NHL power ratings: Stars chasing down Avalanche ahead of Week 22

A week ago, it appeared as if the Colorado Avalanche had figured things out and were back to being the dominant team they were over the first three months of the 2025-26 NHL season. But as everyone knows, a lot can change in a span of six or seven days.

Colorado entered Week 21 with a five-game winning streak and a 6-1-0 record since returning from the Olympic break. It also was seven points ahead of Dallas in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy, but that lead has been reduced to just three thanks the Avalanche’s rough week and the Stars’ superb showing.

Losses to the Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets were sandwiched around Colorado’s triumph over the Seattle Kraken. Meanwhile, Dallas defeated the Vegas Golden Knights, Oilers and Detroit Red Wings to extend their points streak to 15 games (14-0-1) and can close the gap even more this week as it has a showdown with the Avalanche on Wednesday.

The Stars were joined by the New York Rangers as the only teams to go 3-0-0 in Week 21. Just two other clubs went without a regulation loss, as the Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers both posted 2-0-1 records.

Every squad other than the Detroit Red Wings and Utah Mammoth got in the win column last week. The Red Wings and Mammoth each lost twice in regulation and once in overtime.

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

NHL Week 22 power ratings 

1. Colorado Avalanche (1-2-0 in Week 21; 44-12-9 overall)

Nathan MacKinnon was kept off the scoresheet in the loss to the Oilers, ending his seven-game point streak. He bounced back in a big way against the Kraken. The 2024 Hart Trophy winner recorded at least four points for the sixth time this season in that contest, scoring his NHL-leading 44th goal and adding three assists and he set up a tally against the Jets to increase his point total to 109 to put him five behind Edmonton’s Connor McDavid in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. Martin Necas had a strong offensive week, racking up three goals and an assist to hit the 80-point mark for the second time in his career. The 27-year-old Czech, who has landed on the scoresheet in nine of his last 10 outings, is three points away from matching the personal best he set last season.  

2. Dallas Stars (3-0-0; 42-14-10)

The Stars haven’t gone without a point since dropping a 1-0 decision to the Blue Jackets on Jan. 22. They wrapped one-goal triumphs over Vegas and Detroit around a thorough 7-2 victory against Edmonton last week. Jason Robertson ended a brief two-game drought in that contest, scoring a pair of goals and setting up two others for his first four-point performance of the season. He added an assist against the Red Wings while Wyatt Johnston collected two goals and four assists in Week 21, getting on the scoresheet in all three of Dallas’ contests. With Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz both sidelined with lower-body injuries, captain Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene were more involved offensively last week. Benn scored the winning goal against the Golden Knights and converted twice against the Oilers, while Duchene had a tally and an assist in the win over Edmonton after setting up a score against Vegas.

3. Buffalo Sabres (2-1-0; 41-20-6)

The Sabres won two of their three games last week without the help of leading scorer Tage Thompson, who has failed to record a point in three straight contests for just the second time this season. The current drought ended an 11-game point streak during which the 28-year-old amassed six goals and nine assists. Jack Quinn had a huge week as he registered his first career hat trick and added an assist in Buffalo’s 6-3 victory against the San Jose Sharks and tallied again in a 3-2 shootout triumph over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 24-year-old right wing has set career highs of 16 goals, 28 assists and 44 points this campaign.

4. Carolina Hurricanes (2-1-0; 42-18-6)

Carolina, which hasn’t lost back-to-back games since mid-January, won two of its three contests in Week 21. Sebastian Aho set up a tally in a 5-4 shootout victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins before recording a goal and an assist in a 4-2 triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 28-year-old Finnish center hasn’t gone consecutive games without a point since a three-game drought in late January. Logan Stankoven netted a pair of tallies last week as did defenseman Mark Jankowski, who converted in two straight outings after producing just one goal over his previous 14 contests.

5. Minnesota Wild (1-2-1; 38-18-12)

The Wild began Week 21 with a 5-0 victory against Utah but went on to lose three consecutive contests (0-2-1), marking just the second time they’ve done that since the end of October. Vladimir Tarasenko had one of his best weeks of the season, scoring two goals and setting up three others as he reached the 700-point mark for his career. Matt Boldy is tied with teammate Kirill Kaprizov for third in the NHL with a career-high 38 goals after scoring in each of Minnesota’s first three games last week. Kaprizov tallied in both of the team’s first two contests, giving him a goal in six of seven outings, before being denied in back-to-back games. Quinn Hughes collected four assists to increase his season total to 61, which is tops among all NHL defensemen.

6. Montreal Canadiens (2-2-0; 36-20-10)

Montreal got off to a good start last week, defeating Toronto and the Ottawa Senators, but ended poorly with home losses to the Sharks and Anaheim Ducks. Nick Suzuki continued to rack up points as he scored two goals and set up two others. The 26-year-old center, who is 11 points away from matching the career high of 89 that he set last season, has landed on the scoresheet in seven of his last eight outings. Ivan Demidov had a goal and three assists last week to give him 52 points, which is tops among NHL rookies. After missing one game with an illness, Cole Caufield returned to the lineup and scored in both of the Canadiens’ final two games of Week 21 to increase his goal total to a career-high 39, which puts him second in the league behind MacKinnon.

7. Tampa Bay Lightning (1-2-0; 40-21-4)

Tampa Bay’s struggles continued in Week 21 as the team lost two of its three games, dropping it to 2-7-0 over its last nine and four points behind Buffalo in the Atlantic Division. Nikita Kucherov kept chugging along, however, collecting three assists to give him 72 on the season – five behind McDavid for the NHL lead. The three-time Art Ross Trophy winner also ranks third in the league with 106 points. Gage Goncalves had a productive week as he scored three goals and set up another to increase his career-best totals to 10 tallies, 14 assists and 24 points. The Lightning, who have lost five of their last six on the road, head out west for four games in Week 22.

8. New York Islanders (2-1-0; 38-24-5)

After losing two of three games in Week 20, the Islanders won two of their three contests last week. Mathew Barzal capped a three-point performance with the overtime winner against the St. Louis Blues and Simon Holmstrom scored twice a 3-2 triumph over the Calgary Flames. Meanwhile, Emil Heineman netted a pair of tallies in the team’s loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Barzal was kept off the scoresheet in the Isles’ last two contests but notched at least one point in 10 of his previous 11 outings. Bo Horvat collected three points last week while defenseman Matthew Schaefer had two assists and is third among NHL rookies with 48 points.

9. Pittsburgh Penguins (1-1-1; 33-18-15)

The Penguins stayed afloat last week without captain Sidney Crosby (lower body) and Evgeni Malkin (suspension), winning one game, losing one in regulation and dropping another in a shootout. Bryan Rust, Anthony Mantha and Rickard Rakell landed on the scoresheet in all three contests, with Rust leading the way (three goals, two assists). The 33-year-old right wing has picked up at least one point in eight of his last nine outings. Mantha had four points and amassed six (four goals) over his past four games. Meanwhile, Rakell scored a goal and set up two others as he enters Week 22 with a five-game point streak. Egor Chinakhov has posted three two-point performances over his last five contests and defenseman Erik Karlsson has recorded three in his past four outings.

10. Columbus Blue Jackets (2-0-1; 34-21-11)

Columbus’ charge toward a playoff berth continued in Week 21 as it earned five of a possible six points. The Blue Jackets have gone 5-0-4 over their last nine games and have lost in regulation only twice over their last 22 contests (16-2-4). They enter Week 22 one point out of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and two behind the Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division. Adam Fantilli had the best week offensively for Columbus, getting on the scoresheet in each of the team’s three games. The 21-year-old center has registered at least one point in 12 of his last 16 outings and has set a career high with 28 assists. Kirill Marchenko, who tallied in two of three contests last week, leads the Blue Jackets with 25 goals and has been held without a point only twice is his past 14 games.