This past week, we saw the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights finally come away empty-handed, as both teams suffered their first regulation losses of the campaign. In fact, neither club got in the win column, going a combined 0-2-4 in Week 3.
Meanwhile, the New Jersey Devils (8-1-0) and Utah Mammoth (8-2-0) won all four of their contests and enter Week 4 of the 2025-26 NHL season tied atop the league standings with 16 points apiece. Colorado (5-1-4) and Vegas (5-1-3) still are among the top 10 but took a few steps back as a result of their performances.
Each week during the season, I’ll rank the league’s top 10 teams based on both the previous week’s performances and their overall bodies 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 after Week 3 of the 2025-26 NHL season and highlight a few of the teams’ notable accomplishments.
NHL Week 3 power ratings
1. New Jersey Devils (4-0-0 in Week 3; 8-1-0 overall)
The Devils were defeated 6-3 by the Carolina Hurricanes in their 2025-26 opener but haven’t lost since as they enter Week 4 with an eight-game winning streak. They posted three multi-goal victories last week before needing overtime to knock off the Avalanche last Sunday. Jack Hughes, who registered a hat trick last Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, tallied in OT to complete a two-goal effort and give him a share of the NHL lead with eight goals. Backup goaltender Jake Allen has been superb in place of the injured Jacob Markstrom (lower body), winning all five of his starts, and he ranks fourth in the league with a 1.93 goals-against average.
2. Utah Mammoth (4-0-0; 8-2-0)
The Mammoth likely won’t be in the top 10 a month from now, but let’s enjoy the ride while it lasts. They began Week 3 with an overtime win against Colorado and then scored a total of 16 goals in triumphs over the St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets. Logan Cooley was sensational in those victories, racking up five tallies and three assists. The 21-year-old center registered a natural hat trick in the first period versus St. Louis and followed by scoring twice in the first 4 minutes of the win against Minnesota. Nick Schmaltz also had a pair of goals versus the Wild and has landed on the scoresheet in nine of Utah’s 10 contests this season, including each of the last seven. The 29-year-old center is tied for the NHL lead with 16 points and shares fourth place with seven goals.
3. Colorado Avalanche (0-1-3; 5-1-4)
Yes, the Avalanche lost all four of their games last week, but they earned a point in three of them, as did Cale Makar, who tops all NHL defensemen with 11. The two-time Norris Trophy winner has been held without a point in only two of his first 10 contests this season. Center Martin Necas, who was acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes in January in the deal involving Mikko Rantanen, hasn’t notched a point in his last two outings but began 2025-26 with an eight-game point streak. Meanwhile, Artturi Lehkonen has recorded two goals and two assists over his last three contests.
4. Vegas Golden Knights (0-1-1; 5-1-3)
The Golden Knights spent last week in the Sunshine State and scored a total of one goal in their two games. Fortunately for them, they earned a point in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. William Karlsson netted Vegas’ lone tally, giving him four over his last five contests. Jack Eichel was kept off the scoresheet in Week 3, ending his season-opening seven-game point streak, but he still owns a share of the NHL lead with 16. The Golden Knights only play twice again in Week 4 as they conclude their road trip in Carolina before hosting Colorado, so there’s a chance they fall even further in these ratings next week.
5. Pittsburgh Penguins (3-0-1; 7-2-1)
Another team off to a surprisingly good start in 2025-26 is the Penguins. What might be even more shocking has been the play of aging superstars Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, who are tied for first and fourth in the NHL with 16 and 14 points, respectively. The 39-year-old Malkin, a two-time Art Ross Trophy winner who looked close to being finished last season, has been kept off the scoresheet just once in Pittsburgh’s 10 contests and is riding a seven-game point streak, recording two in each of his last three outings. One year younger and also a two-time Art Ross Trophy recipient, Crosby has registered three points in two of his past three contests and scored a goal in five of his last six. The Penguins’ captain notched his 1,700th career point in Monday’s 6-3 win against St. Louis, becoming just the ninth player in NHL history to reach the milestone, and he is 23 away from surpassing Pittsburgh legend Mario Lemieux (1,723) for eighth place on the all-time list. Justin Brazeau has benefitted from playing on a line with Malkin as he had six points last week and is halfway toward matching the career high of 22 he set while with the Boston Bruins and Minnesota last season.
6. Montreal Canadiens (2-1-0; 7-3-0)
The Canadiens had another solid week, recording two victories and coming within less than 10 minutes of a third as they squandered a two-goal lead against the Edmonton Oilers in the latter half of the third period and lost 6-5. After being blanked in the season opener, Nick Suzuki has notched at least one point in each of his last nine games, while Cole Caufield has registered three two-goal performances over his last seven outings. Rookie Ivan Demidov has started to show why he was the fifth overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft as the 19-year-old Russian right wing had a three-point effort in Saturday’s 4-3 triumph over the Vancouver Canucks and has recorded eight points over his last seven games.
7. Carolina Hurricanes (1-1-0; 6-2-0)
The Hurricanes split their two games in Week 3 and dropped two spots in these ratings. Sebastian Aho tallied in both contests and enters this week with a three-game goal-scoring streak. Oh yeah, the 28-year-old Finnish center has notched a point in each of Carolina’s eight games this campaign. Seth Jarvis’ season-opening point streak ended at seven contests as he was kept off the scoresheet in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars, but the 23-year-old center recorded a short-handed goal and an assist in regulation against Colorado two days earlier before being the only player to convert in the shootout to give the Hurricanes a 5-4 victory.
8. Winnipeg Jets (1-2-0; 6-3-0)
The Jets ended Week 2 with a five-game winning streak but lost two of three contests last week, scoring a total of two goals in the setbacks. One of those came off the stick of Mark Scheifele, who is tied for the NHL lead with eight and has tallied in six of his last eight games. Kyle Connor set a career high with 97 points last season and has picked up where he left off, notching at least one in eight of his first nine contests in 2025-26.
9. Seattle Kraken (2-1-0; 5-2-2)
The Kraken began Week 3 with a loss to the Washington Capitals but followed that up with victories against Winnipeg and Edmonton. Goaltender Joey Daccord was superb versus the Jets, turning aside all 32 shots he faced for his sixth career shutout. Seattle produced a total of six goals in the wins, with captain Jordan Eberle scoring half of them. The 35-year-old right wing, who was limited to 42 games in 2024-25 due to a pelvic injury, has landed on the scoresheet in seven of the Kraken’s nine contests this campaign.
10. Detroit Red Wings (1-2-0; 6-3-0)
The Red Wings dropped six spots in the ratings, thanks mostly to losses against the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders in which they were outscored 11-4. Detroit appeared to be on its way to a winless week as it allowed St. Louis to score the game’s first four goals on Saturday before storming back with six unanswered tallies. Swedish defenseman Simon Edvinsson snapped a 4-4 tie with 9:12 remaining in the third period and completed a two-goal performance with an empty-netter. Captain Dylan Larkin was kept off the scoresheet in the 6-4 victory, ending his season-opening eight-game point streak, but 20-year-old rookie center Emmitt Finnie enters Week 4 with a four-game run during which he has recorded four goals and two assists.
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