NHL Power Rankings: Is There Much Doubt About The Colorado Avalanche?

The Colorado Avalanche lost out on first place in the NHL power rankings at times over the past month.

But with them clinching the top seed in the West and sitting six points clear of the second-place Carolina Hurricanes, we're probably looking at the 2025-26 Presidents' Trophy winner.

As if there was much doubt, anyway. 

It's worth noting that only eight of the 39 past Presidents' Trophy winners have won the Cup, so it's not a good indicator of playoff success.

If the Avs win the league title, it'll be their fourth in franchise history. They're actually also one of the few teams that have managed to win the league title and the Cup in the same season, accomplishing the feat in the 2000-01 season.

It caps off an impressive campaign for the Avs, even if they weren't nearly as dominant in the final months of the season.

Their current .727 points percentage ranks 11th-best in the Salary Cap Era and the fifth time they've won at least 50 games in that span.

They boast a ton of star power. Nathan MacKinnon is in the running for league MVP, Art Ross and Rocket Richard, and Cale Makar is a perennial finalist for the Norris.  

With the Utah Mammoth sitting a distant fourth in the Central, it also means the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars are locked in for a matchup in the opening round. What's left to determine is home-ice advantage, but already I can hear the chorus of calls to change the playoff format so we don't have two top contenders facing each other in the first round. Unfortunately, it's a fait accompli, and it'll fall on deaf ears, so it's best we move past that. 

There are other playoff races and matchups to watch for as the league enters its final week of play, after all.

An uneven stretch where they've alternated wins and losses for over a week, but they've done everything to prove they're the league's best team. 

The challenge for the Habs now is to maintain their momentum and ride it into the playoffs. The lone hiccup was a 3-0 loss to the Devils, but otherwise, they've been literally unbeatable. 

It's actually kind of amazing the Canes won 50 games with the goaltending they have. Per naturalstattrick.com, the Canes have the fourth-worst save percentage at 5-on-5. But, then again, perhaps goaltending is overrated. The bottom four teams – Canes, Senators, Oilers and Golden Knights – are all likely headed to the playoffs. 

Not a good stretch for the Stars, both having trouble winning games and closing out games. A home date against the Wild on Thursday will serve as their last intradivision, intraconference battle before the playoffs, since they'll finish the season with three games against Eastern teams.

They're stumbling a little bit to the finish line, but who cares? The Sabres are back in the playoffs, and a Sabres-Lightning first-round matchup will be as legitimately exciting as Stars-Wild.

Given the number of injuries they've had this season, it's crazy to think Jon Cooper isn't even the front-runner for the Jack Adams. 

Staying healthy will be key for the Wild, especially Joel Eriksson Ek, who has a goal and five assists in his past four games. If there's one position the Wild don't match up well at all against the Avs and Stars, it's center. 

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have both been amazing, but how about some vintage Erik Karlsson, too? This is, by far, the best season he's ever had as a Penguin, and he's not getting enough credit for it.

A three-game winless streak spelled trouble, but the Sens have righted the ship since with three wins in their past four games, including victories against the Lightning and Canes. Those are tough matchups, and momentum is clearly on the Sens' side. 

Like Rocky, the Flyers were once down but never out. In late February, the Flyers were third-last in the East. Some brilliant second-half play from Samuel Ersson has helped them be less reliant on Dan Vladar, who's having a solid season. Thursday's matchup in Detroit is must-watch TV.

Four straight losses against intraconference opponents is not a good look, though they have three days to reset. They're lucky the teams below them in the wild-card race can't maintain any momentum, and that four-point cushion in the wild-card race should be enough to push them into the playoffs.

They're heating up at the right time, and their goal-scoring binge has been incredible with 25 goals in their past four games. They'll be a popular upset pick in the first round should they get matched up against the Pacific Division winner.

Say what you want about Tortorella, but the new coach bump is real, and he's been pretty good at turning teams around and getting results. Those who thought Mitch Marner would suffer under Tortorella totally misunderstood Tortorella's tendencies and what he looks for in a player. If the Knights can get a Stone-Eichel-Marner line going, it might spell trouble for the rest of the West.  

A 5-1 loss to the Knights and then a 6-5 overtime loss to the Mammoth do not bode well. This is a team that desperately needs Leon Draisaitl back if they want to have a chance at winning the first round. 

The Peter DeBoer Era starts Thursday, and the Isles basically have to win out to make the playoffs. With four games left, is the new coach bump alone enough to help them make the cut? Unlike John Tortorella with the Knights, where drastic changes to their style and structure weren't necessary, can DeBoer fix their defensive and overall play quickly enough so they won't always have to rely on Ilya Sorokin?

A key win against the Wings in a shootout last night snapped a six-game losing streak, though winning in regulation would've been better. They've been hampered by injuries, and they're losing some steam. Zach Werenski might have to play 30 minutes in each of their final four games.

It's been gut-wrenching to watch the Wings drop in the standings as if the weight of the playoff drought cannot be overcome. Poor starts, penalties at bad times, inconsistent goaltending… if the Wings miss again, can the fan base stomach them running it back again? 

There's little chance the Blues will make the playoffs, but there's some optimism for next season already. That first line with Robert Thomas between Dylan Holloway and Jimmy Snuggerud looks fantastic, as does Joel Hofer.

Not sure what happened in that Rangers game, but it's the second time in three games the Caps were blown out. The Caps have one of the worst road records in the East, and three of their remaining four games are on the road.

Pretty incredible turnaround by the Preds – with some thanks to a poor Western Conference – but this team was on the verge of getting blown up a few months ago. They've won eight of their past 12 and managed to get at least one point from one of their four losses. 

Honestly, they should've turned to Anton Forsberg weeks ago.

Five wins in their past six shows the Sharks are serious about making a run, though the one game they really should've won to gain some ground in the playoff race – Saturday against the Preds – slipped through their fingers after they had worked so hard to tie the game following a 3-0 deficit.

The Ducks went from potentially winning the division to just being thankful the Pacific Division is so bad that they can stay in the top three. 

Is Mark Scheifele the most underrated player in the league? Honest question.

With Tom Fitzgerald gone, suddenly everyone is on notice, and the future is less clear than ever. Will Nico Hischier stay? How will they resolve their inflexible cap structure?

Five wins in their past six, with only one goal allowed in each of those wins. Where was this all season?!

With the way the Kraken have been playing, you'd think they were actually tanking instead of making a playoff run. They saved their most horrendous stretch of the season for the worst possible time. Perhaps they shouldn't have named their team after a creature that roams the deepest depths of the ocean. 

With each passing day, it feels more and more like the Leafs are heading toward a full rebuild rather than a retool. Were there any big positives to take away from this season? 

There's been some pretty embarrassing losses, but keep in mind that with a healthy roster and Aleksander Barkov back, the Panthers will be a contender. It'll be a whole revenge tour next season.

It's going to be a tough finish to the season with two more games against the Avs, one against the Mammoth, and a potentially do-or-die game for the Kings in their season finale. Low-key, the Flames might enter next season with a top-five tandem between Dustin Wolf and Devin Cooley.

When Nick Lardis, a rookie who's only played half the season, and Ilya Mikheyev, who misses more breakaways than anyone else in the league, are in your top six, you're probably not going to be very good. If the Hawks want to speed up this process, they need to go hunting in the summer. 

With eight (!) wins at home and only one home game remaining, the Canucks can avoid sharing the record for fewest home wins in an 82-game season in the Cap Era with the 2022-23 Sharks if they can beat the Kings next Tuesday. Go Canucks go?

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