NHL power ratings: Avalanche make strong return, remain on top entering Week 20 of 2025-26 season

After a tremendous first three months of the 2025-26 NHL season over which they posted a 30-2-7 record, the Colorado Avalanche - not surprisingly - came back to the pack, going 7-7-2 from the beginning of January to the Olympic break that began on Feb. 6. Early returns show the 19-day pause did the team a world of good.

Even though they only increased their lead in the race for the Presidents' Trophy by one point, the Avalanche won three of their first four games since returning to action, which had to do wonders for their confidence. The club won two of its final three contests prior to the break but went 1-3-1 over its previous five outings.

Colorado enters Week 20 of the campaign six points ahead of the Dallas Stars in the overall NHL standings with one game in hand. The Avalanche have a difficult week ahead of them as they visit the red-hot Anaheim Ducks, who have won five consecutive contests and 12 of their last 14, and the Stars before returning home to take on a Minnesota Wild squad that went on an eight-game point streak (7-0-1) before losing its final two games of Week 19.

Four teams went 3-0-0 last week, with the Ducks and Stars being two of them. They were joined by a pair of clubs that has been among the biggest surprises in the league in the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders. Buffalo has gone on a 24-5-2 run that began on Dec. 9, while New York is in the midst of a stretch during which it has won eight of 10 games - including each of its last five.

The Pittsburgh Penguins also played well immediately after the season resumed despite the fact their leading scorer was a Winter Olympics casualty. Pittsburgh recorded two wins and a shootout loss without Future Hall-of-Famer Sidney Crosby, who tops the club in goals (27) and points (59) but suffered a lower-body injury while playing for silver medal-winning Team Canada in Milan and was expected to be sidelined at least four weeks.

Only two teams have yet to get into the win column since returning from the Olympic break. One is the league-worst Vancouver Canucks, who have gone 0-2-1, and the other is the Toronto Maple Leafs. Craig Berube's squad followed a six-game slide (0-5-1) by winning its final three games prior to the hiatus, but the pause appears to have negatively affected Toronto as it has lost four straight (0-3-1) since coming back.

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

NHL Week 20 power ratings 

1. Colorado Avalanche (3-1-0 in Week 19; 40-10-9 overall)

Martin Necas had a strong showing for Czechia at the Olympics, as he was one of the tournament's top scorers with eight points in five games. The 27-year-old hasn't slowed down since returning from Milan, posting four multi-point performances for the Avalanche in Week 19. Necas set up five goals and scored four to increase his season total to 26, which is two shy of the career high he set in 2022-23 while with the Carolina Hurricanes. Nathan MacKinnon did not play in Colorado's first game after the break but recorded three straight two-point efforts to extend his streak to four contests and climb within one point of his fourth consecutive 100-point season. Captain Gabriel Landeskog collected five points and defenseman Cale Makar, who along with MacKinnon won the silver medal with Team Canada at the Olympics, notched four while Mackenzie Blackwood turned aside 33-of-36 shots over his last two outings to grab a share of the league lead in goals-against average (2.22).

2. Dallas Stars (3-0-0; 37-14-9)

The Stars sandwiched comfortable victories against the Seattle Kraken and Canucks around an overtime triumph over the Nashville Predators after returning to action and enter Week 20 with a franchise-record nine-game winning streak. Monday's 6-1 rout of Vancouver broke the Stars' previous mark of eight consecutive victories, which was set during the 2023-24 season. Defenseman Miro Heiskanen was one of four players to register four points for Dallas in Week 19, notching at least one assist in all three of the team's contests to extend his streak to six games (nine assists). Wyatt Johnston had a two-goal performance against the Kraken and Swiss blue-liner Lian Bichsel scored twice versus the Canucks. Meanwhile, Jason Robertson registered a goal and an assist in back-to-back outings to increase his point total to 70, moving him past the injured Mikko Rantanen (lower body) for the team lead. Rantanen got hurt at the Olympics while, along with Heiskanen, helping Team Finland to the bronze medal.

3. Carolina Hurricanes (2-1-0; 38-16-6)

The Hurricanes scored five goals in back-to-back triumphs over the Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings after the break but were held to one in a loss to Seattle that halted their five-game winning streak. Logan Stankoven, Olympic silver medalist Seth Jarvis and Taylor Hall each recorded a goal and an assist against Tampa Bay, while the latter - along with defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere - scored a goal and set up two others versus Detroit. Nikolaj Ehlers and Sebastian Aho, who earned a bronze medal at the Olympics, joined Hall by tallying in two of Carolina's three games last week, while blue-liner Sean Walker notched an assist each of his last two outings after going eight consecutive contests without a point.

4. Buffalo Sabres (3-0-0; 35-19-6)

Buffalo lost three of its final four contests (1-2-1) before the league's Olympic pause, including each of the last two. It was just the second time the team had back-to-back setbacks of any kind since it dropped three straight in regulation from Dec. 3-8. The Sabres returned from the break with a vengeance, recording one-goal victories against the New Jersey Devils and reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers before cruising past the Lightning 6-2. Olympic gold medalist Tage Thompson, who had two goals and two assists last week, is riding a seven-game point streak (four goals, four assists) and has landed on the scoresheet in 18 of his last 20 outings. Peyton Krebs also scored two goals and set up two others in Week 19 while Alex Tuch and Josh Norris both registered two tallies and an assist. Bowen Byram has notched an assist in four consecutive games and six of his last eight while fellow defenseman Rasmus Dahlin had a three-point performance against Tampa Bay and has picked up at least one in 14 of his last 17 contests.

5. Tampa Bay Lightning (1-2-0; 38-16-4)

The Lightning went on an insane 19-1-1 run prior to the break and defeated the Maple Leafs 4-2 upon their return. But they followed with setbacks against the Hurricanes and Sabres, marking the first time the team suffered back-to-back regulation losses since Dec. 15 and 18 versus the Panthers and Los Angeles Kings. Brayden Point missed Tampa Bay's final 11 games before the pause with a lower-body injury that also prevented him from playing for Team Canada at the Olympics. The 29-year-old returned to the lineup in Week 19 and made up for lost time, recording two goals and an assist against Toronto before netting a tally and setting up another versus Carolina to give him five multi-point efforts in seven outings. Nikita Kucherov picked up points (two goals, two assists) in the Lightning's first two contests of Week 19 to extend his streak to 12 games and draw him within five of his fourth straight 100-point season. 

6. Minnesota Wild (1-2-0; 35-16-10)

The Wild followed a script similar to Tampa Bay's, defeating Colorado in its return from the break to extend their point streak to eight games (7-0-1) before losing to the Utah Mammoth and St. Louis Blues. Matt Boldy was red-hot before going to Milan and winning the gold medal with Team USA, collecting five goals and seven assists during a seven-game point streak. The 24-year-old left wing picked up right where he left off, posting his second consecutive four-point performance with two goals and two assists against the Avalanche and notching a total of three points over his next two outings to extend his run to 10 contests. Kirill Kaprizov also continued to sizzle, amassing two goals and two assists in Week 19 to stretch his point streak to seven games and give him at least one in 12 of his last 13 contests. Olympic gold medalist Quinn Hughes, who leads all NHL defensemen with 54 assists, also has landed on the scoresheet in 12 of his last 13 outings. The 26-year-old was an offensive star at the Winter Games, racking up seven assists and scoring the winning goal in overtime against Team Sweden in the quarterfinals.

7. New York Islanders (3-0-0; 35-21-5)

New York was not affected by the Olympic pause one bit as it registered one-goal victories against the Montreal Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets and Panthers in Week 19, with the first two coming in overtime. The Islanders have won five consecutive contests and eight of their last 10. Matthew Schaefer continued his run to the Calder Trophy, posting a pair of two-goal performances to make him the fourth rookie defenseman in NHL history and first since Dion Phaneuf of the Calgary Flames in 2005-06 to score 20 goals. At 18 years and 177 days, Schaefer became the youngest blue-liner ever to reach the 20-goal plateau in the league and third-youngest to record a three-point effort as he also had an assist to go with his two tallies against Florida on Monday. Captain Anders Lee scored in each of the Islanders' three games in Week 19 while Simon Holmstrom, Mathew Barzal and defenseman Tony DeAngelo also got on the scoresheet in each contest.

8. Montreal Canadiens (1-0-1; 33-17-9)

The Canadiens earned three of a possible four points last week, losing to the Islanders in overtime before rolling to a 6-2 victory against the Washington Capitals. Cole Caufield, who along with teammate Lane Hutson was left off Team USA's Olympic gold medal-winning roster, has been a force since returning from the break as he scored one goal against New York and a pair versus Washington. The 25-year-old right wing enters Week 20 tied for second in the NHL with 35 tallies - two shy of the career high he set last season. Nick Suzuki, who won Olympic silver with Team Canada, recorded a goal and two assists in Saturday's triumph over the Capitals to increase his team-leading total to 68 points.

9. Pittsburgh Penguins (2-0-1; 31-15-13)

Without Crosby, the Penguins sandwiched multi-goal victories against the Devils and Vegas Golden Knights around a 3-2 shootout loss to the New York Rangers in which they squandered a two-goal lead. Anthony Mantha landed on the scoresheet in all three contests, giving him at least one point in five consecutive games and nine of his last 10. The 31-year-old right wing already has matched his career high of 24 assists (2017-18 with Detroit) and is four points away from setting a new personal best of 49. Veteran star Evgeni Malkin, who is second on the team with 47 points, notched three assists in Week 19 and has gotten on the scoresheet in 16 of his last 20 outings. 

10. Detroit Red Wings (2-1-0; 35-20-6)

Detroit resumed its five-game road trip that began before the Olympic break and finished it with a 3-2-0 record by defeating the Ottawa Senators and Predators while losing to the Hurricanes. Fresh off winning the gold medal with Team USA, Dylan Larkin was the hero against Ottawa as he scored the game-tying goal in the second period and the winner in overtime. The 29-year-old captain is two tallies away from posting his fifth consecutive 30-goal season and the sixth of his career. Lucas Raymond, who registered nine points for Team Sweden in the Milan Winter Games, also had a strong Week 19 for the Red Wings as he set up both of Larkin's goals versus the Senators before scoring one and assisting on another against Nashville. Alex DeBrincat also had a goal and an assist in th triumph over the Predators after setting up a tally against Carolina to end his four-game point drought.