NHL power ratings: Golden Knights, Avalanche stellar after Week 2 of 2025-26 season

As we prepare to begin Week 3 of the 2025-26 NHL season, a pair of teams still have not come away from a game without at least one point. Both clubs reside in the Western Conference, and both have registered at least five victories, which is two more than the Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings, Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks combined.

The Vegas Golden Knights (5-0-2) sit atop the NHL standings with 12 points after having won all four of their contests in Week 2. They are one point ahead of the Colorado Avalanche (5-0-1), who went 2-0-0 last week after posting three wins and a shootout loss in the opening week of the campaign.

Each week during the season, I’ll rank the league’s top 10 teams based on both the previous week’s performances and their overall bodies 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 after Week 2 of the 2025-26 NHL season and highlight a few of the teams’ notable accomplishments.

NHL Week 2 power ratings 

1. Vegas Golden Knights (4-0-0 in Week 2; 5-0-2 overall)

The Golden Knights began Week 2 with a 4-2 triumph at Calgary and returned home to defeat the Boston Bruins, Flames and Carolina Hurricanes. Vegas scored at least four goals in each victory and has done so in six of its first seven games this season. Jack Eichel leads the NHL with 16 points and has landed on the scoresheet in every contest thus far as he notched four goals and five assists last week. Meanwhile, Pavel Dorofeyev is tied for first in the league with seven goals after recording a career-high 35 in 2024-25. Vegas’ offensive mettle will be tested, however, as captain Mark Stone – who tops the NHL with 11 assists and ranks second with 13 points – suffered a wrist injury during his four-point performance against Calgary last Saturday and is considered week-to-week.

2. Colorado Avalanche (2-0-0; 5-0-1)

The Avalanche, whom I ranked first after Week 1, slipped a spot due to having played just twice last week. But they won both contests, defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets and Bruins by identical 4-1 scores. Valeri Nichushkin scored twice against Columbus and Nathan MacKinnon netted a pair of tallies versus Boston while Artturi Lehkonen registered a total of four assists in the wins. Cale Makar was kept off the scoresheet by the Bruins but recorded a goal and an assist against the Blue Jackets and is tied with Carolina’s Shayne Gostisbehere for the points lead (seven) among NHL defensemen.

3. Winnipeg Jets (3-0-0; 5-1-0)

The Jets opened the season with a loss to the Dallas Stars but ended Week 1 with a pair of victories and proceeded to win all three of their games last week. The reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners outscored their opponents 11-4 in those contests and have allowed fewer than three goals in every outing during their five-game winning streak. Mark Scheifele has scored in every game during the run and shares the league lead of seven goals with Vegas’ Dorofeyev and Shane Pinto of the Ottawa Senators. The 32-year-old Scheifele also enters Week 3 with a six-game point streak as he notched three assists in the opener against Dallas.

4. Detroit Red Wings (3-0-0; 5-1-0)

The Red Wings have followed the exact same path as the Jets, losing their season opener before reeling off five consecutive victories. Like Winnipeg, Detroit also was perfect in Week 2, defeating the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Edmonton Oilers by a combined 10-4 score. Captain Dylan Larkin has begun 2025-26 with a six-game point streak of his own, collecting five goals and six assists during the surge. Patrick Kane, who recorded five points over the Red Wings’ first five contests, is sidelined with an upper-body injury, but 20-year-old rookie Emmitt Finnie picked up the offensive slack in Sunday’s 4-2 triumph over Edmonton by notching two goals and an assist.

5. Carolina Hurricanes (3-1-0; 5-1-0)

The Hurricanes would have owned the No. 1 spot on this list had they not suffered a 4-1 loss at Vegas on Monday. The setback ended the season-opening five-game winning streak for Carolina, which scored four or more goals in each contest. It also put a blemish on the Hurricanes’ current six-game road trip after they cruised through California with victories over San Jose, the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles. Seth Jarvis recorded two goals and an assist in the 4-1 triumph over the Ducks last Thursday and scored the overtime winner against the Kings two days later. Gostisbehere, who began the campaign with a four-game point streak sat out Monday’s setback with a lower-body injury and will miss the rest of Carolina’s trek, which consists of contests at Colorado and Dallas.

6. Montreal Canadiens (3-1-0; 5-2-0)

If not for a three-goal outburst by the New York Rangers in span of less than 5 1/2 minutes of the third period last Saturday, the Canadiens would be entering Week 3 with a six-game winning streak. Montreal lost that contest 4-3, ending its four-game run, but bounced back to double up the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 on Monday. Nick Suzuki notched a pair of assists in that victory, extending his point streak to six games. The 26-year-old center has amassed a goal and nine assists during the run.

7. Utah Mammoth (3-0-0; 4-2-0)

After losing two of three games on the road during Week 1, the Mammoth began a four-game homestand with victories against Calgary, San Jose and Boston last week. Utah scored a total of 12 goals in the wins, with Nick Schmaltz registering his second career hat trick in a 6-3 triumph over the Sharks last Friday. The 29-year-old center also notched an assist in that win, while captain Clayton Keller netted a tally and set up three others. Keller followed with a goal and an assist as the Mammoth edged the Bruins 3-2 on Sunday and Schmaltz had a pair of assists, giving him points in five of Utah’s first six contests of the season.

8. Vancouver Canucks (3-0-0; 4-2-0)

The Canucks also won all three of their games last week after losing two of three in Week 1. Vancouver kicked off its five-game road trip with a 5-3 triumph at Dallas last Thursday and edged the Blackhawks 3-2 in a shootout the following day before holding on for a 4-3 victory against the Washington Capitals on Sunday in which it scored the first four goals of the contest. Conor Garland landed on the scoresheet in every game during the Canucks’ winning streak, collecting a goal and four assists during the stretch. 

9. New Jersey Devils (2-0-0; 4-1-0)

The Devils weren’t very active in Week 2 but were successful, winning both of their contests to extend their winning streak to four games following a season-opening loss at Carolina. They also posted the two victories without Jacob Markstrom, who hasn’t played since Oct. 13 due to a lower-body injury that head coach Sheldon Keefe said would keep him sidelined for “a couple of weeks.” Jake Allen turned aside 48-of-52 shots in New Jersey’s triumphs over Florida and Edmonton, while Jack Hughes registered a three goals and an assist. 

10. Seattle Kraken (1-1-2; 3-1-2)

The Kraken opened a season with back-to-back wins for the first time in their brief history, but they dropped three of four in Week 2 to fall three spots in these rankings. However, they earned a point in two of the defeats and could’ve won those contests, as they squandered one-goal leads late in the third period and lost in overtime to Montreal last Tuesday and in a shootout versus Ottawa two days later. Finnish rookie right wing Jani Nyman scored three goals last week, Chandler Stephenson netted a pair of tallies and set up three others and Shane Wright recorded two goals and two assists.