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The Colorado Avalanche proved they weren't infallible during Week 9 of the 2025-26 NHL season as they sustained their first regulation loss in more than a month. However, the defeat wasn't enough to supplant the Avalanche from the top spot in this week's ratings.

Colorado, which suffered its first regulation loss of the campaign on Oct. 25, a 3-2 setback against the Boston Bruins, entered Week 9 with a point streak that it extended to 17 games (14-0-3) with last Tuesday's 3-1 triumph over the Vancouver Canucks. The club stumbled at the start of its four-game road trip, allowing the first four goals of its contest against the New York Islanders en route to a 6-3 loss but quickly got back on course with 3-2 victories against the New York Rangers in overtime and Philadelphia Flyers.

The Vegas Golden Knights were the only team with a perfect record in Week 9, winning all three of their games, while the Dallas Stars, Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs all went 3-0-1. Meanwhile, the New Jersey Devils' struggles without Jack Hughes continued as they scored a total of one goal while losing three contests last week to extend their losing streak to five games after having won four of their first seven without the star forward.

No team had a worse week than the Tampa Bay Lightning, who lost four games and were shut out in the last two. The slide caused the Lightning to drop out of this week's top 10 after a seven-game winning streak helped put them in the No. 3 spot last week.

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 after Week 9 of the 2025-26 NHL season and highlight a few of the teams' notable accomplishments.

NHL Week 9 power ratings 

1. Colorado Avalanche (3-1-0 in Week 9; 21-2-6 overall)

Yes, the Avalanche showed they were human in Week 9, but they also demonstrated that they still are the best team in the NHL this season with three more victories. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar also kept chugging along as they each recorded at least one point in three of Colorado's four games, and both have landed on the scoresheet in 24 of the club's 29 contests in 2025-26. The 2024 Hart Trophy winner, MacKinnon posted a pair of two-goal performances and also notched an assist to increase his league-leading totals to 24 tallies and 49 points. Meanwhile, two-time Norris Trophy recipient Makar set up three goals as he raised his season numbers to 26 assists and 35 points, both of which are tops among NHL defensemen. Martin Necas' efforts cannot be overlooked, as the 26-year-old Czech center had a goal and five assists last week, has registered four multi-point performances in his last seven games and is tied for fifth in the league with 39 points. The Avs are 11-0-2 at home this season and play two of their three Week 10 contests at Ball Arena, so we probably can expect them to occupy the top spot of the ratings again next week.

2. Dallas Stars (3-0-1; 20-5-5)

The Stars' week couldn't have gotten off to a worse start as they squandered a late lead and dropped a 3-2 decision to the New York Rangers in overtime, a setback that ended their four-game winning streak. In addition, they lost Tyler Seguin for what likely will be the remainder of the season to a torn ACL. But Dallas displayed its resiliency, winning its final three contests of the week to extend its points streak to 10 games (8-0-2). Mikko Rantanen collected three goals and three assists over the team's four outings and enters Week 10 with a six-game point streak, while Jason Robertson scored in two contests to give him goals in 11 of his last 14. Defenseman Miro Heiskanen has tallied in three straight games, Roope Hintz (points in eight of his last nine) and Wyatt Johnston (points in five of his last six) both are hot and captain Jamie Benn has racked up nine points in 11 outings after missing the Stars' first 19 contests with a collapsed lung. Dallas cannot be overlooked as it is only three points behind Colorado in the overall standings.

3. Washington Capitals (3-0-1; 18-9-3)

Like Dallas, the Capitals won three games and lost one after regulation last week. Also like the Stars, Washington lost a key player as defenseman John Carlson missed the team's last three contests with an upper-body injury. The team rolled on without him, however, sandwiching victories against the San Jose Sharks and Columbus Blue Jackets around a shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Rugged forward Tom Wilson continued to produce offensively, recording two goals and an assist last week to give him at least one point in eight of his last nine games and 11 of the past 14. In the crease, Logan Thompson went 1-0-1 as he allowed only four goals on 102 shots and lowered his goals-against average to 1.96, which is second-best in the league behind Minnesota Wild rookie Jesper Wallstedt (1.95). The 28-year-old Thompson turned aside all 39 shots he faced against Columbus on Sunday en route to his seventh career shutout and 100th NHL victory.

4. Vegas Golden Knights (3-0-0; 14-6-8)

The Golden Knights are riding a four-game winning streak that has followed a four-game skid after defeating the Chicago Blackhawks in a shootout, the Devils in regulation and the Rangers in overtime last week. Jack Eichel scored the winning goal in the extra session of Sunday's triumph at Madison Square Garden, giving him back-to-back two-point performances and points in seven of his last nine contests. Mitch Marner has landed on the scoresheet in five of his last six outings and Tomas Hertl has tallied four times in as many games. Defenseman Shea Theodore recorded a goal and three assists in three contests last week while captain Mark Stone has picked up a point in all 12 of his outings this season after notching four assists.

5. Anaheim Ducks (2-1-0; 18-10-1)

The Ducks got off to a rough start in Week 9 as they were trounced 7-0 by the Utah Mammoth, but they bounced back with a shootout triumph over Washington and a dominant 7-1 victory against Chicago. Leo Carlsson scored twice in that contest to end a two-game dry spell and give him points in eight of his last 10 games. The 20-year-old Swedish center is tied for seventh in the NHL with 38 points and is seven away from matching his total in 76 contests last season. Meanwhile, Beckett Sennecke has recorded a goal and an assist in each of his last two outings and has been kept off the scoresheet just once in his last 11 games. The 19-year-old right wing, who leads all NHL rookies with 24 points, hasn't gone back-to-back contests without one since a four-game drought from Oct. 23-31. 

6. Minnesota Wild (2-2-0; 16-9-5)

Minnesota endured a four-game road trip last week and had its 12-game point streak (10-0-2) halted with back-to-back setbacks against the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks. The trek ended on a high note, however, as the Wild topped the Seattle Kraken 4-1 on Monday behind a three-point effort from Joel Eriksson Ek. The 28-year-old Swedish center ended his five-game point drought with a goal and two assists, matching his output over his previous nine contests. Kirill Kaprizov netted his team-leading 18th tally against the Kraken, tying him for third in the league. Wallstedt allowed four goals in the loss at Vancouver but made 33 saves in Edmonton last Tuesday to post his league-high fourth shutout of the season, all of which came during a six-game span.

7. Carolina Hurricanes (1-2-0; 17-9-2)

The Hurricanes fell three spots in the ratings after losing two of their three games in Week 9. Carolina scored just one goal in both defeats but matched its season high in its 6-3 triumph over the Nashville Predators. Nikolaj Ehlers and Jackson Blake registered three points apiece in the win as nine of the team's 12 forwards got on the scoresheet. The 22-year-old Blake went without a point in his previous six contests. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere notched an assist in all three games and has recorded at least one point in 10 of his last 13 outings. 

8. Detroit Red Wings (3-0-1; 16-11-3)

The Red Wings entered Week 9 with a four-game losing streak (0-3-1) and exited it with three wins and a shootout loss, a setback against the Columbus Blue Jackets last Thursday that kicked off a six-game road trip. Detroit followed that with victories at Seattle and Vancouver, scoring four goals in each. Captain Dylan Larkin netted his team-best 16th tally Monday against the Canucks and has registered at least one point seven of his last eight outings. Meanwhile, Lucas Raymond collected two goals and three assists last week and has landed on the scoresheet in 13 of his past 15 contests. Alex DeBrincat notched a point in all four of Detroit's games, amassing two goals and three assists, while defenseman Moritz Seider netted one tally and set up five others.

9. Los Angeles Kings (2-2-0; 14-8-7)

Los Angeles began last week with losses to Washington and Chicago, scoring once in each defeat, but erupted for a total of 10 goals in back-to-back triumphs over the Blackhawks and Mammoth. Adrian Kempe finished Week 8 by netting just his third tally in 16 contests but now has three in his last five games after converting against both the Capitals and Utah. The Kings received two-goal performances from a pair of unlikely sources in their wins as defenseman Brandt Clarke increased his goal total for the season to five with a pair against Chicago on Saturday and Joel Armia converted twice against the Mammoth to end his five-game point drought and give him seven tallies in his first campaign with Los Angeles following seven with the Montreal Canadiens.

10. New York Islanders (3-1-0; 16-11-3)

No, the Islanders aren't making their first appearance in the top 10 this season because of their 6-3 victory over the Avalanche this past Thursday, although I doubt many would complain if that was the reason. The club also posted a pair of triumphs over what had been a red-hot Tampa Bay team, ending the Lightning's seven-game winning streak with a 2-1 triumph last Tuesday, and climbed within four points of division-leading Washington in a tight Metropolitan that has the first and last-place teams separated by only seven points. The Isles had balanced scoring in those three wins as eight players combined for their 10 goals, with Bo Horvat and Casey Cizikas each scoring twice. It was a rare offensive outburst by the 34-year-old Cizikas, who converted in back-to-back games after having tallied just once over his first 27 contests this season. Ilya Sorokin was in net for each of the victories and stopped 97 of the 101 shots he faced. The 30-year-old Russian made 32 saves against Tampa Bay on Saturday for his third shutout of 2025-26 and the 25th of his career.