. Louis Blues and a regulation loss to the Boston Bruins by Carolina.

While still unlikely, the chance of the Hurricanes overtaking Colorado in the overall standings could have been eliminated had the Avalanche fared better at home in Week 24. The club began the week with an 8-6 setback against the league-worst Vancouver Canucks in which it rallied from a four-goal deficit before ultimately succumbing and ended it with a 3-2 loss to the Blues, who are five points back in the race for the second wild card in the Western Conference.

In between those defeats, Colorado extended its road winning streak to five games with a 2-0 triumph over the Dallas Stars, who are eight points behind the Avalanche in the Central Division. Colorado can clinch the division title - and the No. 1 seed in the West - with a win at St. Louis on Tuesday.

Only three teams were perfect in Week 24, as the Minnesota Wild won all three of their games while the Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Mammoth went 2-0-0. Vegas and Utah both occupy a postseason berth as they enter Week 25, with the former sitting in third place in the Pacific Division and the latter holding the first wild-card spot in the West.

The Los Angeles Kings, who lead the Nashville Predators by one point for the second wild card, also had a good week as they earned seven of a possible eight points (3-0-1). But the Anaheim Ducks allowed the Edmonton Oilers to catch them for first place in the Pacific by losing all three of their contests while the New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets damaged their postseason hopes by also going 0-3-0.

However, no team had a worse week than the Seattle Kraken, who suffered four regulation losses to fall to 3-11-2 over their last 16 games. The downward spiral has put Seattle eight points behind Los Angeles for the second wild-card spot in the West with six games remaining.

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 25 of the 2025-26 NHL season and highlight a few of the teams' notable accomplishments.

NHL Week 25 power ratings

1. Colorado Avalanche (1-2-0 in Week 24; 50-16-10 overall)

The Avalanche's subpar week can partly be attributed to the absence of Cale Makar, who missed all three games with an upper-body injury and is likely to be sidelined for at least a few more contests. Valeri Nichushkin (upper body) also was absent for last Sunday's loss to St. Louis but is expected to return to the lineup on Tuesday. Scott Wedgewood was one of the few bright spots for Colorado in Week 24 as he made 17 saves against the Stars en route to his third shutout of the season. The 33-year-old netminder leads the NHL in both goals-against average (2.13) and save percentage (.918). Brent Burns also had a big week, recording a goal and an assist in both of the Avs' losses while playing in his 1,000th consecutive game last Saturday in Dallas. The 41-year-old defenseman joined Phil Kessel (1,064) as the only players in NHL history to accomplish that feat. Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals to increase his league-leading total to 51, which matched the career high he set in 2023-24, and trails Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Edmonton captain Connor McDavid (126 points apiece) by four points in the race for the Art Ross Trophy.

2. Carolina Hurricanes (3-1-0; 49-22-6)

Carolina swept a home-and-home series with Columbus and edged the Islanders before ending Week 24 on a down note with a 6-3 loss to the Senators in Ottawa. But the Hurricanes have a chance to celebrate on Tuesday as they will clinch the Metropolitan Division title by earning at least one point when they face the Bruins in their final regular-season home game. Logan Stankoven scored four goals and set up another last week while Andrei Svechnikov also collected five points (three goals, two assists) as he extended his streak to a season high-tying five games. Five other players racked up four points - including Seth Jarvis, who tallied twice and is one goal and one point away from matching his career highs of 33 and 67, respectively.

3. Buffalo Sabres (2-2-0; 47-23-8)

The Sabres were trounced 6-2 by the Washington Capitals last Saturday, marking the first time they suffered consecutive regulation losses since a three-game skid in early December. But there was joy in Buffalo earlier that day as they clinched a playoff berth by virtue of the Detroit Red Wings' loss to the New York Rangers, ending their 14-year postseason drought. The Sabres bounced back quickly as it ended Week 24 with a 4-2 triumph over Tampa Bay that tied them with the Lightning for first in the Atlantic Division. Leading scorer Tage Thompson (78 points) was kept off the scoresheet in three of Buffalo's four contests, but Josh Norris and defenseman Bowen Byram each recorded a goal and three assists last week.

4. Minnesota Wild (3-0-0; 44-21-12)

The Wild appear to have put their recent struggles behind them, winning all three of their games last week after having lost nine of their previous 15 (6-7-2). Minnesota began the week by clinching a postseason berth with a 5-2 home triumph over Vancouver before defeating Ottawa and Detroit on the road. Mats Zuccarello, Ryan Hartman and Kirill Kaprizov each collected six points over the three victories, with the latter registering his sixth career hat trick in Sunday's 5-4 win against the Red Wings. Zuccarello notched a pair of assists in each Week 24 contest to give him four consecutive two-point performances, while Hartman also has recorded four straight two-point efforts and is riding a six-game point streak during which he has amassed six goals and four assists. The 31-year-old Hartman netted two tallies in each of Minnesota's first two games last week and is tied for third on the team with 22, his highest total since setting his career high of 34 in 2021-22. Matt Boldy has picked up five points (three goals, two assists) over his last three outings after having just one assist in his previous seven contests.

5. Montreal Canadiens (3-1-0; 45-22-10)

The Canadiens enter Week 25 just two points out of first place in the Atlantic after having won three of their four games last week. Montreal defeated the Lightning, Rangers and Devils to complete a perfect five-game road trip and extended its overall winning streak to eight contests before being blanked 3-0 at home by New Jersey on the back end of a home-and-home series over the weekend. Despite the loss, the Canadiens clinched a postseason berth with Detroit's loss to Minnesota. Sunday's defeat ended Cole Caufield's five-game point streak, during which he posted four straight multi-point performances and collected five goals and four assists, and marked just the second time in 13 outings he was kept off the scoresheet. The 25-year-old right wing is second in the NHL with a career-high 49 tallies, two fewer than MacKinnon. Nick Suzuki registered a goal and three assists, leaving him five points shy of reaching the century mark for the first time. Ivan Demidov, who leads all rookies with 60 points, also had his third five-game point streak of the season halted Sunday after having recorded a goal and two assists over Montreal's first three contests of Week 24.

6. Tampa Bay Lightning (2-2-0; 48-23-6)

Tampa Bay split its four contests in Week 24, which it began with a 4-1 home setback against Montreal that ended its point streak at eight games (6-0-2). The club rebounded to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins and Bruins but dropped a 4-2 decision to Buffalo on Monday while playing without two of its top four goal scorers in Brandon Hagel (third, 35 goals) and Anthony Cirelli (fourth, 23). Hagel missed the Lightning's last three games of the week with a lower-body injury, while Cirelli did not face the Sabres due to an undisclosed ailment. The 28-year-old Cirelli played a major role in the team's 6-3 triumph over Pittsburgh last Thursday, registering his second career hat trick and first since Jan. 17, 2020. Before defeating Boston last Saturday, Tampa Bay clinched a playoff berth thanks to Detroit's loss to the Rangers. Jake Guentzel led the Lightning with six points last week and is riding an eight-game point streak during which he has racked up six goals and eight assists. Meanwhile, Kucherov continued his quest for a third straight Art Ross Trophy and the fourth of his career by netting three tallies and setting up two others. The 32-year-old Russian right wing, who is tied with McDavid for the NHL scoring lead (126 points), has collected at least one point in nine of his last 10 outings and hasn't been kept off the scoresheet in back-to-back contests since Nov. 8 and 12.

7. Dallas Stars (1-2-0; 45-20-12)

Dallas lost two of its three games last week, dropping the club to 3-6-2 over its last 11 contests. The Stars were blanked by the Avalanche 2-0 last time out and have scored more than three goals only twice in their last 12 outings. Matt Duchene was the only member of the team with more than one tally in Week 24 as he converted in last Tuesday's 6-3 loss at Boston and Dallas' 3-0 home triumph over the Winnipeg Jets two days later. Jake Oettinger turned aside all 22 shots he faced in that contest for his third shutout of the season. Mikko Rantanen and defenseman Miro Heiskanen both notched an assist in each of the Stars' first two games last week, while Adam Erne and Finnish rookie Arttu Hyry recorded a goal and an assist apiece against Winnipeg.

8. Pittsburgh Penguins (3-1-0; 40-22-16)

The Penguins moved closer to ending their three-year playoff drought by winning three of their four games last week. They outscored their opponents 19-7 in the victories and have netted at least three tallies in each of their last seven contests. Rickard Rakell, who got off to a slow start in 2025-26 after setting career highs with 35 goals and 70 points last season, has been on fire of late. The 32-year-old Swedish right wing has tallied in five consecutive contests and enters Week 25 with his second eight-game point streak since early March. Rakell has collected 10 goals and three assists during his current run after netting three tallies and setting up seven others over an eight-game stretch from Mar. 7-21. Egor Chinakhov also landed on the scoresheet in all four of Pittsburgh's games last week, recording three goals and four assists, while Evgeni Malkin amassed six points over the team's two home victories against the Florida Panthers last weekend. The two-time Art Ross Trophy winner came up with a four-point performance in Saturday's 9-4 triumph as he set up a goal while also registering his 14th career hat trick - and first since Mar. 27, 2022.

9. Boston Bruins (1-2-1; 43-26-9)

Week 24 started well for the Bruins as they rolled past Dallas 6-3 at home. But the team proceeded to lose the first three contests of its four-game road trip, scoring just one goal in each defeat. Despite the current slide, Boston owns a five-point lead over Ottawa for the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Viktor Arvidsson was the offensive hero against the Stars as he registered his fifth career hat trick and first since Mar. 4, 2022 for his second consecutive three-point performance. The 32-year-old Swedish left wing has amassed five goals and five assists over his last 10 outings. David Pastrnak collected five assists last week and is three points away from posting his fourth straight 100-point season.

10. Ottawa Senators (2-2-0; 40-27-10)

The Senators began Week 24 with their third consecutive loss (0-2-1), a 6-3 setback at Florida, they won two of their final three games to finish the week in the second wild-card spot in the East. The victories were impressive as they came against the Sabres, who share first place in the Atlantic Division, and the Metropolitan-leading Hurricanes. Ridly Greig led Ottawa with five points (one goal, four assists) last week, while Tim Stutzle netted a tally and set up three others. The 24-year-old Stutzle has landed on the scoresheet in five of his last seven outings, recording a goal and six assists in that span. Drake Batherson and Shane Pinto were among four Senators with two tallies over the team's four contests, with the former reaching the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career with his first of the week in the loss to the Panthers and the latter matching the personal best of 21 he registered last season in Sunday's triumph over Carolina.