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The 2025-26 NHL season resumes Wednesday as the league returns from the Olympic break, and the Colorado Avalanche hope the lengthy rest was what they needed to break out of their funk.

Colorado had an otherworldly first three months of the season as it entered January with a 30-2-7 record. The club began the new calendar year with yet another victory but has been less than mediocre since, going 6-7-2 over its last 15 games prior to the Olympic pause.

The Avalanche won their final game before the break -- and their only contest during the abbreviated Week 18 of the season -- defeating the San Jose Sharks 4-2 to remain atop our power ratings. They are back on the ice Wednesday as they visit the Utah Mammoth, and they'll likely be at full strength as the four members of the team that played in the Olympic gold-medal game on Sunday reportedly were back in Denver on Tuesday morning and are expected to be with the Avs in Utah.

A total of 16 teams had two games in Week 18, and five of them posted two victories. One was the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are hot on Colorado's heels. The Lightning, who are in the midst of a five-game winning streak, have gone 19-1-1 over their last 21 contests and are one of three clubs that trails the Avalanche by only five points in the race for the Presidents' Trophy.

The Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Islanders and Vegas Golden Knights also went 2-0-0 in Week 18. Columbus posted back-to-back shutouts before the Olympic break, is riding a seven-game winning streak and has gone 11-1-0 over its last 12 contests.

Five of the 16 teams that played twice in Week 18 failed to get in the win column and only two of them (Buffalo Sabres, Nashville Predators) earned a point by going 0-1-1. 

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

NHL Week 19 power ratings 

1. Colorado Avalanche (1-0-0 in Week 18; 37-9-9 overall)

The Avalanche had eight players (only the Florida Panthers had more with 10) participate in the Winter Olympics and hope they won't be affected by the rigorous schedule and travel to and from Milan, Italy. Five of them played in six games over 11 days (Brock Nelson of gold medal-winning Team USA, the trio of Nathan MacKinnon and defensemen Cale Makar and Devon Toews of silver medalist Canada and Artturi Lehkonen of Finland's bronze-winning squad). Meanwhile, Martin Necas appeared in five contests for Czechia over a span of seven days and Sweden's Gabriel Landeskog had five games in eight days. Those players may not be well rested, but Valeri Nichushkin certainly is, and Colorado is counting on him to pick up where he left off. The 30-year-old Nichushkin, who was not in Italy as his native Russia was banned from the Olympics, matched his season high with three points in the Avs' win over San Jose on Feb. 4 and has landed on the score sheet in five of his last six contests. MacKinnon is second in the NHL with 93 points, Makar is tied for fourth among defensemen with 57 and Necas -- who is nine points shy of his career high of 71 -- was among the top offensive performers at the Winter Games as he collected three goals and five assists in five games.

2. Tampa Bay Lightning (2-0-0; 37-14-4)

The Lightning cruised past the Panthers 6-1 in their last outing and have failed to earn a point just once over a 21-game stretch that began on Dec. 20. Like Nichushkin of the Avalanche, fellow Russian Nikita Kucherov will have had three weeks of rest, which isn't good news for his opponents. The 32-year-old Kucherov, who has won the Art Ross Trophy each of the last two seasons and three times overall, entered the Olympic break with a 10-game point streak (six goals, 18 assists) that has included three four-point performances and a three-point outing. He has landed on the score sheet in 20 of his last 21 contests, recording 16 multi-point efforts in that span, and is nine points away from reaching triple digits for the fourth consecutive season and sixth of his career. Defenseman Darren Raddysh has registered a career-high 52 points this campaign and at least one in each of his last six outings. The 29-year-old is third among all blue-liners with 17 goals in 49 games -- four more than he scored in 176 contests over his first four NHL seasons.

3. Dallas Stars (1-0-0; 34-14-9)

Dallas was dealt a major blow during the Olympic break as leading scorer Mikko Rantanen suffered a lower-body injury in Milan that Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan said would keep him sidelined for at least two weeks. The 29-year-old Rantanen was injured in Finland's 3-2 loss to Canada in the semifinals and missed his national team's bronze-medal victory over Slovakia. He amassed six points in five games for the Finns and is eighth in the NHL with 69 in his first full season with Dallas. The Stars entered the break with a six-game winning streak during which they posted a trio of one-goal victories against the St. Louis Blues, including a 5-4 triumph in their lone contest in Week 18.

4. Minnesota Wild (1-0-0; 34-14-10)

Minnesota also was sizzling prior to the break as it posted five consecutive victories while earning points in seven straight games (6-0-1) and nine of 10 (8-1-1). Three players are on lengthy scoring streaks as defenseman Quinn Hughes has notched an assist in 10 consecutive contests, fellow Olympic gold medalist Matt Boldy is on a seven-game point run and Joel Eriksson Ek has gotten on the score sheet in each of his last six outings. Hughes, who scored the overtime winner in Team USA's triumph over Sweden in the Olympic quarterfinals, has set up 16 goals while also netting a pair during his streak. The 26-year-old led all blue-liners in Milan with eight points. The Wild edged Nashville 6-5 in overtime in their only Week 18 game, with Boldy registering his fourth career hat trick and adding an assist in the win.

5. Carolina Hurricanes (2-0-0; 36-15-6)

The Hurricanes look to extend their point streak to 11 games when they return to action Thursday against Tampa Bay. Carolina has gone 8-0-2 during its current run and has lost in regulation just once over its last 16 contests (12-1-3). Sebastian Aho, who recorded six points in as many Olympic games while helping Finland capture the bronze medal, leads the Hurricanes with 57 and Andrei Svechnikov has been on the score sheet in eight of his last 10 contests. The 25-year-old Russian, whose country did not compete in Milan, has amassed nine goals -- including his fourth career hat trick -- and five assists during his surge. Svechnikov netted the game-winner and 27-year-old goaltender Brandon Bussi made 16 saves for the second shutout of his first NHL season as the Hurricanes defeated the New York Rangers 2-0 in their final outing before the break.

6. Montreal Canadiens (1-0-0; 32-17-8)

The Canadiens rolled past the Winnipeg Jets 5-1 in their lone Week 18 outing to extend their point streak to five games (4-0-1). Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson were the offensive stars for Montreal in that triumph as each recorded a goal and two assists. Reigning Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson also scored against Winnipeg and ranks third among all NHL defensemen with 58 points. The 22-year-old native of Michigan, who many felt should have been named to the U.S. Olympic roster, hasn't gone back-to-back games without a point since Dec. 3 and 6. Wisconsinite Cole Caufield, who also was an Olympic snub, is tied for third in the league with 32 goals. Juraj Slafkovsky has set a career high with 21 tallies, and the 21-year-old Slovakian was impressive in Milan as he collected eight points in six contests while helping his nation contend for its second straight Olympic medal.

7. Buffalo Sabres (0-1-1; 32-19-6)

The clock just might be about to strike midnight for the Sabres, who are looking to end the NHL's longest active playoff drought at 14 seasons. Buffalo went on a tremendous 20-3-1 run from Dec. 9-Jan. 29 but hit what it hopes is just a small speed bump prior to the Olympic break, losing three of its final four games (1-2-1). But the Sabres nearly handed Tampa Bay a rare regulation loss during their recent disappointing stretch as they allowed the game-tying goal with 26 seconds remaining in the third period before falling in overtime. Gold medalist Tage Thompson notched an assist in that contest and tallied in a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins two days later in the Sabres' pre-Olympic finale, giving him a point in 15 of his last 17 outings. Meanwhile, defenseman Rasmus Dahlin landed on the score sheet in seven straight games and 13 of 14 before leaving to represent his native Sweden in Milan.

8. Detroit Red Wings (0-1-0; 33-19-6)

The Red Wings also have been struggling as they have won only two of their last seven games (2-3-2). Lucas Raymond leads the team with 60 points despite being kept off the score sheet in four of his final five outings before the Olympic break. The 23-year-old Swedish left wing ramped up his offensive game in Milan, however, finishing second in the tournament with eight assists and third with nine points in just five contests. Raymond passed Peter Forsberg (six in 2006) for most assists by a Swedish player in an Olympics with NHL participation and tied Mats Sundin (2002) for the second-most points by a Swede in one such Winter Games tournament, one behind Daniel Alfredsson (10 in 2006). 

9. New York Islanders (2-0-0; 32-21-5)

After losing their final two games the previous week, the Islanders won both of their contests in Week 18, defeating a pair of Metropolitan Division rivals in the Penguins and New Jersey Devils. Canadian silver medalist Bo Horvat scored the winning goal in both games, converting in overtime against Pittsburgh to complete a two-goal, three point performance and tallying late in the third period versus the Devils to snap a tie before setting up Mathew Barzal's empty-netter to seal the victory. Barzal, who leads the team with 51 points, has netted a tally in four consecutive contests and six of his last seven. Matthew Schaefer, who is the overwhelming favorite to win the Calder Trophy at the major sportsbooks, is fourth among NHL defensemen with 16 goals and has scored in three of his last five outings.

10. Pittsburgh Penguins (1-0-1; 29-15-12)

Pittsburgh bounced back from its OT loss to New York with a 5-2 road triumph over the Sabres in its final game before the Olympic break. The Penguins hope Sidney Crosby is ready for Thursday's matchup against New Jersey as the team's captain missed Canada's final two Olympic games with a lower-body injury. The 38-year-old future Hall-of-Famer, who notched six points in four games for Team Canada before getting hurt, leads Pittsburgh in goals (27), assists (32) and points (59). Fellow veteran superstar Evgeni Malkin is second on the club with 44 points and has recorded at least one in 14 of his last 17 games. Meanwhile, Anthony Mantha has collected six goals and four assists while landing on the scoresheet in six of his past seven outings.