NHL power ratings: Avalanche enter Week 23 of the 2025-26 season with some breathing room

SportsLine NHL analyst Scott Erskine breaks down his top 10 teams ahead of Week 23 of the 2025-26 season

The Colorado Avalanche did not get off to a good start in Week 22 of the 2025-26 NHL season, dropping a pair of decisions to see their winless streak reach three games (0-2-1) - their longest skid since a four-game stretch in late October (0-1-3). But they ended the week in strong fashion, winning the first three contests of a four-game road trip.

After getting trounced 7-2 by the Pittsburgh Penguins and being edged 2-1 in a shootout by the Dallas Stars during a brief two-game homestand, the Avalanche took out their frustrations on the road. Colorado rolled past the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 and topped the Washington Capitals 3-2 in overtime before exacting revenge on the Penguins with a 6-2 triumph in the Steel City.

The victory in Chicago made the Avalanche the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season while the win in Pittsburgh increased their lead over Dallas in the Central Division - and the race for the Presidents' Trophy to seven points. Colorado looks to further distance itself from the Stars when it begins Week 23 with the final game of its road trip, the opener of a home-and-home series with the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.

Dallas had a rough time in Week 22, winning only one of its five contests (1-3-1) and needing a shootout to do so. But there was some good news in the Lone Star State as, despite suffering a 3-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, the Stars secured a postseason spot by virtue of the Utah Mammoth's victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

The Nashville Predators continued their surge toward a playoff spot by winning all five of their games last week, which put them in the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Lightning got untracked, going 4-0-1 after a nine-game stretch during which they registered only two victories (2-7-0), while the Buffalo Sabres and Anaheim Ducks remained atop their respective divisions by posting 3-0-1 records.

Despite the fact that they'll likely miss the playoffs for the third time in four seasons, the St. Louis Blues earned five of a possible six points in Week 22 (2-0-1), and the Calgary Flames went 4-1-0 even though they figure to be spectators for the fourth consecutive postseason. However, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Ottawa Senators also were 4-1-0 last week to remain in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

The Seattle Kraken (0-3-1) and San Jose Sharks (0-4-0) didn't help their postseason chances, while the New York Rangers (0-4-1) sank deeper into the basement in the East. New York is eight points behind both the Toronto Maple Leafs and reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in the conference.

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 23 of the 2025-26 NHL season and highlight a few of the teams' notable accomplishments.

NHL Week 23 power ratings 

1. Colorado Avalanche (3-1-1 in Week 22; 47-13-10 overall)

Nathan MacKinnon kept racking up points in Week 22, scoring two goals and setting up four others. The 2024 Hart Trophy winner leads the NHL with 46 goals and ranks third with 115 points - one shy of his total last season. MacKinnon wasn't the only member of the Avalanche to have a productive week, as Martin Necas collected three goals and five assists to give him a career-high 88 points. The 27-year-old Czech center has posted three consecutive multi-point performances and is two assists away from matching the personal best of 56 he registered last campaign. Defenseman Cale Makar recorded four points (one goal, three assists) while Colorado received a boost with the return of captain Gabriel Landeskog, who tallied against Washington in his first game back after missing seven with a lower-body injury.

2. Buffalo Sabres (3-0-1; 44-20-7)

Buffalo earned seven of a possible eight points on its four-game road trip last week, posting victories at Vegas, San Jose and Los Angeles before dropping a 6-5 overtime decision in Anaheim. The Sabres have failed to come away with a point just once in their last 14 contests (12-1-1) and enter Week 23 one point behind the Carolina Hurricanes for first place in the Eastern Conference. Zach Benson recorded a goal and an assist in each of his last two outings and finished last week with five points, as did defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (two goals, three assists). Buffalo received some stellar goaltending on its trek as well, with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen posting a 29-save shutout against the Golden Knights and Alex Lyon turning aside all 23 shots he faced versus the Sharks two nights later. The 27-year-old Luukkonen followed by allowing only one goal on 27 shots in the triumph over the Kings.

3. Carolina Hurricanes (3-2-0; 45-20-6)

The Hurricanes started and ended Week 22 with a loss but reeled off three straight victories in between, including a pair against the Metropolitan Division-rival Penguins. Carolina scored a total of 15 goals in the wins (11 against Pittsburgh) but only three in the defeats. Nikolaj Ehlers (two goals, five assists) and Seth Jarvis (one, six) both amassed seven points, with the latter concluding the week with a four-game streak. The 30-year-old Ehlers has landed on the scoresheet in five of his last six outings and is five points away from matching the career high of 64 he set in 2016-17 while with Winnipeg. Jackson Blake became the fifth member of the Hurricanes to reach the 20-goal plateau this season when he tallied during a three-point effort in the team's 6-5 overtime triumph over the Penguins last Wednesday.

4. Dallas Stars (1-3-1; 43-17-11)

Dallas carried a 15-game point streak (14-0-1) into Week 22 but came crashing down as it lost three contests in regulation and another in overtime. The team easily could have gone winless as its lone victory was recorded in a shootout (2-1 over Colorado). Despite the club's struggles, Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston had strong weeks offensively. Robertson scored three goals and set up three others to increase his team-leading point total to 85, while Johnston netted four tallies and added an assist. The 22-year-old Johnston is tied for third in the NHL with a career-high 40 goals - one more than Robertson, who is looking to reach that number for the third time overall and first since scoring 46 times in 2022-23. The Stars could receive a lift in Week 23 as Mikko Rantanen, who hasn't played since suffering a lower-body injury while representing Finland in the Winter Olympics, has been skating with the team and is close to returning.

5. Tampa Bay Lightning (4-0-1; 44-21-5)

Last week's four-game road trip appears to have been exactly what the Lightning needed to break out of their funk. The club began the trek with victories at Seattle, Vancouver and Edmonton before finishing it with an overtime loss at Calgary. Tampa Bay then returned home and ended Week 22 strong as it posted a 6-3 triumph over the Minnesota Wild to remain just two points behind Buffalo in the Atlantic Division. Nikita Kucherov landed on the scoresheet in all five of Tampa Bay's contests, beginning with a five-point performance against the Kraken that included his seventh career hat trick. The 32-year-old Russian right wing is seeking his third consecutive Art Ross Trophy and the fourth of his career as he leads the NHL with 120 points. After a three-game drought, Brandon Hagel had four multi-point efforts last week, collecting three goals and seven assists. Anthony Cirelli scored four goals and set up four others over the Lightning's first three games of the week and Darren Raddysh netted three tallies to become the fifth defenseman to hit the 20-goal mark this season. The 30-year-old also notched three assists as he increased his career-high totals to 20 tallies, 44 assists and 64 points.

6. Montreal Canadiens (3-1-0; 39-21-10)

After ending Week 21 with back-to-back losses, the Canadiens won three of their four contests last week. They were especially impressive in the last two, scoring a total of 12 goals against the New York Islanders and Carolina. Cole Caufield collected five goals and five assists to give him a career-high 76 points. The 25-year-old right wing, who is riding a six-game point streak, recorded his third career hat trick and second this season in the triumph over the Islanders while registering a tally and an assist in Montreal's wins against the Boston Bruins and Hurricanes. Caufield is second in the league with 44 goals, the most by a member of the Canadiens since Stephane Richer scored 51 in 1989-90. Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky joined Caufield by landing on the scoresheet in all four of the team's Week 22 contests, amassing eight points apiece as they extended their point streaks to seven games. Suzuki had a goal and seven assists as he climbed within three points of the career high of 89 he set last season, while Slafkovsky picked up four goals and four assists to increase his personal-best total to 63 points.

7. Minnesota Wild (2-2-0; 40-20-12)

The Wild split their four games last week but easily could have gone winless as both of their victories came in overtime. Minnesota scored a total of only 10 goals, with Vladimir Tarasenko (three) and Mats Zuccarello (two) being the only members of the team to tally more than once. The 34-year-old Tarasenko, who netted the overtime winner against Dallas last Saturday, has recorded five goals over his last five contests and has 21 on the season after registering just 11 in 80 games with the Detroit Red Wings in 2024-25. Defenseman Brock Faber had the most productive week offensively for the Wild, collecting a goal and four assists to give him a career-high 48 points - one more than his total two seasons ago.

8. Columbus Blue Jackets (4-1-0; 38-22-11)

Columbus continued its furious pace in Week 22, winning four of its five games. Since suffering three consecutive regulation losses in early January, the Blue Jackets have earned at least one point in 24 of their last 27 contests (20-3-4). Zach Werenski had quite a week, recording a goal and eight assists to increase his team-leading point total to 77, which puts him second among all NHL defensemen behind Edmonton's Evan Bouchard (82). Adam Fantilli (two goals, four assists) and Cole Sillinger (one, five) each amassed six points and climbed within one of the respective career highs they set last season. Fantilli, who has landed on the scoresheet in seven of his last eight outings, enters Week 23 with 53 points and Sillinger does so with 32.

9. Pittsburgh Penguins (2-2-1; 35-20-16)

Pittsburgh earned five points over its first three games (2-0-1) but ended Week 22 with a thud, losing to the Hurricanes and Avalanche by a combined 11-3 score. As a result of those setbacks, the Penguins dropped to third place in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind Columbus. After suffering a lower-body injury during the Olympics that sidelined him for 11 games, captain Sidney Crosby was back in the lineup against Carolina last Wednesday and recorded a goal and an assist in the team's 6-5 overtime loss. The two-time Hart Trophy winner notched an assist in each of the Penguins' next three contests and scored the decisive shootout goal in Saturday's triumph over Winnipeg. Two-time Art Ross Trophy recipient Evgeni Malkin amassed two goals and three assists in his first three outings following a five-game suspension but missed Tuesday's loss to Colorado with an upper-body injury. Erik Karlsson began Week 22 with three straight multi-point performances, netting five tallies and setting up three others. The three-time Norris Trophy winner posted six multi-point efforts over seven contests before being kept off the scoresheet in each of Pittsburgh's last two games.

10. Ottawa Senators (4-1-0; 38-24-9)

After beginning Week 22 with a 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals, the Senators posted four consecutive victories to improve to 15-3-2 over their last 20 games. The surge has Ottawa sitting in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference as it enters Week 23. Warren Foegele, who was acquired from Los Angeles at the trade deadline earlier this month, scored in three straight contests last week and has five goals in 10 outings with Ottawa. Tim Stutzle, captain Brady Tkachuk and Shane Pinto each had two goals and an assist over the Senators' five games while defenseman Carter Yakemchuk made his NHL debut in Tuesday's 3-2 triumph over the Red Wings a memorable one as he netted one tally and set up another.