NHL Power Rankings: Lightning storm into top two with eight straight wins, pushing toward Avalanche
Nothing can stop the Lightning -- not even the Avalanche
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1 min read
Is the championship window closing for the Tampa Bay Lightning? The answer to that is a pretty emphatic, "No." Despite some significant injuries, the Lightning are among the league's elite, and they're poised for another run at Lord Stanley.
Prior to the season, if you would have told me that Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh had combined to play 36 games at the halfway mark of the season, I would've assumed that Tampa was out of the playoff picture. Instead, only three teams have a better record, and only one has more wins.
That lone team, the Colorado Avalanche, rolled into Benchmark International Arena on Tuesday night and left with a loss. It was only the Avalanche's fourth regulation loss of the season -- and their 11th overall. The Bolts made a statement: Don't start etching Colorado's name on the Cup just yet.
So, how have the Lightning been able to keep rolling? For starters, it helps to have Nikita Kucherov, Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel and Brayden Point all playing at a high level. That's a quartet few teams can match. Besides, even if they aren't perfect, Andrei Vasilevskiy is in net to erase any mistakes.
The defensive performance has been the real marvel as Hedman and McDonagh have been sidelined. J.J. Moser, part of the return from the Utah Mammoth in the Mikhail Sergachev trade, has morphed into a budding star. On top of that, Darren Raddysh is suddenly an offensive wizard, especially on the power play. Jon Cooper deserves all kinds of credit for getting the absolute most out of a decimated blue line.
Tampa had a real case to be No. 1 this week, but even with the win over Colorado, I couldn't do it. The Avalanche have built up too much equity for me to drop them over one head-to-head loss. That being said, here are your updated NHL Power Rankings.
All expected goals and goals saved above average data courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.
Biggest Movers
8
Penguins
6
Golden Knights
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | The Avalanche are mortal after all. The power of Florida men has proven too strong for the Avs, and they've now lost two consecutive games in regulation. | -- | 31-4-7 |
| 2 |  | So, J.J. Moser is just a star on the blue line now, huh? He's got a 59.8% expected goals share and plus-25 goal differential at five-on-five. Victor Hedman went down, and the Bolts just turned two more defensemen (Moser and Darren Raddysh) into studs. | 2 | 26-13-3 |
| 3 |  | Minnesota is giving rookie Danila Yurov a big responsibility, centering Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. He's played fairly well in that role, just keeping his head above water at five-on-five and tallying nine points in his last 13 games. It still feels like the Wild need an upgrade at that spot. | 1 | 25-11-8 |
| 4 |  | Nikolaj Ehlers might finally be heating up, for real this time. He's riding a three-game goal streak, and he has five points in that span. As I've said before, Carolina bet that he could be the electric playmaker it needed at forward, and that bet hasn't cashed just yet. | 1 | 26-14-3 |
| 5 |  | Let me take this opportunity to rant about Team USA snubbing Jason Robertson again. What more does Bill Guerin need to see? Since the start of the 2021-22 season, just 11 players have outscored Robertson. Two of those players are American, and they're both on the team! | 2 | 25-10-8 |
| 6 |  | Simon Edvinsson has started to flourish alongside Norris Trophy candidate Moritz Seider. It's a symbiotic relationship in that Seider is helping to develop Edvinsson, and Edvinsson has given Seider perhaps the most stable defensive partner of his career. | -- | 25-15-4 |
| 7 |  | Ilya Sorokin is starting to build a case for the Vezina Trophy. He's now up to 12.9 goals saved above average, and his .878 high-danger save percentage is the best in the NHL. | 3 | 24-15-4 |
| 8 |  | Buffalo had its magical 10-game winning streak snapped over the weekend, but it made up a ton of ground in the playoff race. Now we'll see if that run, which was fueled by insane goaltending from Alex Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, can be replicated. | 3 | 22-15-4 |
| 9 |  | Nick Suzuki got the nod for Team Canada, and he's more than deserving. Not only is playing at a point-per-game pace (again), but the Habs are crushing opponents in all three zones when he's on the ice. | 4 | 23-13-6 |
| 10 |  | In case everyone wasn't already aware, Connor McDavid is a cheat code. McDavid is now riding a 16-game point streak, and he has 17 goals and 22 assists in that span. He is carrying Edmonton toward first place in the Pacific Division. | 1 | 21-16-6 |
| 11 |  | The hits just keep on coming for the Panthers. Shutdown defenseman Seth Jones is now out week-to-week, which only adds to Florida's injury-plagued season. The good news? Matthew Tkachuk will be back soon, and the Cats just handed the Avalanche their third regulation loss of the season. | 3 | 22-17-3 |
| 12 |  | Four teams have allowed fewer goals than the Flyers, and Dan Vladar has a lot to do with that. He's come out of nowhere to save 7.89 goals above average while turning in a .835 high-danger save percentage. Vladar has been a revelation in Philly. | 3 | 22-12-7 |
| 13 |  | The Golden Knights got a badly needed win over the Jets on Tuesday, but they've still won just two of their last 10 games. Meanwhile, here come the Oilers making their annual charge up the standings. Objects in your mirror are closer than they appear. | 6 | 18-11-12 |
| 14 |  | Ottawa will have to outscore its problems for the time being -- and perhaps all season. Despite allowing five-on-five expected goals at the lowest rate in the NHL, no team has a worse save percentage. Do they have the scoring to win shootouts on a nightly basis? I'm not convinced of that. | -- | 20-16-5 |
| 15 |  | Here's a little shoutout to Justin Sourdif. He's been thrust into a bigger role, and he's playing well. He's got a 53.6% expected goals share and a plus-12 goal differential at five-on-five. Plus, the rookie has 18 points in 42 games. | 1 | 22-15-6 |
| 16 |  | It seems Morgan Geekie has finally stopped sizzling. He hasn't scored in his last seven games, and it's probably no coincidence that the Bruins have started to slip over that span. Geekie has transformed himself in Boston, but scoring at a 55-goal pace for 82 games was always a stretch. | 3 | 22-19-2 |
| 17 |  | On Dec. 10, the Ducks were 19-10-1 and first in the Pacific Division. Since then, Anaheim has gone 2-9-2 (last in the NHL over that span), and is now clinging to the final playoff spot in the West. The Ducks' leaky defense has finally caught up to them. | 5 | 21-19-3 |
| 18 |  | Macklin Celebrini has a very real case for the Hart Trophy. He has 64 points. No other Shark has more than 29. His five-on-five goal differential (plus-15) is also lightyears ahead of anyone else on the team. Celebrini has reshaped this franchise in less than two seasons. | 3 | 21-18-3 |
| 19 |  | Pittsburgh has followed up a 1-5-4 stretch with a five-game winning streak. It probably doesn't shock you to hear that Sidney Crosby has been a big part of that turnaround with four goals and five assists. | 8 | 20-12-9 |
| 20 |  | Welcome to the 2025-26 season, Auston Matthews. In the process of passing Mats Sundin for the all-time franchise goals record, Matthews has tallied seven goals in his last five games. If Toronto gets more of this from Matthews, it has a shot to surge up the standings. | 2 | 20-15-7 |
| 21 |  | After taking a 9-0 beating from the Islanders, it seems like something drastic has to happen for the Devils to save their season. I still think New Jersey has the pieces to be dangerous in April, but it has to get there first. | 4 | 22-19-2 |
| 22 |  | Last month, Quinton Byfield went 10 straight games without registering a point. He has just six goals and 18 assists on the season. Byfield can be a great two-way player, but he's too much of a one-way player this year. | 4 | 18-14-9 |
| 23 |  | Seattle is now 32nd in five-on-five expected goals share at 43.6%. The Kraken also sit in third place in the Pacific Division just one point off the lead. What a weird season it's been. | 5 | 20-14-7 |
| 24 |  | Adam Fox has been placed on LTIR. Igor Shesterkin has been placed on IR with the fear that his injury could be really long-term. If that is the case, you can go ahead and stick a fork in the Rangers. You could probably do that already, but especially now. | 4 | 20-18-6 |
| 25 |  | The Predators are still in the West playoff race, but GM Barry Trotz needs to take advantage of Ryan O'Reilly's value on the trade market. O'Reilly has one year left on his contract at a reasonable price tag, and there is a major shortage of available centers. | 1 | 19-19-4 |
| 26 |  | Clayton Keller is scoring at his lowest pace since 2020-21, and a lot of that dip can be attributed to a lack of production on the power play. He has one goal with the man advantage, and he's shooting 4.3% in those situations. | 1 | 20-20-3 |
| 27 |  | Would Mikael Backlund be available for a trade? He's quietly having a solid season, and he would be a tremendous weapon on the third-line of a Stanley Cup contender. He is the Flames' captain, but GM Brad Treliving might be able to get a haul for the veteran. | 4 | 18-20-4 |
| 28 |  | Dante Fabbro looked like a legit top-four option for the Blue Jackets last season, but that hasn't been the case in 2025-26. He's way underwater at five-on-five, and his offensive production has dropped off a cliff. | 2 | 18-17-7 |
| 29 |  | Hey, the Blackhawks have won three in a row! I guess that means they're kinda back in the playoff race based on how messy the wild card races are. | 3 | 17-18-7 |
| 30 |  | How many Blues are going to hit 20 goals? One? Two? Robert Thomas is at 10. Justin Faulk has 11, but I doubt he keeps that up as a defenseman. Can Jake Neighbours get there? What about Jordan Kyrou? It's bleak in St. Louis. | 1 | 17-18-8 |
| 31 |  | The Canucks have yet to win in 2026, and I wonder when that first victory of the year will come. They're in the midst of a long and arduous road trip, so it could be a while. | 1 | 16-21-5 |
| 32 |  | Winnipeg had a win in its grasp on Tuesday and let it slip away in painful fashion. The Jets have now gone 10 straight games without a win. At least the weather is nice in Winnipeg this time of year. | 1 | 15-21-5 |
