For the first three months of the 2025-26 NHL season, the Colorado Avalanche were on a pace that logically was not sustainable. They’ve proven just that this month.
The Avalanche earned at least one point in 38 of their first 40 games this campaign, improving to 31-2-7 with a 5-3 triumph over the Carolina Hurricanes in their first game in January. They’ve gone 5-7-2 since, losing three of their four contests in Week 17 as their lead in the race for the President’s Trophy has shrunk to five points.
Five of those nine defeats came at home, where Colorado went 17-0-2 prior to the 2026 calendar year. The club has one more game at Ball Arena — and overall — before the NHL begins its 19-day break for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
While the Avalanche had a week they’d like to forget, two teams had fantastic seven-day stretches and now are nipping at their heels. The Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars both won all four of their games and enter Week 18 trailing Colorado in the league standings by only five and six points, respectively.
Several other clubs were perfect in Week 17, with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Seattle Kraken and Ottawa Senators all going 3-0-0 and the Tampa Bay Lightning winning both of their contests. Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens posted a 3-0-1 record, and the Hurricanes and Boston Bruins each went 2-0-1.
Only two squads had a worse time than Colorado last week, as the Florida Panthers suffered four regulation losses to drop out of the top 10 ratings and the New York Rangers were 0-3-0. The Vegas Golden Knights were the only other team that failed to get in the win column, but they earned two points by losing once in overtime and once in a shootout.
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 18 of the 2025-26 NHL season and highlight a few of the teams’ notable accomplishments.
NHL Week 18 power ratings
1. Colorado Avalanche (1-3-0 in Week 17; 36-9-9 overall)
The Avalanche began last week with back-to-back road losses against the Senators and Canadiens, giving them setbacks in six of eight contests (2-4-2). They bounced back with a 5-0 triumph over the Detroit Red Wings to break even on their four-game trek but wound up splitting the home-and-home series as they were shut out themselves 2-0 at Ball Arena on Monday. Nathan MacKinnon recorded two goals and an assist in Colorado’s lone victory but was kept off the scoresheet in each defeat and is four points behind Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, who leads the NHL with 95. Two-time Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar had an even more uneventful week as he failed to record a point. The 27-year-old enters Week 18 with his longest drought since a four-gamer from Jan. 6-11, 2025. Along with Ross Colton, Parker Kelly also scored twice last week and has converted in every other contest over his last eight.
2. Tampa Bay Lightning (2-0-0; 35-14-4)
Tampa Bay kept rolling in Week 17, cruising past the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 at home before recording an historic 6-5 shootout victory over the Bruins at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday in this season’s installment of the NHL Stadium Series. The Lightning overcame a four-goal deficit for the first time in franchise history in that contest as Boston was ahead 5-1 midway through the second period before imploding. It was the eighth consecutive home win for Tampa Bay, which has gone 17-1-1 over its last 19 overall games. Two-time defending Art Ross Trophy winner and three-time overall recipient Nikita Kucherov is riding an eight-game point streak and has landed on the scoresheet in 18 of his last 19 outings. The 32-year-old Russian right wing also is in the midst of a four-game multi-point run as he had a goal and an assist against Winnipeg before netting a tally and setting up three others versus Boston. Meanwhile, defenseman Darren Raddysh’s career season continued as the 29-year-old racked up two goals and three assists last week. Raddysh, who enters Week 18 with a four-game goal-scoring streak, already has set personal bests this campaign with 16 tallies, 33 assists and 49 points.
3. Dallas Stars (4-0-0; 33-14-9)
The Stars began last week with a perfect three-game road trip before ending it with their fifth consecutive overall victory and sixth in seven games, a 4-3 overtime triumph over the Jets. Defenseman Thomas Harley was impressive as he scored with 1:07 remaining in the third period last Tuesday to give Dallas a 4-3 win against the Blues in St. Louis, converted a power-play opportunity in a 3-2 victory over the Utah Mammoth on Saturday and netted the overtime winner versus Winnipeg two days later. Matt Duchene tallied in each game during Dallas’ trek, including twice at St. Louis, to extend his goal-scoring streak to four contests and notched a pair of assists against the Jets. Mikko Rantanen got on the scoresheet in all four Week 17 games, collecting a goal and four assists, captain Jamie Benn set up five tallies and Sam Steel and blue-liner Miro Heiskanen recorded four assists apiece.
4. Minnesota Wild (4-0-0; 33-14-10)
With their four victories in Week 17, the Wild have earned points in six straight games (5-0-1) and eight of their last nine (7-1-1). Three players contributed offensively in all four wins, with Matt Boldy scoring a goal and setting up four others, Joel Eriksson Ek registering three tallies and three assists and defenseman Quinn Hughes amassing a goal and six assists. Boldy is in the midst of a six-game point streak (two goals, six assists), Eriksson Ek has netted a tally in four of his last five outings and Hughes has set up 14 goals during his nine-game assist streak while also converting twice in that span. Kirill Kaprizov has scored four times over his last three contests and posted multi-point performances in seven of his past nine outings.
5. Carolina Hurricanes (2-0-1; 34-15-6)
Much like the Lightning, the Hurricanes have stormed to the top of the Eastern Conference are riding an eight-game point streak (6-0-2) and have gone 10-1-3 over the last 14 contests. They began last week with a 5-4 triumph over Mammoth — scoring three times in the final 1:59 of the third period, with captain Jordan Staal netting the winning goal with 30 seconds remaining. Carolina then squandered a three-goal lead in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals and let a two-goal advantage slip away before edging the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in OT. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere collected three goals and three assists in Week 17, while Andrei Svechnikov had two of each. Sebastian Aho appears to have broken out of his slump as he ended his 12-game drought with a tally against the Capitals and converted 1:25 into overtime versus the Kings.
6. Buffalo Sabres (3-1-0; 32-18-5)
The Sabres just might be for real as they won three of their four games last week. Since their three-game losing streak in early December, they’ve gone 21-4-1 over their last 26 contests. Alex Lyon has won 11 of his last 12 decisions, setting the franchise record with 10 consecutive victories during the stretch, and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin has landed on the scoresheet in 11 of his last 12 outings. Dahlin matched a career high with five points in a 7-4 triumph over the Toronto Maple Leafs last Tuesday, registering his first NHL hat trick in the contest. Two days later, Alex Tuch recorded his fourth career hat trick as Buffalo defeated Los Angeles 4-1. The 29-year-old right wing hasn’t gone back-to-back games without a point since Dec. 20-21, amassing 11 goals and eight assists over his last 20 outings.
7. Montreal Canadiens (3-0-1; 31-17-8)
Montreal was less than 13 minutes away from a perfect week as it defeated Vegas, Colorado and Buffalo before taking a 3-2 lead against Minnesota 12 seconds into the third period on Monday. However, the club allowed the tying goal with 12:55 remaining and fell 4-3 in overtime. Defenseman Noah Dobson got on the scoresheet in all four games for the Canadiens, notching a goal and four assists, while Nick Suzuki increased his team-leading point total to 65 with two tallies and four assists. The 26-year-old Suzuki has picked up at least one point in eight of his last nine outings and hasn’t been blanked in consecutive contests since Nov. 11 and 13.
8. Detroit Red Wings (1-2-1; 33-18-6)
The Red Wings fell eight spots in the ratings due to their rough week. They scored a total of one goal in regulation losses to Los Angeles and Colorado, and they were fortunate to earn a point in their shootout defeat against Washington as they tallied twice in the final 1:40 of the third period. Alex DeBrincat was Detroit’s top offensive producer in Week 17 as he netted three tallies and set up another. The 28-year-old right wing scored in the team’s 2-0 triumph over the Avalanche on Monday to reach the 30-goal plateau for the second straight campaign and fifth time in his nine-season NHL career.
9. Boston Bruins (2-0-1; 32-20-4)
The Bruins enter Week 18 with a six-game point streak and have gone 12-2-3 over their last 17 contests. They squandered a two-goal lead before defeating the Nashville Predators 3-2 in overtime last Tuesday and cruised past the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 but were unable to hold a four-goal advantage in Sunday’s Stadium Series matchup against Tampa Bay and fell 6-5 in a shootout. Morgan Geekie collected five points (three goals, two assists) last week while defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Jonathan Aspirot both notched four assists. The 27-year-old Geekie is riding a seven-game point streak during which he has netted seven tallies and set up four others. Meanwhile, McAvoy has racked up a goal and eight assists during his six-game run.
10. Pittsburgh Penguins (2-1-0; 28-15-11)
Pittsburgh began last week with victories over the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers — scoring six goals in each triumph — but dropped a 3-2 decision to the Senators on Monday, ending its six-game winning streak and nine-game point run (7-0-2). Captain Sidney Crosby has a quiet Week 17, recording just one assist, but Anthony Mantha scored three goals and set up two others. Connor Dewar and Noel Acciari each registered two goals and two assists, while Evgeni Malkin had an assist in each of the Penguins’ three contests to extend his point streak to six games (three goals, five assists). A two-time Art Ross Trophy winner, the 39-year-old Malkin has landed on the scoresheet in 13 of his last 15 contests, collecting seven goals and 12 assists in that span.
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