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When the Colorado Avalanche suffered their second regulation loss of the 2025-26 NHL season on Dec. 4, some thought the team would begin coming back to Earth after its 19-1-6 start. But head coach Jared Bednar's club is proving it has no intention of taking its foot off the gas.

Colorado has followed its 6-3 setback against the New York Islanders with a five-game point streak, winning four contests while dropping the other in a shootout. The Avalanche opened Week 10 with that 4-3 defeat in Nashville, earning the point after defenseman Cale Makar scored the game-tying goal with eight seconds remaining in the third period, but returned home to post wins against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers and Predators to keep the train rolling.

The Avalanche top the NHL with 53 points but are only four in front of the Dallas Stars, who split their four contests last week. Three other teams are climbing the ladder thanks to strong performances, however, as the Carolina Hurricanes won all four of their games to increase their point total to 44 while the Minnesota Wild and New York Islanders both went 3-0-0 to give them 43 and 41 points, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Kings failed to record a victory in Week 10, losing overtime decisions to the Seattle Kraken and Calgary Flames before falling to Dallas in regulation to drop out of this week's top 10 ratings. Los Angeles has lost nine of its last 13 contests, although it earned a point in five of those setbacks.

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

NHL Week 11 power ratings 

1. Colorado Avalanche (2-0-1 in Week 10; 23-2-7 overall)

The Avalanche earned five out of a possible six points last week, and it still boggles my mind that they've failed to record one only twice in their first 32 games of the season. The Boston Bruins set NHL records with 65 wins and 135 points in 2022-23 but suffered four regulation losses in their first 26 contests. The 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens finished with a league-record eight regulation losses but dropped two of their first seven games and were 9-3-1 over their first 13 outings. Nathan MacKinnon posted three two-point performances in Week 10 and leads the NHL with 26 goals and 52 points. The 2024 Hart Trophy winner has been kept off the scoresheet just five times this season, as has Cale Makar. A two-time Norris Trophy recipient, Makar is riding a six-game point streak and is first among all defensemen in assists (28) and points (38) while ranking second in goals (10). Meanwhile, Martin Necas was held without a point by Nashville on Saturday, ending a five-game streak during which he racked up a goal and nine assists.

2. Carolina Hurricanes (4-0-0; 21-9-2)

Carolina's 4-0-0 week might be a bit misleading, as each of its last three victories came in a shootout. But the Hurricanes won the games nonetheless and enter Week 11 atop the Metropolitan Division. And they recorded all four wins without any offensive contribution from Sebastian Aho, who is tied with Seth Jarvis for the team lead with 26 points but is in the midst of a five-game drought. Taylor Hall and Alexander Nikishin were the only three players to land on the scoresheet in three of Carolina's four contests, and the latter is carrying a three-game point streak into the new week. Jarvis was a factor in three of the victories as well, scoring in regulation against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers while netting the decisive shootout goal versus the Washington Capitals.

3. Minnesota Wild (3-0-0; 19-9-5)

Minnesota is riding a four-game winning streak during which it allowed fewer than three goals in each triumph. Marcus Johansson has been involved offensively amid the run, notching three goals and three assists during a four-game point streak that has followed a five-game dry spell. Joel Eriksson Ek also got on the scoresheet in all four victories after a five-game drought, netting three tallies and setting up four others. Matt Boldy collected two goals and three assists last week to increase his point total to 37 and forge a tie for the team lead with Kirill Kaprizov, who recorded two of each and is tied for third in the NHL with 20 tallies. The 28-year-old Russian left wing became one of only four players in the league to reach the 20-goal plateau thus far this season by converting twice against the Boston Bruins on Sunday. The Wild also received an immediate contribution in that win from 2024 Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes, who scored a goal in his team debut two days after being acquired from the Vancouver Canucks.

4. Dallas Stars (2-2-0; 22-7-5)

One of Minnesota's victories in Week 10 was a 5-2 triumph over the Stars, who split their four games and dropped a few spots in the ratings. Dallas followed that defeat with its first shutout loss of the season, a 4-0 setback against the Panthers, but ended the week with a 4-1 win versus the Los Angeles Kings. Mikko Rantanen racked up three assists in a 4-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets to extend his point streak to seven games but was blanked in back-to-back outings before netting a tally and setting up another against the Kings. The 29-year-old Finnish right wing is tied for fourth in the NHL with 44 points, while Jason Robertson shares third in goals with 20 after scoring twice last week. Wyatt Johnston also had a solid week offensively, recording a tally and four assists. Meanwhile, Matt Duchene made his presence felt versus Los Angeles as he registered a goal and an assist. The veteran was held without a point in his first four games back from a concussion that kept him sidelined for 24 contests.

5. New York Islanders (3-0-0; 19-11-3)

After making their season debut in the ratings prior to Week 9, the Islanders climbed five spots by defeating three strong teams in the Vegas Golden Knights, Anaheim Ducks and Tampa Bay Lightning. Emil Heineman has gone eight games without a point and has notched just one in his last 12 contests but was the team hero last week, as the 24-year-old Swedish left wing scored the decisive goal in shootout wins against Vegas and Tampa Bay. Bo Horvat came up with a two-goal performance versus the Golden Knights but missed the meeting with the Lightning due to a lower-body injury and will begin Week 11 on the sideline. Mathew Barzal notched an assists in all three games last week, while captain Anders Lee scored two goals and set up two others in the Isles' 5-2 triumph over Anaheim.

6. Vegas Golden Knights (2-0-1; 16-6-9)

Even though captain Mark Stone was kept off the scoresheet for the first time this season on Saturday, the Golden Knights still extended their point streak to seven games (6-0-1) with a 3-2 triumph over the Blue Jackets. The 33-year-old right wing, who missed 16 contests this campaign with an upper-body injury, recorded at least one point in each of his first 14 outings of 2025-26 and ranks fourth on the team with 24. Stone did register a pair of two-point performances in Week 10, setting up two goals in Vegas' shootout loss to the Islanders last Tuesday before scoring twice against the Flyers two days later. Columbus also halted Jack Eichel's run of four straight multi-point efforts, but the 29-year-old center notched an assist in the win to extend his overall point streak to five games. Mitch Marner finished the week with five points after collecting three assists versus the Blue Jackets, whie Pavel Dorofeyev (two goals, one assist) landed on the scoresheet in all three of Vegas' contests last week. 

7. Anaheim Ducks (2-2-0; 20-12-1)

The Ducks began a five-game road trip last Tuesday with a shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins but suffered three-goal losses against the Islanders and New Jersey Devils before posting a 4-1 victory against the New York Rangers. Leo Carlsson netted the decisive tally versus the Penguins and notched a point in each of Anaheim's next three games, while Troy Terry recorded three goals and an assist over the team's first three contests of the week. Cutter Gauthier scored twice against the Rangers to end his four-game drought and take over the team lead with 18 goals, and 19-year-old right wing Beckett Sennecke picked up an assist in the triumph after going back-to-back games without a point for the first time since a four-game dry spell from Oct. 23-31. Defenseman Jackson LaCombe, who netted two tallies and set up another in Week 10, has registered a point in five of his last six outings.

8. Detroit Red Wings (2-1-0; 18-12-3)

The Red Wings continued to pick up points last week, winning two of their three games over a span of four days. The club has earned at least one point in seven of its last eight contests (5-1-2) after suffering four regulation losses in five outings. Alex DeBrincat registered a pair of three-point performances to grab the team lead with 37 points, while Patrick Kane notched two points twice. DeBrincat scored two goals and set up another in a 4-3 triumph over the Flames last Wednesday and repeated the feat in a 4-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks three days later as Detroit wrapped up a 4-1-1 road trip. Kane set up two tallies in Calgary before recording a goal and an assist at Chicago.

9. Washington Capitals (0-1-1; 18-10-4)

Washington only played twice in Week 10 but did not post a victory, losing to Carolina 3-2 in a shootout before falling 5-1 to Winnipeg. Connor McMichael recorded a goal and an assist against the Hurricanes after notching just one point (assist) over his previous five games. Defenseman Rasmus Sandin ended his nine-game point drought with a pair of assists in that contest, while Alex Ovechkin also set up two goals last week. Meanwhile, Jakob Chychrun netted his 12th tally in the loss to Winnipeg, putting him two ahead of Colorado's Makar for the NHL lead among blue-liners.

10. Tampa Bay Lightning (2-1-1; 18-12-3)

The Lightning endured a miserable Week 9 as they scored a total of four goals while suffering four regulation losses. They recovered by earning points in the first three of their four games last week, defeating the Montreal Canadiens and Devils by a combined score of 14-5 before dropping a 3-2 decision to the Islanders in a shootout, but finished with a 5-2 loss to Florida. Nikita Kucherov collected a goal and seven assists, Jake Guentzel netted a tally and set up four others and Oliver Bjorkstrand doubled his point total for the season with two goals and three assists. Brayden Point landed on the scoresheet in all four of Tampa Bay's contests, registering two goals and five assists, and defenseman Darren Raddysh did the same with four tallies and a pair of assists. The 29-year-old Raddysh is having a tremendous season offensively as he already has set a career high with seven goals and ranks fourth on the team with 24 points.