With less than two weeks remaining in the 2025-26 NHL Season, we still have more questions than answers for many teams across the league. I mean, one week ago, we saw the head coach of a playoff-bound team fired, and just a few days later, the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs was let go with less than 10 games left on the calendar. Teams are not waiting around for things to happen, as they try to make decisive decisions very late in the process.
Perhaps the most surprising thing is how competitive most of the playoff races still are. In what may be the biggest postseason bubble in recent memory, six teams in the East are fighting for roughly two playoff positions with three points between them. Out West, there are five teams that, if things went right, could make a claim to the final Wild Card position.
Ultimately, this just means that there’s going to be a lot of disappointed franchises in the coming days, as teams that had a generally good season are going to come up a point (or in some cases a tiebreaker) short of making the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. That’s the nature of sports, of course, but even in a league filled with parity, this feels like an abnormally competitive season.
Ultimately, this leads me back to one of my favorite lines… points in April do not count for double. Right now, every loss for a team on the bubble feels like it has an outsized effect on their playoff future. Realistically, though, that blown lead in November or three-game losing streak before the holiday break mattered just the same.
So, with the penultimate Power Rankings of the 2025-26 NHL season upon us, let’s get to the good stuff in this week’s article!
32-19: Golden Knights’ Gamble Paying Off
32. Vancouver Canucks (Previously: 32) – Eliminated From Playoff Contention
31. Seattle Kraken (Previously: 28)
30. Chicago Blackhawks (Previously: 30) – Eliminated From Playoff Contention
29. Florida Panthers (Previously: 27) – Eliminated From Playoff Contention
27. Toronto Maple Leafs (Previously: 29) – Eliminated From Playoff Contention
28. New York Rangers (Previously: 24) – Eliminated From Playoff Contention
26. Los Angeles Kings (Previously: 26)
25. Calgary Flames (Previously: 21)
24. San Jose Sharks (Previously: 31)
23. Winnipeg Jets (Previously: 22)
22. Nashville Predators (Previously: 23)
21. St. Louis Blues (Previously: 19)
20. New Jersey Devils (Previously: 20)
19. Vegas Golden Knights (Previously: 25)
For most of the 2025-26 NHL season, the Golden Knights were my most disappointing team on the ice. Off the ice, of course, this franchise was making rockstar moves, trading for the biggest names available and signing superstar players to try and win their second Stanley Cup. However, many of these moves just weren’t working out, and with injuries ripping the team apart, they looked destined for a first-round exit in the playoffs.
Then, Vegas made the most Vegas move possible by firing their head coach with eight games remaining and bringing in John Tortorella. This is not a move you make lightly, but it is a risk worth taking for a team that is all-in every season. So far, results have been positive, and the once floundering team finally looks like the contender we all expected them to be.
Now, for our weekly check-in on the Western Wild Card picture, the Predators, Kings, and Sharks are somehow all back within two points of each other. Nashville and San Jose played a critical game on Saturday, and with the Predators’ win, they stayed just ahead of the Sharks, who won four straight before the loss. Your guess is as good as mine for who will make the playoffs, but this race is finally exciting after months of mediocrity.
In the Atlantic Division, we also said goodbye to two surprising teams, with the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers and 2024-25 Division-winning Maple Leafs both being eliminated. Overall, Florida looks like they will rebound next season once they are healthy again, but Toronto’s road ahead is likely going to be a bit bumpier.
18-8: Islanders Fire Roy in a Shocking Move
18. Columbus Blue Jackets (Previously: 9)
17. Anaheim Ducks (Previously: 15)
16. New York Islanders (Previously: 11)
15. Washington Capitals (Previously: 18)
14. Detroit Red Wings (Previously: 14)
13. Ottawa Senators (Previously: 12)
12. Utah Mammoth (Previously: 17)
11. Edmonton Oilers (Previously: 13)
10. Philadelphia Flyers (Previously: 10)
9. Pittsburgh Penguins (Previously: 16)
8. Boston Bruins (Previously: 8)
While it may feel like a bit of a trope, the NHL truly is a copycat league. Once a team makes a shocking move that no one expected, it seemingly opens the door for another franchise to follow this trend. Apparently, firing your coach with mere games remaining on your schedule is the next big thing, as the Islanders ousted Patrick Roy on Sunday with four games left on the schedule. At the time, New York was in a playoff spot, but had lost four straight and were no longer in control of their own destiny.
On the surface, this is a truly stunning move, but it is worth noting that the Islanders have a first-year general manager in Mathieu Darche, and Roy was hired by the last guy. Perhaps he was planning to move on from Roy anyway, and saw this slide as a last-minute attempt to invigorate his struggling team. However, with four games remaining, it feels like this move was made too late to have a real effect.
Along with the Islanders, the Blue Jackets are fading fast in the Eastern playoff race. The team went from last place in the Eastern Conference to a playoff contender after a midseason coaching change, but now find themselves fifth in the Division, on a six-game losing streak, and just outside the picture again. It may take a five-game winning streak for Columbus to crack the postseason, so they need a lot to go their way to avoid wasting this miracle run.
As the Islanders and Blue Jackets fade in the Metropolitan Division race, the Penguins put some distance between second and third place with a weekend sweep of the Panthers. The Flyers also stayed hot this week, and with games in hand, they are the favorites to lock down third place in the division. Given expectations at the start of the season, this is a big surprise for Philadelphia.
In the Pacific Division, the Ducks have hit a wall, leading them to an ill-timed five-game losing streak, which has allowed the Oilers to overtake them in the Division with the Golden Knights close behind. Once again, this is anyone’s race, but Anaheim could go from a division-winning lock to starting on the road for the playoffs in a week. So, this is another Divisional race worth keeping an eye on over the final games of the season.
7-1: Stars Coasting to the 2026 NHL Playoffs
7. Dallas Stars (Previously: 6) – Clinched Playoff Berth
6. Buffalo Sabres (Previously: 3) – Clinched Playoff Berth
5. Minnesota Wild (Previously: 7) – Clinched Playoff Berth
4. Tampa Bay Lightning (Previously: 1) – Clinched Playoff Berth
3. Colorado Avalanche (Previously: 4) – Clinched Playoff Berth
2. Carolina Hurricanes (Previously: 2) – Clinched Playoff Berth
1. Montreal Canadiens (Previously: 5) – Clinched Playoff Berth
Over a long NHL Regular season, you sometimes have to ask the motivation question. Teams, through no fault of their own, just may have much to play for at times, and their performance on the ice reflects that. The Stars, for example, have been locked into second place in the Central Division for most of the season, and have gone through another long losing streak for a Stanley Cup contender.
With a 3-5-2 record over their last 10 games played, Dallas just hasn’t looked all that engaged, but they also don’t have a lot to engage with. All they need to do is win three of their last five games, and they can coast to a home playoff date against the Wild. This happens when you’re in a division with a team like the Avalanche, who practically won the Presidents’ Trophy back in November.
For the best team in the NHL this week, I have to give it up to the Canadiens, who were on an eight-game winning streak prior to Sunday that included big wins over the Lightning and Hurricanes. This franchise is red-hot right now, and looks like they could push Tampa Bay and Buffalo for first-place in the Atlantic Division. It’s always great to see an exciting playoff race for a Division title in the final games of the season.
Also, I need to shout out the Hurricanes, who have been second on my Rankings for the last few weeks. Carolina is just that consistently great team that keeps pulling down wins en route to another Metropolitan Division title. Sure, they technically haven’t won it yet, but the math is very favorable for them to claim it in the next few days.
Final Weeks of the 2025-26 NHL Season
While you can call the 2025-26 NHL season many things, boring is not one of them. Franchises are making moves rarely seen at this point in the season, and I appreciate how much fun the playoff race has been after a few boring runs in recent years.
Related: Blue Jackets Hold Closed-Door Meeting After Latest Loss to Jets
Every point matters right now, and an overtime loss could spell the difference between playoff glory and coming up short. With another potential playoff-bound coach getting canned this week, it’s just a reminder that no one is safe in the NHL.
