NHL power ratings: Avalanche enter 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the top of the pack

The Colorado Avalanche weren't able to keep up the pace they were on over the first three months of the 2025-26 NHL season, and quite frankly, no one really expected them to. But even though they enter their final two games of the campaign having gone 22-14-4 since Jan. 4 after suffering only two regulation losses over their first 40 contests (31-2-7), they captured the Presidents' Trophy for the fourth time in franchise history.

Colorado is finishing the season strong as it earned points in four consecutive games (3-0-1) during Week 25. With 117 points, it has a chance to break the single-season franchise mark of 119 it set in 2021-22 as it faces the Calgary Flames and Seattle Kraken (29th and 27th in the overall standings, respectively) before heading into the Stanley Cup Playoff as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

The Avalanche were joined by the Eastern Conference regular-season champion Carolina Hurricanes, Ottawa Senators and Vegas Golden Knights in going 3-0-1 last week. The Dallas Stars performed the best, winning all four of their games, while the Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings and Washington Capitals all went 3-0-0. Washington, however, is the only one of those eight teams that did not qualify for the postseason.

Three clubs failed to get in the win column in Week 25 as the Toronto Maple Leafs went 0-4-0 while the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers both lost all three of their contests in regulation. Not coincidentally, those three teams are among the bottom five in the NHL standings.

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

Let's now dive into the power ratings entering the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs and highlight a few of the teams' notable accomplishments.

NHL final power ratings

1. Colorado Avalanche (3-0-1 in Week 25; 53-16-11 overall)

The Avalanche improved to 9-3-1 over their last 13 games by limiting the St. Louis Blues, Flames and Edmonton Oilers to one goal apiece in victories while falling to the Golden Knights in overtime last week. And they did so while Nathan MacKinnon was kept off the scoresheet in his last two outings, marking just the third time this season and first since late January that he's gone back-to-back games without a point. The 2024 Hart Trophy winner, MacKinnon is third in the NHL with 126 points and leads the league with a career-high 52 goals -- one more than Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens. The Avalanche also went 3-0-1 without the services of two-time Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar, who hasn't played since March 30 due to an upper-body injury. The 27-year-old defenseman returned to practice Monday, however, and hopes to appear in one of the team's final two regular-season games.

2. Carolina Hurricanes (3-0-1; 52-22-7)

Carolina secured the Metropolitan Division title and No. 1 seed in the East by earning points in all four of its Week 25 games. The Hurricanes, who defeated the Boston Bruins, Blackhawks and Utah Mammoth before falling to the Philadelphia Flyers in a shootout, haven't suffered consecutive regulation losses since enduring a three-game slide from Dec. 30-Jan. 3. Sebastian Aho has recorded at least one point in seven of his last eight outings (two goals, six assists) and hasn't been blanked in consecutive contests since a three-game drought in late January. Andrei Svechnikov has collected six goals and three assists during his current seven-game point streak and has set a career high with 31 tallies. Meanwhile, Nikolaj Ehlers has registered a personal best of 70 points in his first season with Carolina as he has posted back-to-back two-point performances.

3. Buffalo Sabres (3-0-0; 50-23-8)

The Sabres skated past the Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets and Blackhawks last week, extending their winning streak to four games and clinching their first division title since 2009-10 with the victory over Chicago. The club, which entered Tuesday fifth in the NHL in scoring with 280 goals, scored five in each of those three triumphs while allowing a total of four. Tage Thompson scored twice against the Blackhawks to end his five-game drought and reach the 40-goal plateau for the third time in four seasons. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is riding a five-game point streak during which he has amassed two tallies and five assists while Josh Doan has notched a point in four consecutive outings (two goals, three assists) after going a season-high six contests without one.

4. Dallas Stars (4-0-0; 49-20-12)

After going 2-5-2 over their previous nine games, the Stars reeled off four straight victories in Week 25 and secured second place in the Central Division, which gives them home-ice advantage for their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild. Jason Robertson has scored five goals during his current four-game streak and has reached 45 for the second time in his career. Wyatt Johnston also landed on the scoresheet in all four contests last week, netting four tallies and setting up two others to increase his career-high totals to 45 goals, 41 assists and 86 points.

5. Montreal Canadiens (3-1-0; 48-23-10)

Montreal also is ending the regular season with a flourish as it has gone 11-2-0 over its last 13 games. The Canadiens, who will face the Lightning in the first round of the playoffs, have earned 106 points through 81 contests -- their highest total since registering 110 in 2014-15. Nick Suzuki got on the scoresheet in all four of the team's outings last week, collecting two goals and four assists to reach triple digits in points (101) for the first time in his career. Caufield scored twice to pull within one goal of MacKinnon (52) for the NHL lead. Juraj Slafkovsky also recorded a point in each of Montreal's Week 25 games, netting one tally and setting up five others to raise his career-best numbers to 30 goals, 43 assists and 73 points. Ivan Demidov scored a pair of goals last week to give him 62 points, which is two more than Beckett Sennecke of the San Jose Sharks for the NHL rookie lead.

6. Tampa Bay Lightning (2-2-0; 50-25-6)

The Lightning lost their first two contests of Week 25 to extend their slide to three games but bounced back to defeat the Bruins and Detroit Red Wings. Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist against Detroit on Monday to give him 130 points, but barring an insane performance in Wednesday's regular-season finale against the Rangers (if he even plays), the 32-year-old Russian right wing likely will fall short of winning his third straight Art Ross Trophy and fourth overall as he trails Edmonton's Connor McDavid by four points. Kucherov needs one goal to eclipse the career high of 44 he set in 2023-24. Jake Guentzel has registered a personal-best 88 points while defenseman Darren Raddysh has shattered his previous career highs with 22 goals, 48 assists and 70 points.

7. Minnesota Wild (1-3-0; 45-24-12)

The Wild need to right the ship in a hurry if they hope to get past Dallas in their first-round playoff matchup as they ended Week 25 with three consecutive defeats in which they allowed a total of 13 goals. It marks the first time Minnesota has suffered three straight regulation losses since Feb. 25-28, 2025. Matt Boldy has set career highs this season with 42 goals and 85 points, while Mats Zuccarello appears to have found the Fountain of Youth as the 38-year-old Norwegian right wing has posted multi-point performances in five of his last six outings, amassing goal and 10 assists over that stretch.

8. Ottawa Senators (3-0-1; 43-27-11)

The Senators are another team that's getting hot at the right time, as they've earned points in five consecutive games (4-0-1) with one remaining before the postseason. Tim Stutzle has recorded seven points (two goals, five assists) over his last five outings while Drake Batherson (two goals, four assists) has landed on the scoresheet in five of his past six contests. Defenseman Jake Sanderson is riding a four-game point streak during which he has netted three tallies and set up three others.

9. Boston Bruins (1-1-1; 44-27-10)

Like Minnesota, the Bruins need to straighten things out before the playoffs begin. The club went five consecutive games without a victory (0-3-2) before edging the Blue Jackets 3-2 in its final Week 25 contest last Sunday. Should he be in the lineup for Tuesday's regular-season finale against the New Jersey Devils, David Pastrnak needs one goal to reach 30 for the ninth time in his career and one point to hit triple digits for the fourth consecutive season. Morgan Geekie, who has set a personal best with a team-leading 38 goals, began last week by ending his 17-game drought with his second career hat trick in an overtime loss to the Hurricanes and tallied against the Lightning four days later.

10. Vegas Golden Knights (3-0-1; 38-26-17)

The Golden Knights appear as if they'll be a tough opponent in the playoffs as they enter Wednesday's regular-season finale against the Kraken with a nine-game point streak (6-0-3) and have gone 6-0-1 since John Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy as head coach. Jack Eichel has collected 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) over his last nine outings while Mark Stone has racked up 11 (seven goals, four assists) in his past nine. The 33-year-old Stone needs one point against Seattle to eclipse the career high of 73 he set while splitting the 2018-19 season between the Senators and Golden Knights. Meanwhile, Pavel Dorofeyev has scored in back-to-back games to set a personal best of 37 goals.