NHL power ratings: Avalanche show signs of slipping but still hold No. 1 spot

The NHL is less than two weeks away from its 19-day break for the 2026 Winter Olympics. With the way January has gone for the Colorado Avalanche, the respite can’t come soon enough.

Colorado steamrolled over the rest of the league during the first three months of the 2025-26 NHL season, going 7-1-4 in October, 11-0-2 in November and 12-1-1 in December. The team hasn’t been nearly as dominant since the new calendar year began, however, as it has lost six of its 11 games — including four in regulation, which is twice as many outings it came away without a point over its first 40 contests.

The Avalanche (35-6-9) have five games remaining before the league’s lengthy Olympic hiatus, three of which take place in January. Those three contests are all on the road, where the club has suffered four of its six regulation losses this campaign.

Colorado, which owns a nine-point lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy and is 11 points ahead of the Minnesota Wild for the top spot in the Western Conference, went 1-1-1 in Week 16. Six teams finished the week without a regulation loss, with the Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins all going 3-0-0 and the Los Angeles Kings winning a pair of contests before their scheduled game against the Blue Jackets in Columbus on Monday was postponed due to a major winter storm.

Only three clubs failed to get in the win column last week, as the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs all posted 0-2-1 records. 

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 17 of the 2025-26 NHL season and highlight a few of the teams’ notable accomplishments.

NHL Week 17 power ratings 

1. Colorado Avalanche (1-1-1 in Week 16; 35-6-9 overall)

Despite having gone 4-4-2 over its last 10 contests, Colorado joined the 1943-44 Montreal Canadiens, 1975-76 Canadiens and 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers as the only teams in NHL history with fewer than seven regulation losses over their first 50 games of a season. The Avalanche began Week 16 at home with a shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks and a 7-3 setback against the Flyers before ending it with a 4-1 triumph over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opener of their four-game road trip. Brock Nelson registered his fifth career hat trick in that victory to give him 27 goals, one more than he registered in 80 games last season. The 34-year-old center has netted 13 tallies over his last 13 contests. Nelson has been equally effective this campaign, scoring 14 times at home and 13 on the road. Nathan MacKinnon produced only three assists last week and now trails Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid (92) by four points for the league lead but still is first with 38 goals, even though he’s converted in only one of his last seven outings.

2. Tampa Bay Lightning (3-1-0; 33-14-4)

The Lightning have been one of the NHL’s hottest teams since mid-December, going 15-1-1 over their last 17 games. The club won three of its four contests in Week 16 and has allowed fewer than two goals in each of its past six victories. The quartet of Nikita Kucherov (two goals, eight assists), Jake Guentzel (three, three), Brandon Hagel (two, four) and Anthony Cirelli (three, four) led Tampa Bay last week, producing 10 of the team’s 12 goals. Darren Raddysh netted the other two tallies, converting in each of the last two games to give him 14 goals in 45 games this season. The 29-year-old defenseman amassed 13 tallies in 176 contests over his first four NHL campaigns. Kucherov has landed on the scoresheet in 16 of his last 17 outings, collecting 13 goals and 25 assists over that span, and hasn’t gone back-to-back games without a point since Nov. 8 and 12.

3. Carolina Hurricanes (1-0-1; 32-15-5)

The Hurricanes only played twice last week, losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in a shootout before cruising past the Ottawa Senators 4-1. The team scored a total of seven goals, with seven different players converting. Jackson Blake, Seth Jarvis and Taylor Hall each recorded a tally and an assist in Week 16, while defenseman Jalen Chatfield set up a pair of scores. Sebastian Aho did not factor in the team’s scoring in Week 16 after collecting seven assists over his previous three games but leads Carolina with 52 points. Brandon Bussi, who was in the crease against Ottawa,  has allowed just one goal in each of his last three starts and is third in the NHL with a 3.15 goals-against average.

4. Detroit Red Wings (2-0-1; 32-16-5)

Detroit enters Week 17 with a five-game point streak (4-0-1) and eight wins in its last 10 contests. Last week, the club sandwiched triumphs over Toronto and the Winnipeg Jets around an overtime loss to Minnesota. Lucas Raymond, who leads the Red Wings in both assists (40) and points (58), has posted back-to-back multi-point performances and is riding a five-game point streak during which he has collected three goals and five assists. The 23-year-old Swedish left wing has landed on the scoresheet in 14 of his last 17 outings. Alex DeBrincat netted his 27th tally of the campaign in the victory against Winnipeg, marking the eighth time he has reached that mark in his nine NHL seasons.

5. Minnesota Wild (1-1-1; 29-14-10)

Each of the Wild’s three games in Week 16 had a final score of 4-3, with the team defeating Detroit in overtime while losing to Montreal in regulation and Florida in OT. Kirill Kaprizov had a big offensive week, recording three goals and four assists, while Mats Zuccarello netted two tallies and set up four others. The 38-year-old Zuccarello is in the midst of a five-game point streak during which he has notched three goals and six assists. Kaprizov also has gotten on the scoresheet in five straight contests, posting a multi-point performance in each outing. Defenseman Quinn Hughes is riding a five-game point streak as well, amassing a goal and eight assists during his run. Matt Boldy returned from a four-game absence due to a lower-body injury on Saturday and made his presence felt as he had a goal and an assist against the Panthers.

6. Dallas Stars (2-1-0; 29-14-9)

After a difficult Week 15 in which they lost all three of their games while scoring just one goal in each, the Stars won two of their three contests last week. Leading scorer Mikko Rantanen (63 points) missed two of those games with an illness, but Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston picked up the slack by combining for five goals and two assists in Dallas’ victories. Robertson is third in the NHL with 30 tallies while Johnston is tied for eighth with 27. Miro Heiskanen collected four assists over the team’s three contests and ranks seventh in the league with 33. 

7. Buffalo Sabres (3-0-0; 29-17-5)

The Sabres have been just as hot as the Lightning as they are 18-3-1 since Dec. 9 after having won all three of their games last week. Those three victories came on the road, with Buffalo scoring at least four goals in each. Veteran left wing Jason Zucker has scored three goals over his last two contests after tallying just twice in his previous 11 outings. Peyton Krebs also broke out of an offensive slump as he collected two goals and two assists in three games last week after netting one tally and setting up two others over his previous 10 contests. Konsta Helenius made his NHL debut in Week 15 and was kept off the scoresheet by the Carolina Hurricanes, but the 19-year-old Finnish center had a goal and two assists in Buffalo’s 5-3 triumph over the Nashville Predators last Tuesday and set up a tally in a 4-2 victory against Montreal two days later.

8. Pittsburgh Penguins (3-0-0; 26-14-11)

The Penguins won all three of their contests in Week 16 to wrap up a 4-0-0 road trip and extend their point streak to seven games (5-0-2). Pittsburgh allowed fewer than three goals in each outing last week and have done so in seven of their last 10 contests. Evgeni Malkin, who tallied in every Week 16 game and added a pair of assists, has landed on the scoresheet in 10 of his last 12 outings. Anthony Mantha had a two-goal performance in last Thursday’s 6-2 victory against Edmonton and rookie Ben Kindel recorded one of his own two days later in a 3-2 triumph over the Vancouver Canucks. Defenseman Jack St. Ivany got involved offensively last week, posting back-to-back two-assist efforts against the Calgary Flames and Oilers after having set up only three goals in his first 14 games this season.

9. Boston Bruins (2-1-1; 30-20-3)

The Bruins’ six-game slide (0-4-2) in late December has become a distant memory as the team has earned points in 11 of its 13 contests since (10-2-1). Boston began last week with a 6-2 setback against the Stars in Dallas that ended its six-game winning streak but rebounded with triumphs over the Vegas Golden Knights and Canadiens before squandering a third-period lead versus the New York Rangers on Monday and settling for one point in a 4-3 overtime loss. Morgan Geekie scored four goals in Week 16 to increase his season total to a team-leading 29, four shy of the career high he set last campaign, and added a pair of assists while Elias Lindholm netted three tallies and set up two others. David Pastrnak collected a goal and seven assists as he extended his point streak to seven games. The 29-year-old Czech right wing has notched at least one point in 12 of his last 13 contests, amassing six tallies and 20 assists over that span. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy picked up a goal and four assists in Week 16 and has landed on the scoresheet in 11 of his last 13 outings.

10. Florida Panthers (3-0-0; 28-20-3)

Florida is coming off a perfect week as it got past Winnipeg 2-1 in a shootout, edged Minnesota 4-3 in overtime and manhandled Chicago 5-1. Brad Marchand returned from a seven-game absence due to an undisclosed injury to record two goals — including the overtime winner — and an assist against the Wild. Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart also scored twice in Week 16, with the latter also notching an assist, while defenseman Tobias Bjornfot netted a pair of tallies versus the Blackhawks — his first two since recording his first NHL goal in 2020-21 while with the Los Angeles Kings.