For a short while, the Colorado Avalanche showed signs of being human. Rest assured, they’re back to being their dominant selves.
The Avalanche have won five consecutive games and seven of their last eight following a stretch during which they went 5-7-2. They won all three of their contests in Week 20 of the 2025-26 NHL season, defeating a red-hot Anaheim Ducks squad 5-1 before posting shootout victories against the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild – the two teams that are closest to them in the Western Conference standings.
Colorado is seven points ahead of Dallas in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy and 10 in front of Minnesota. The Carolina Hurricanes, who lead the Eastern Conference, trail the Avalanche by nine points.
Like Colorado, the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets – both of whom are near the bottom of the overall league standings – also went 3-0-0 in Week 20. But the Buffalo Sabres had the most impressive week, winning all four of their games to extend their streak to seven straight victories.
The Sabres also prevailed in what certainly is a candidate for Game of the Year, edging their Atlantic Division rivals Tampa Bay Lightning 8-7 in a fight-filled affair. Buffalo squandered a 4-1 lead by allowing five consecutive tallies before rallying from a 7-5 deficit in the latter half of the third period.
Dallas and Minnesota both went 2-0-1 last week while three other teams had strong showings and fell just short of breaking into the top 10 of the ratings. The Utah Grizzlies and Ottawa Senators each registered three victories and an overtime loss, while the Columbus Blue Jackets posted a 2-0-2 record.
Only two clubs failed to get into the win column in Week 20. The Seattle Kraken suffered a pair of regulation losses but still occupy a wild-card spot in the West, but the Toronto Maple Leafs went 0-2-1 to fall farther out of playoff contention in the East. Craig Berube’s squad recorded three consecutive triumphs prior to the Olympic break but haven’t won since, going 0-5-2 since returning from the pause, and are 11 points out of the second wild-card berth.
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 21 of the 2025-26 NHL season and highlight a few of the teams’ notable accomplishments.
NHL Week 21 power ratings
1. Colorado Avalanche (3-0-0 in Week 20; 43-10-9 overall)
Nathan MacKinnon hasn’t allowed the disappointment of not winning the gold medal at the Olympics affect his performance with the Avalanche. The 2024 Hart Trophy winner has landed on the scoresheet in each of his six outings since returning from Milan, collecting three goals and eight assists while posting four multi-point performances. MacKinnon, who enters Week 21 with a seven-game point streak, netted two tallies and set up three others last week as he increased his NHL-leading goal total to 43 and reached the 100-point plateau (104) for the fourth consecutive season. Martin Necas scored twice last week to match the career high of 28 goals he set in 2022-23 while with Carolina and added three assists to leave him seven points shy of equaling the personal best of 83, which he registered last campaign. Scott Wedgewood recorded all three of Colorado’s wins last week as he turned aside 69 of 72 shots to take over the league lead in goals against average (2.19). Meanwhile, Nazem Kadri got his second stint with the Avs off to a good start as he notched an assist against the Wild last Sunday in his first game since being re-acquired from the Calgary Flames at the trade deadline. Colorado did suffer a blow last week, however, as captain Gabriel Landeskog suffered a lower-body injury against Dallas on Friday and is considered week-to-week.
2. Dallas Stars (2-0-1; 39-14-10)
Dallas sandwiched triumphs over Calgary and the Chicago Blackhawks (in overtime) around its shootout loss to Colorado last week. It did so without Mikko Rantanen (lower body), who was injured while playing for Team Finland at the Winter Games but could be back in two weeks. The Stars also lost another key offensive player in Week 20 as Roope Hintz suffered a lower-body injury against the Avalanche and is expected to be sidelined for several weeks. The 29-year-old Hintz, who also was a member of Finland’s Olympic team, missed four games prior to getting hurt with an illness. Another Olympic bronze medalist, defenseman Miro Heiskanen has landed on the scoresheet in 10 of his last 12 contests. The 26-year-old netted a tally and set up another in the shootout loss to Colorado before scoring the winning goal in overtime against Chicago. Jason Robertson was kept in check by the Blackhawks, ending his streak of four straight two-point performances, but still leads the Stars with 74 points. Mavrik Bourque had a strong week offensively, collecting two goals and three assists, and has notched at least one point in four consecutive contests and eight of his last 10. Wyatt Johnston has recorded four two-point efforts over his last six outings and rookie Justin Hryckowian has tallied in back-to-back contests following an 11-game drought.
3. Buffalo Sabres (4-0-0; 39-19-6)
The Sabres enter Week 21 as the third best offensive team in the NHL with 222 goals, behind only Colorado (235) and the Edmonton Oilers (227), after racking up 19 in four games last week. Tage Thompson, who was a member of Team USA, recorded four assists in Sunday’s triumph over Tampa Bay to extend his point streak to 11 games. The 28-year-old center leads Buffalo with 70 points and has notched at least one in 22 of his last 24 outings. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and five assists last week while Alex Tuch, who is riding a six-game point streak, netted three tallies and set up two others. Veteran left wing Jason Zucker also had a strong offensive week as he amassed five points over four games after collecting the same amount over his previous 12 contests.
4. Minnesota Wild (2-0-1; 37-16-11)
Minnesota earned five of a possible six points in Week 20, defeating the Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights by multiple goals before losing to the Avalanche in a shootout. Defenseman Brock Faber, who helped Team USA win the gold medal in the Winter Games, got on the scoresheet in all three contests, collecting a goal and three assists. Olympic teammate Matt Boldy notched three assists against Tampa Bay to extend his point streak to 11 games but was kept off the scoresheet in his next two outings. Blue-liner Quinn Hughes, who also came home from Milan with gold, scored a goal and set up four others. The 26-year-old leads all NHL defensemen with 57 assists and has recorded at least one point in 15 of his last 16 contests.
5. Carolina Hurricanes (2-1-0; 40-17-6)
The Hurricanes defeated the Vancouver Canucks and Oilers, scoring six goals in each triumph, before dropping a 5-4 decision to the Calgary Flames to complete a 2-2-0 road trip last week. Five players landed on the scoresheet in each of the three contests, with Olympic medalists Sebastian Aho (bronze) and Seth Jarvis (silver) each recording a goal and five assists. Aho has notched at least one point in eight of his last 10 games, while Jarvis has done so in five of six and hasn’t gone back-to-back outings without a point since mid-November. Defenseman Sean Walker enters Week 21 with a five-game point streak during which he has amassed two goals and four assists. Nikolaj Ehlers had four goals and an assist over Carolina’s three games, registering his second hat trick of the season and the seventh of his career in the victory against the Canucks.
6. Tampa Bay Lightning (1-3-0; 39-19-4)
Tampa Bay’s struggles since returning from the Olympic break continued last week as it lost three of its four contests, all of which were on the road. The Lightning have gone 2-5-0 since the pause, with two of the setbacks coming against a Sabres squad that has overtaken them for first place in the Atlantic Division. Nikita Kucherov continued his quest for a third consecutive – and fourth overall – Art Ross Trophy, recording three goals and five assists to increase his point total to 103. Brayden Point (two goals, three assists) landed on the scoresheet in all four of Tampa Bay’s games in Week 20 and has done so in 13 of his last 15 overall. Olympic silver medalist Brandon Hagel has recorded a goal and an assist in back-to-back contests while veteran Corey Perry began his second stint with the Lightning by tallying in each of his first two games since being acquired from the Los Angeles Kings at the trade deadline. Defenseman Darren Raddysh continued his career-best season by collecting four assists. The 30-year-old enters Week 21 with personal bests of 17 goals, 41 assists and 58 points.
7. Montreal Canadiens (1-1-1; 34-18-10)
There was a little bit of everything during Montreal’s trip to California as it was beaten in regulation by the San Jose Sharks and lost to the Anaheim Ducks in a shootout before edging Los Angeles 4-3. The Canadiens’ top offensive players were just that on the trek as Olympic silver medalist Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky each recorded two goals and four assists while defenseman Lane Hutson collected five points (one goal, four assists) and Cole Caufield amassed four (two, two). Suzuki, who leads the team with 74 points, has registered nine over his last four outings while Caufield and Slafkovsky have notched seven in their past five contests. Meanwhile, Hutson has landed on the scoresheet in eight of his last nine games, racking up two goals and nine assists in that span. Jake Evans has come alive of late as he enters Week 21 with a four-game point streak during which he has netted two tallies and set up three others.
8. Detroit Red Wings (1-1-1; 36-21-7)
Detroit had a week similar to Montreal’s, recording a win, a regulation loss and an overtime setback. The Red Wings produced a total of only seven goals in the three contests, with Alex DeBrincat (two) the only player to score more than one. The 28-year-old right wing leads the team with 33 tallies and converted in three consecutive contests before being denied in Sunday’s 3-0 triumph over the New Jersey Devils. Veteran James van Riemsdyk was one of the offensive heroes in that victory as he ended his five-game point drought with a goal and an assist. Defenseman Moritz Seider was even more productive as he netted a tally and set up two others, giving him at least one point in five of his last seven outings.
9. Pittsburgh Penguins (1-2-1; 32-17-14)
The Penguins began last week with losses to the Boston Bruins and Sabres, scoring just one goal in each setback, and were beaten in a shootout by the Philadelphia Flyers before rallying from a three-goal deficit and ultimately defeating Boston 5-4 in overtime. Pittsburgh is now 3-2-2 without captain and leading scorer Sidney Crosby (59 points), who has been sidelined since suffering a lower-body injury while playing in the Olympics. The club has gone 1-0-1 since Evgeni Malkin began serving his five-game suspension for a slashing incident against Buffalo last Thursday. Anthony Mantha scored twice in Sunday’s triumph over the Bruins to give him 47 points, which is one shy of the career high he set while with Detroit in 2017-18 and matched the following season. Bryan Rust was riding a five-game point streak (two goals, four assists) before being kept off the scoresheet last time out, while defenseman Erik Karlsson has notched at least one point (two goals, five assists) in five of his last six contests.
10. New York Islanders (1-2-0; 36-23-5)
The Islanders began their four-game road trip in disappointing fashion as they were outscored by a combined 10-4 in losses at Anaheim and Los Angeles. They salvaged their final Week 20 contest, edging San Jose 2-1 in overtime. Bo Horvat, who helped Team Canada to the silver medal in the Winter Games, scored the winner against the Sharks, giving him a goal in three of his last four outings. The 30-year-old center notched at least one point in six of his last eight contests. Mathew Barzal has appeared on the scoresheet in nine of his past 10 games, collecting four goals and nine assists in that span, and hasn’t gone back-to-back outings without a point since a three-game drought in late December. Defenseman Tony DeAngelo also tallied in the triumph over San Jose after having picked up five assists over his previous five contests.
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