{"id":444311,"date":"2026-02-04T01:18:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T01:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/444311\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T01:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T01:18:12","slug":"nhl-power-ratings-avs-experience-slump-clinging-to-top-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/444311\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL power ratings: Avs experience slump, clinging to top spot"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first three months of the 2025-26 NHL season, the Colorado Avalanche<\/a> were on a pace that logically was not sustainable. They’ve proven just that this month.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> and Dallas Stars<\/a> both won all four of their games and enter Week 18 trailing Colorado in the league standings by only five and six points, respectively.<\/p>\n

Several other clubs were perfect in Week 17, with the Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a>, Seattle Kraken<\/a> and Ottawa Senators<\/a> all going 3-0-0 and the Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> winning both of their contests. Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens<\/a> posted a 3-0-1 record, and the Hurricanes and Boston Bruins<\/a> each went 2-0-1.<\/p>\n

Only two squads had a worse time than Colorado last week, as the Florida Panthers<\/a> suffered four regulation losses to drop out of the top 10 ratings and the New York Rangers<\/a> were 0-3-0. The Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Let’s dive into the power ratings entering Week 18 of the 2025-26 NHL<\/a> season and highlight a few of the teams’ notable accomplishments.<\/p>\n

NHL Week 18 power ratings\u00a01. Colorado Avalanche (1-3-0 in Week 17; 36-9-9 overall)<\/p>\n

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<\/a> 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<\/a> 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<\/a> superstar Connor McDavid<\/a>, who leads the NHL with 95. Two-time Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar<\/a> 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<\/a>, Parker Kelly<\/a> also scored twice last week and has converted in every other contest over his last eight.<\/p>\n

2. Tampa Bay Lightning (2-0-0; 35-14-4)<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay kept rolling in Week 17, cruising past the Winnipeg Jets<\/a> 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<\/a> 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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

3. Dallas Stars (4-0-0; 33-14-9)<\/p>\n

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<\/a> 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<\/a> in St. Louis, converted a power-play opportunity in a 3-2 victory over the Utah Mammoth<\/a> on Saturday and netted the overtime winner versus Winnipeg two days later. Matt Duchene<\/a> 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<\/a> got on the scoresheet in all four Week 17 games, collecting a goal and four assists, captain Jamie Benn<\/a> set up five tallies and Sam Steel<\/a> and blue-liner Miro Heiskanen<\/a> recorded four assists apiece.<\/p>\n

4. Minnesota Wild (4-0-0; 33-14-10)<\/p>\n

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<\/a> scoring a goal and setting up four others, Joel Eriksson Ek<\/a> registering three tallies and three assists and defenseman Quinn Hughes<\/a> 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<\/a> has scored four times over his last three contests and posted multi-point performances in seven of his past nine outings.<\/p>\n

5. Carolina Hurricanes (2-0-1; 34-15-6)<\/p>\n

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<\/a> 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<\/a> and let a two-goal advantage slip away before edging the Los Angeles Kings<\/a> 3-2 in OT. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere<\/a> collected three goals and three assists in Week 17, while Andrei Svechnikov<\/a> had two of each. Sebastian Aho<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

6. Buffalo Sabres (3-1-0; 32-18-5)<\/p>\n

The Sabres<\/a> 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<\/a> has won 11 of his last 12 decisions, setting the franchise record with 10 consecutive victories during the stretch, and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin<\/a> 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<\/a> last Tuesday, registering his first NHL hat trick in the contest. Two days later, Alex Tuch<\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

7. Montreal Canadiens (3-0-1; 31-17-8)<\/p>\n

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<\/a> got on the scoresheet in all four games for the Canadiens, notching a goal and four assists, while Nick Suzuki<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

8. Detroit Red Wings (1-2-1; 33-18-6)<\/p>\n

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<\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

9. Boston Bruins (2-0-1; 32-20-4)<\/p>\n

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<\/a> 3-2 in overtime last Tuesday and cruised past the Philadelphia Flyers<\/a> 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<\/a> collected five points (three goals, two assists) last week while defensemen Charlie McAvoy<\/a> and Jonathan Aspirot<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

10. Pittsburgh Penguins (2-1-0; 28-15-11)<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh began last week with victories over the Chicago Blackhawks<\/a> 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<\/a> has a quiet Week 17, recording just one assist, but Anthony Mantha<\/a> scored three goals and set up two others. Connor Dewar<\/a> and Noel Acciari<\/a> each registered two goals and two assists, while Evgeni Malkin<\/a> had an assist in each of the Penguins<\/a>‘ 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the first three months of the 2025-26 NHL season, the Colorado Avalanche were on a pace that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[6017,4114,6452,1742,10448,193,183,95,229,1116,265,191,29,2154,96,144,230,6770,155,147,2580,93,146,1495,57,5,195,3733,499,40692,1284,537,189,145,799,2876,270,38,423,21,4261,231,517,35,4,59,38647,27164,38646,61,38645,2723,975,1335,778,15467,25,6295,118,56,100,1496,4011,3358,1351,1108,3367,234,1174,2823,768,84,197,92,2392,31,3154,39,109,162,18],"class_list":["post-444311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-nhl","tag-alex-debrincat","tag-alex-lyon","tag-alex-tuch","tag-andrei-svechnikov","tag-anthony-mantha","tag-avalanche","tag-betting","tag-boston-bruins","tag-buffalo-sabres","tag-cale-makar","tag-canadiens","tag-capitals","tag-carolina-hurricanes","tag-charlie-mcavoy","tag-chicago-blackhawks","tag-colorado-avalanche","tag-columbus-blue-jackets","tag-connor-dewar","tag-connor-mcdavid","tag-dallas-stars","tag-darren-raddysh","tag-detroit-red-wings","tag-edmonton-oilers","tag-evgeni-malkin","tag-florida-panthers","tag-hockey","tag-hurricanes","tag-jamie-benn","tag-joel-eriksson-ek","tag-jonathan-aspirot","tag-jordan-staal","tag-kirill-kaprizov","tag-lightning","tag-los-angeles-kings","tag-matt-boldy","tag-matt-duchene","tag-mikko-rantanen","tag-minnesota-wild","tag-miro-heiskanen","tag-montreal-canadiens","tag-morgan-geekie","tag-nashville-predators","tag-nathan-mackinnon","tag-new-york-rangers","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-best-bets","tag-nhl-best-teams","tag-nhl-power-rankings","tag-nhl-power-ratings","tag-nhl-predictions","tag-nhl-rankings","tag-nhl-ratings","tag-nick-suzuki","tag-nikita-kucherov","tag-noah-dobson","tag-noel-acciari","tag-ottawa-senators","tag-parker-kelly","tag-penguins","tag-philadelphia-flyers","tag-pittsburgh-penguins","tag-quinn-hughes","tag-rasmus-dahlin","tag-red-wings","tag-ross-colton","tag-sabres","tag-sam-steel","tag-seattle-kraken","tag-sebastian-aho","tag-shayne-gostisbehere","tag-sidney-crosby","tag-st-louis-blues","tag-stars","tag-tampa-bay-lightning","tag-thomas-harley","tag-toronto-maple-leafs","tag-utah-mammoth","tag-vegas-golden-knights","tag-washington-capitals","tag-wild","tag-winnipeg-jets"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=444311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444311\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=444311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=444311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=444311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}