NHL power rankings: Do the Panthers have enough juice to make the playoffs?
With Hunter Crowther
The Olympic break is just around the corner, as most teams have only two or three games left on the calendar before some of their players depart for Milan and some for vacations. Which teams are ending this part of the schedule on good notes? Which can’t wait for it to end for a much-needed reset? Will we see any more trades before the roster freeze on Feb. 4? Find out below.
Hunter Crowther and I navigate through the season with another year of our co-op power rankings. I have my same old system in which I aggregate six stats (points %, 5-on-5 goal differential, 5-on-5 xGF/60, 5-on-5 xGA/60, power play xGF/60, and shorthanded xGA/60, all coming courtesy of Natural Stat Trick) to come up with a list that eliminates my own biases, along with a rule that no team can be above a team that’s more than five points ahead of them in the standings, regardless of where the aggregate places them. On the other hand, Hunter goes off his own intellect and pure vibes, and together we find a way to combine it and meet in the middle.
1. Colorado Avalanche
Record: 36-8-9, +74
Last Week: 1st (0)
Hunter’s Rank: 1st
Scott’s Rank: 1st
Hunter: We’re nearly four months into the 2025-26 regular season, so we can skip the “We all know the Avalanche are good” preamble. Since they beat the Hurricanes on Jan. 3, the Avalanche are 5-6-2, including two regulation losses last week to the Senators and Canadiens.
Sure, Colorado followed those defeats with a 5-0 drubbing of the Red Wings in Little Caesars Arena on the weekend, the Avs are still the best team in the NHL, and their two superstars in Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar could wind up being two-thirds of the Hart Trophy finalists. But the month of January taught the rest of the NHL something important: the Avs can bleed.
Scott: Again, I’ll tap the sign: the Avalanche’s biggest flaw is that they may have peaked too early (no pun intended).
Hunter: Scott, your mountain puns aren’t funny … they’re hill-arious …
Scott: In unrelated news, Mike Gould will be retaining his role alongside me in the power rankings after the Olympic break!
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
Record: 35-14-4, +53
Last Week: 3rd (+1)
Hunter’s Rank: 2nd
Scott’s Rank: 3rd
Scott: In the Lightning’s last 19 games, they are 17-1-1. That’s just an insane run of consistency, with the next closest team to them since that stretch began on Dec. 20 being the 16-4-1 Sabres. If the Bolts began the season like this, I think a lot more people would consider them to be on par with the Avalanche, but these runs always fall by the wayside in the middle of the season. The most recent instalment of the Lightning’s run was their 6-5 shootout win over the Bruins in the Stadium Series, in which Tampa overcame a 5-1 deficit to win in a game which will be considered a classic (especially thanks to a goalie fight).
One thing I think the Lightning will benefit from going into the break: while they do boast a league-high 10 players going to the Olympics, two key players in Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy won’t be there and will get some much-needed rest for the final stretch of the season. On the flip side, Victor Hedman going to the tournament will allow him to get back up to game speed after he missed 34 of the past 37 games.
Hunter: The Lightning are so, so damn fun to watch. They are the definition of possession-heavy hockey that number-inclined analysts love, with a relentless barrage of attempts on net and offensively gifted blueliners who can carry the puck up the ice and make perfect first passes. But they’re also a team full of scumbags who haven’t met a scrum they don’t love, and they’ll charge the crease and run your goalie, look you in the eye and ask “what the f–k are you going to do about it?”
One thing to watch for this week: Anthony Cirelli left Sunday’s game with an injury, and head coach Jon Cooper said after the game that “for him not to come back, clearly there’s something wrong with him.” If he needs an extended period of time off, I’ll be curious to see who Canada replaces him with on the Olympic men’s roster.
3. Carolina Hurricanes
Record: 34-15-6, +31
Last Week: 2nd (-1)
Hunter’s Rank: 3rd
Scott’s Rank: 2nd
Hunter: It was a week of blown leads for the Hurricanes, whether it was them snatching victory from the jaws of defeat or them giving up a lead in the third period. Down 4-2 with two minutes left against the Mammoth, Carolina scored three times, including the Jordan Staal winner with 30 seconds left to win 5-4 in regulation. They followed that with a blown 3-0 lead to the Capitals, losing in overtime, then blew another lead late in the third to a desperate Kings team, eventually winning in OT.
What does it all mean? Ehh, probably nothing.
4. Dallas Stars
Record: 32-14-9, +31
Last Week: 5th (+1)
Hunter’s Rank: 4th
Scott’s Rank: 4th
Hunter: The Stars won all their games last week — all on the road — and now have five victories in their last six games. Dallas also looked like the better team in each game, winning the expected-goal battle handedly, a trend that’s refreshing after how they’ve played since Christmas. Also, here’s something filed under “Things you love to see”: Matt Duchene, who scored just four goals in his first 26 games, has five goals during his active four-game goal streak.
5. Minnesota Wild
Record: 32-14-10, +25
Last Week: 8th (+3)
Hunter’s Rank: 5th
Scott’s Rank: 6th
Hunter: The Wild played poorly to start the new year, but a three-game road trip against Eastern Conference teams appeared to shake something out of them, as they’ve now won six of their last eight. Quinn Hughes led Minnesota to a 7-3 win over the Oilers over the weekend, extending his point streak to eight games. Jesper Wallstedt also stopped 39 saves against Edmonton, and if the trade rumors are true, he could fetch the Wild a major piece ahead of March’s trade deadline.
6. Detroit Red Wings
Record: 32-18-6, 0
Last Week: 4th (-2)
Hunter’s Rank: 8th
Scott’s Rank: 5th
Scott: The Red Wings have finally hit a bump in the road as they find themselves in a slump of four losses in five games. Those four losses came against great teams in the Wild and Avalanche, or to good teams dealing with some bad luck in the Kings and Capitals, but it’s still not ideal when the Canadiens, Bruins and Sabres are catching up. Now, they’re within three points of all three teams, while the Lightning have pulled ahead with games in hand on everybody. The Red Wings still have nine points on the closest non-playoff team, but home-ice advantage is in jeopardy.
Hunter: Hey John Gibson, I just sang your praises last week, stop making me look so bad. I do that enough as it is! Detroit will hold onto a playoff spot going into the Olympic break, so at least this losing streak can’t affect them too much, right? Right?!
7. Pittsburgh Penguins
Record: 28-14-11, +22
Last Week: 7th (0)
Hunter’s Rank: 7th
Scott’s Rank: 7th
Scott: At what point are we going to stop treating the Penguins like “oh, it’s cute that Crosby and co. are keeping up in the playoff race” and more like an actual playoff contender? If not for the five-point rule, my model had them second because they’re consistent across the board. While Dan Muse has done great work himself, Kyle Dubas deserves some flowers for rejuvenating the depth of this team with the likes of Justin Brazeau, Anthony Mantha Tommy Novak, Brett Kulak and most recently Egor Chinakhov. And of course, there’s the fact that Dubas made a goaltending upgrade (more on that shortly) and got assets while moving on from the worst contract. The Penguins aren’t doing this well for no reason.
8. Vegas Golden Knights
Record: 25-16-14, +6
Last Week: 6th (-2)
Hunter’s Rank: 6th
Scott’s Rank: 8th
Scott: The Golden Knights started off the Rasmus Andersson era with a bang, beating the Leafs 6-3 a couple weeks ago, but since then, they’ve dropped five straight games. As much as I’ve ragged on Carter Hart this season, the goaltending without him hasn’t been any better. Adin Hill’s .837 save percentage since his return is the worst among any goalie with at least five starts in that span, and Akira Schmid has been the “better” option at .888. It hasn’t been pretty in net in Vegas, and you wonder if maybe they make another move elsewhere to improve. I don’t know what’s aged worse for the Golden Knights: the Logan Thompson trade or Hill’s 6x$6.25 million contract which just began this season.
Hunter: I completely forgot about Hill’s extension. Good lord.
9. Edmonton Oilers
Record: 28-20-8, +8
Last Week: 10th (+1)
Hunter’s Rank: 9th
Scott’s Rank: 9th
Scott: I know there were plenty of comments about the Jarry-Skinner trade, and how it wouldn’t be surprising to see Skinner outperform Jarry despite the Oilers paying for Skinner+ to get Jarry on a worse contract. Well, since the trade, Jarry is 6-3-1 with a .873 SV% and 3.23 5v5 GSAx, while Skinner is 8-4-0 with an .895 SV% and 9.36 5v5 GSAx. Both of their GSAx numbers would indicate they aren’t the reason for their sub-.900 SV%, but Skinner is vastly outperforming Jarry and hasn’t been hurt. Meanwhile Ingram is getting the results with a 6-3-1 record and .901 SV%, but his -1.14 5v5 GSAx indicates it’s more on the team in front of him. Poor Connor and Leon.
Hunter: I’ve reached a point in the “Jarry era” (ugh) that it feels like this spring will be one of those anomalies where a team with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitil get upset in the first round because none of their goalies can stop a nosebleed.
10. Montreal Canadiens
Record: 31-17-7, +9
Last Week: 11th (+1)
Hunter’s Rank: 10th
Scott’s Rank: 11th
Hunter: Was last week the best single week for the Canadiens since the end of June 2021, when they clinched a Stanley Cup Final berth? Think about it: The Habs beat the Golden Knights in overtime on Tuesday; they hand-delivered a can of whoopass to the best team in the league in the Avalanche on Thursday; then Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada, down 2-1 to the Sabres entering the third period, they scored three unanswered goals — two of which being Cole Caufield’s 31st and 32nd of the season — and won 4-2. The vibes are immaculate in La Belle Province.
11. Buffalo Sabres
Record: 31-18-5, +21
Last Week: 13th (+2)
Hunter’s Rank: 11th
Scott’s Rank: 10th
Hunter: The Sabres continued their winning ways last week, as they took two of three and further solidified their 2026 playoff chances. If they had curbed a three-goal, third-period burst from the Canadiens over the weekend, Buffalo would be in a top-three spot in the Atlantic Division. I repeat: a top-three spot in the Atlantic Division. At this point, I’m actively rooting for good stories, and there may not be a better one than the Sabres.
12. Boston Bruins
Record: 32-20-4, +14
Last Week: 17th (+5)
Hunter’s Rank: 15th
Scott’s Rank: 12th
Scott: I shouldn’t harp on the Bruins too much considering they’re 10-1-2 in their last 13 games, but that was an ugly end to the Stadium Series, blowing a 5-1 lead. It’s issues like that which make me hesitant to really buy into Boston as a true threat in the playoffs. Their biggest problem is their lack of discipline, as they average the most penalties taken per 60 minutes at 4.92 and are shorthanded 30 more seconds per game than the next closest opponent. If they had a good penalty kill, that’d be okay, but they’re 27th in the league, and the underlying numbers aren’t much better. That burned them on Sunday, as they took 10 penalties in the loss, including nine after they took the 5-1 lead. Tampa scored three power play goals in the second to spark their comeback as well.
13. Los Angeles Kings
Record: 23-17-14, -10
Last Week: 19th (+6)
Hunter’s Rank: 14th
Scott’s Rank: 13th
Scott: I’m torn on what I want to happen to the Kings this season. On one hand, I think they should be punished for the crimes they committed to their blueline, considering where it was only a few seasons ago, and Ken Holland shouldn’t be rewarded with a playoff spot. But at the same time, missing the playoffs is a tough note for Anze Kopitar to end his career on. For now, they’re holding down the final Wildcard spot, but it’s still a tight race in the West.
Hunter: I’ve enjoyed watching the likes of Kopitar and Drew Doughty for far too long to want to see them fail, and the idea of them not even having a chance to play in the first round against a team that doesn’t hail from Edmonton is too heartbreaking to even consider. With plenty of cap space, I can’t envision a world where Holland doesn’t take a massive swing and try to give their veteran stars at least some sort of fuel going into the spring.
Scott: Oh don’t worry, if they slide into the playoffs, they’ll find a way to play Edmonton again.
14. Utah Mammoth
Record: 28-23-4, +19
Last Week: 12th (-2)
Hunter’s Rank: 12th
Scott’s Rank: 15th
Scott: Every time the Mammoth go on a run, I really want to believe in this group. But then they have a stretch like last week where they lose three of four games, including blowing a two-goal lead in the final two minutes to the Hurricanes, and it’s hard to have that belief in Utah. Yes, this came in a stretch where they faced Tampa Bay, Florida, Carolina and Dallas, so it wasn’t an easy week, but it feels like Utah can keep up with these teams if they get their act together. I’m very curious to see how they approach the deadline.
15. Washington Capitals
Record: 27-22-7, +9
Last Week: 15th (0)
Hunter’s Rank: 17th
Scott’s Rank: 14th
Hunter: The Capitals deserve some credit for winning two of three last week — their first week since mid-December where they won the majority of games — but they were badly outplayed in their loss against the Kraken and blew a 3-1 lead with 1:40 to go against the Red Wings, needing a shootout to close out the victory. The Olympic break can’t come soon enough for Washington.
16. New York Islanders
Record: 30-20-5, +7
Last Week: 21st (+5)
Hunter’s Rank: 13th
Scott’s Rank: 19th
Hunter: One benefit of the condensed 2025-26 regular-season schedule is more home-and-home series between division rivals. That’s what we got last week with the two New York teams, as the Islanders beat the Rangers both times, completing a four-game season sweep. I wouldn’t usually recommend a team like the Islanders be buyers at the NHL Trade Deadline, but when you have a goaltender like Ilya Sorokin, who is having a career year — fourth in save percentage, first in 5v5 goals saved above expected — you can’t waste it.
17. Anaheim Ducks
Record: 29-23-3, -12
Last Week: 16th (-1)
Hunter’s Rank: 19th
Scott’s Rank: 17th
Scott: Remember when the Ducks lost 11 of 12 games? Well now they’ve won eight of their last 10 games and have more or less evened out to a 9-11-2 record in their last 22 games. It makes that stretch of 11 losses in 12 games look much better. Most importantly, Lukas Dostal has rounded back into form with a .935 SV% and 5.53 5v5 GSAx in their recent streak. Hopefully he can continue this form through the Olympic break, because he’ll be essential to the Ducks’ success down the stretch.
18. Columbus Blue Jackets
Record: 27-20-7, -5
Last Week: 20th (+2)
Hunter’s Rank: 21st
Scott’s Rank: 16th
Hunter: It’s been nearly three weeks since the Blue Jackets fired Dean Evason and replaced him with Rick Bowness, and so far, it’s been all gravy. After the league postponed their game against the Kings due to weather, Columbus beat each of the Flyers, Blackhawks and Blues handedly, giving them five straight wins and nine of their last 10. They’re still six points back of a Wildcard spot in the East, but in the weird-and-wacky Metropolitan Division, anything is possible.
19. Florida Panthers
Record: 28-23-3, -11
Last Week: 19th (-10)
Hunter’s Rank: 16th
Scott’s Rank: 21st
Hunter: The Panthers continue to be one of hockey’s streakiest teams this season, as they followed their three-game winning streak from the previous week with a three-game losing streak last week, including losses to the basement-dwelling Blues and Jets. As it stands, they are eight points back of a playoff spot — the same as the Leafs. But even with Florida’s inconsistencies, I would still pick them to make the playoffs, and if/when they do clinch a postseason berth, I’d still take them to three-peat.
20. Ottawa Senators
Record: 26-21-7, +6
Last Week: 18th (-2)
Hunter’s Rank: 18th
Scott’s Rank: 20th
Hunter: The Senators carried the momentum of their 7-1 win over the Golden Knights on Jan. 25 into the week, beating the top-ranked Avalanche 5-2 then handing the Devils a 4-1 loss. Last week also saw Linus Ullmark make his first start in more than a month, stopping 26 of 27 shots against New Jersey. Ullmark and captain Brady Tkachuk embraced after the win, and the Swedish netminder was visibly emotional when he was named first star of the game.
Your First Star in Ottawa... Linus Ullmark 🫶
21. Seattle Kraken
Record: 26-19-9, -3
Last Week: 25th (+4)
Hunter’s Rank: 22nd
Scott’s Rank: 18th
Hunter: *read this blurb in the voice of Michael Keaton during the funeral scene in The Other Guys*
What the hell’s going on here? The Kings and Sharks are losing their grip in the standings, and you guys are fighting over who’s going to be the next hot shot eliminated by the Oilers or Golden Knights in the first round? Huh? Is that what’s happening?
Joey Daccord: Yes that’s exactly what’s happening!
Scott: How did Joey Daccord end up here? I know he’s got his YouTube channel so he’s media-adjacent, but where’s his credentials?!
22. Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 24-20-10, -14
Last Week: 14th (-8)
Hunter’s Rank: 20th
Scott’s Rank: 22nd
Hunter: Right after we gave the Flyers some love in last week’s power rankings, they lost their next four games and now have losses in 11 of their last 13, a stretch that’s likely put them out of playoff contention. At least Travis Konecny found the offensive part of his game, recording a hat trick against the Blue Jackets, then scoring in the team’s next two games. He’s on pace for the third 30-goal season of his career.
23. New Jersey Devils
Record: 28-25-2, -24
Last Week: 22nd (-1)
Hunter’s Rank: 23rd
Scott’s Rank: 24th
Scott: The Devils lost three of four games last week, and none of those losses came to tough competition, as they were facing the Kraken, Jets, Predators (who New Jersey beat) and Senators. To make matters worse, Jack Hughes is hurt again, although it doesn’t seem to be a long-term issue and we should see him in Milan next week. If there is a silver lining for the Devils right now, it’s that they got rid of Ondrej Palat’s contract while only having to get rid of a third- and sixth-round pick. With all this cap space freed up, they can go after Quinn Hughes now… oh wait.
24. Nashville Predators
Record: 25-23-6, -27
Last Week: 24th (0)
Hunter’s Rank: 24th
Scott’s Rank: 23rd
Hunter: The Predators carried their struggles into a three-game road trip, dropping back-to-back 3-2 overtime losses to the Bruins and Devils, but they closed out the Eastern Conference swing with a win over the Islanders. While the Preds are four points back of a Wildcard spot, nothing about their game indicates they’ll be in the hunt after the Olympics, including a minus-27 goal differential that’s tied for the third-worst in the league.
25. Toronto Maple Leafs
Record: 25-21-9, -11
Last Week: 23rd (-2)
Hunter’s Rank: 25th
Scott’s Rank: 25th
Scott: The Leafs are truly in a tough spot right now. On one hand, selling probably makes the most sense at this point in time. They’re eight points out of a playoff spot and are so old and slow that selling off players like Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo (and maybe even selling high on Oliver Ekman-Larsson) for picks and prospects might be the closest thing Toronto could get to a retool. But then I remember their general manager is Brad Treliving, who has historically done very little at the trade deadline, even as a seller. He’s also the man that got them into this mess. Do we really trust him to fix his own mistakes? And then of course, the Leafs would need to completely commit to a tank to get their first-round pick this year, but that also runs the risk of just missing out on the top five and giving Boston a better draft pick.
Yeah, this is not going to be a fun time for Leafs fans.
26. San Jose Sharks
Record: 27-22-4, -17
Last Week: 26th (0)
Hunter’s Rank: 26th
Scott’s Rank: 26th
Scott: With each passing week, the Sharks continue to stick around in the playoff race and get closer to season’s end in that position. We’ve been very low on San Jose as far as their legitimacy, but as the five-point rule kicks in with more teams, they’ve creeped up the list. They have lost four of their last six games, which has put them two points out of a Wildcard spot for the time being, but perhaps the Olympics will give them an even-more motivated Macklin Celebrini playing alongside such elite talents on the Canadian team.
27. Winnipeg Jets
Record: 22-25-7, -10
Last Week: 29th (+2)
Hunter’s Rank: 27th
Scott’s Rank: 28th
Hunter: It’s a shame the Jets allowed themselves to fall so far down the standings, because they have flashes where you watch and think, “what an impressive stretch of hockey.” Even in their 4-1 loss to the Lightning, Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi had a few shifts that really put Tampa on their heels, and Mark Scheifele had two goals and two assists last week. But it’s all for naught. Also, no player will admit it, but when you live in Winnipeg and the team can’t win, a three-week, mid-season break where you can fly anywhere with beaches is desperately needed.
28. New York Rangers
Record: 22-28-6, -27
Last Week: 27th (-1)
Hunter’s Rank: 28th
Scott’s Rank: 27th
Scott: The Rangers have already begun their fire sale, as they sent Carson Soucy to the Islanders in exchange for a third-round pick. The Blueshirts have plummeted down the standings after losing 11 of their last 13 games, and they look well on their way to compete for a top draft pick, especially if they move Artemi Panarin and possibly Vincent Trocheck or Alexis Lafreniere. However, you also have to remember that Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin are still out with injuries. I’m curious to see how their returns impact the tank.
29. Calgary Flames
Record: 22-26-6, -26
Last Week: 28th (-1)
Hunter’s Rank: 29th
Scott’s Rank: 29th
Scott: The Flames had lost 10 of their last 13 games entering Saturday’s game against the Sharks, but they managed to pull off a 3-2 win in that game, especially after trailing at both 1-0 and 2-1. Still, Flames fans who are sick of the mediocrity in Calgary are probably happy with the massive skid, as it’s put them well in contention for a top-five pick (although they’d really have to stink up the place to catch up to Vancouver in last place). If they sell off a couple more pieces like Blake Coleman and Nazem Kadri, expect this spiral to continue – for the better.
30. St. Louis Blues
Record: 20-26-9, -54
Last Week: 30th (0)
Hunter’s Rank: 30th
Scott’s Rank: 30th
Hunter: Do you think Doug Armstrong is even thinking about the Blues right now? Yeah yeah, it’s team first, focus on the task at hand, blah blah blah. But, why bother? Is anyone actually going to make a trade before the NHL’s Feb. 4 Olympic roster freeze? You think Colton Parayko or Jordan Binnington really care about St. Louis at this moment? Or Pius Suter? Or Philip Broberg? Oh, shoutout to Dalibor Dvorsky, I see you Slovakia!
31. Chicago Blackhawks
Record: 21-25-9, -30
Last Week: 31st (0)
Hunter’s Rank: 31st
Scott’s Rank: 31st
Scott: Two weeks ago, I called upon Connor Bedard to step up his game and wow Hockey Canada so much that they couldn’t deny him from the Olympic team any longer if they needed an injury replacement. Since then, he has just three goals and five points in seven games. That’s not exactly what I had in mind, Connor.
Oh, and the Blackhawks are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games, and can probably consider their playoff chances to be as good as gone. It would have been nice to see Bedard in the playoffs, but I guess we’ll have to wait another year.
32. Vancouver Canucks
Record: 18-31-6, -54
Last Week: 32nd (0)
Hunter’s Rank: 32nd
Scott’s Rank: 32nd
Scott: I’ve just received an update from our troops in Vancouver, who are deep in the trenches of a tank battle. They’ve seized a seven-point advantage for their position in the lottery odds, and one of their best soldiers, Thatcher Demko, is out of action for the rest of this war. It looks promising for them to come out of this battle on top, and come summer, they may have earned first pick to draft soldiers for the next war.
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