The Colorado Avalanche, and the Vegas Golden Knights, both suffered their first regulation loss of the season this past week. The New Jersey Devils (8-1-1) and Utah Mammoths (8-2-0) both won their four games and are tied at the top of the 2025-2026 NHL standings. Colorado (5-1-4), and Vegas (5-3-3) are still in the top 10, but have taken a step back due to their performance. Each week, I will rank the top 10 teams of the NHL based on their previous week’s performance and their total body of work from 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 3 of the 2025-26 NHL season and highlight a few of the teams’ notable accomplishments.NHL Week 3 power ratings 1. New Jersey Devils (4-0-0-0 in week 3; 8-1-1-0 overall). The Devils, who lost their season opener 6-3 to Carolina Hurricanes 2025-26, haven’t been defeated since. They now enter Week 4, with an eight game winning streak. The Devils won three of their four games last week and needed overtime to defeat the Avalanche on Sunday. Jack Hughes scored a hatrick last Tuesday against Toronto Maple Leafs and then added another two goals in overtime. This gives him a share of NHL leadership with eight goals. Jake Allen, the backup goaltender who has taken the place of injured Jacob Markstrom due to a lower body injury, is a star. He won all five starts and ranks fourth with a goals-against-average of 1.93. Utah Mammoth (8-2-0; 4-0-0)The Mammoth will not be in the top 10 of the NHL a month hence, but enjoy this ride while you can. In Week 3, they won in overtime against Colorado. They then went on to score 16 goals over the St. Louis Blues. Logan Cooley had a stellar performance in the victories. He scored five goals and added three assists. The 21 year old center recorded a natural hatrick in the first quarter against St. Louis. He then scored twice in the very first four minutes of Minnesota’s win. Nick Schmaltz, who also scored a pair against the Wild, has appeared on the scoreboard for Utah in nine out of 10 games this season. This includes each of the seven most recent. The 29-year old center shares the fourth spot with seven goals and is tied with the NHL leader with 16 points. Colorado Avalanche (0-0-3; 5-1-4).Yes, they lost all four games, but earned points in three. Cale Makar is the NHL’s top defenseman with 11 points. Two-time Norris Trophy winners have only been held pointless in two of their first 10 games this year. Martin Necas was acquired by the Carolina Hurricanes from Mikko Raantanen in January. However, he has not recorded a point for his last two appearances. Artturi Lehkonen, meanwhile, has two goals and two assist in his last three games. Vegas Golden Knights (5-1-3; 0-1-1)The Golden Knights were in the Sunshine State last week, and they scored just one goal between their two games. The Tampa Bay Lightning beat them 2-1 after overtime, but they still earned a single point. William Karlsson’s lone Vegas goal gave him four in his last 5 games. Jack Eichel’s seven-game scoring streak ended in Week 3 but he is still tied for the NHL lead at 16 points. There’s the possibility that they could fall further in ratings in Week 4, as they only play two games in Week 4. They will be finishing their road trip with Carolina and then hosting Colorado. Pittsburgh Penguins (7-2-1; 3-0-1)The Penguins have also had an impressive start to the 2025-2026 season. It’s even more surprising to see the play of the aging stars Evgeni Crosby and Evgeni malkin, who are tied with each other for the NHL lead in points with 16 and 14. Malkin, 39, is a two time Art Ross Trophy winner and looked to be finished with the NHL last year. He has only been held off the scoresheet once in Pittsburgh’s 10 games. Malkin also boasts a seven game point streak in which he has recorded two points in each of his three last outings. Crosby is a year younger, and a 2-time Art Ross Trophy-winner. He has recorded three points in each of his three most recent games. Crosby also scored goals in five out of six of his last six. Crosby, who is a year younger and a two-time Art Ross Trophy winner, has scored a goal in five of his last six games. Justin Brazeau is benefiting from playing with Malkin. He has six points this week, and he’s halfway to matching his career-high of 22 that he set with the Boston Bruins in Minnesota last year. Montreal Canadiens (7-3-0; 2-1-0)The Canadiens have had a solid week. They recorded two victories, and were within 10 minutes to a third. But they failed to hold on to a 2 goal lead over the Edmonton Oilers during the second half of the 3rd period. The Canadiens lost 6-5. Nick Suzuki, who was blanked by the Edmonton Oilers in their season opener, has scored at least one goal in his last nine matches, while Cole Caufield is on a three-goal streak over his last seven games. Ivan Demidov, a 19-year old Russian right winger who was selected fifth overall in the NHL Draft 2024, has begun to show his worth. He scored three points in Saturday’s victory over the Vancouver Canucks (4-3), and has eight points in his last seven outings. Carolina Hurricanes (1-0-0; 6-2-0). The Hurricanes split two games during Week 3, and fell two places in the ratings. Sebastian Aho has scored goals in three straight games. The 28-year old Finnish center has scored a goal in every Carolina game this season. Seth Jarvis, 23, had a seven-game point streak in his season’s opening contests. He was held off the scoresheet against the Dallas Stars on Saturday. But two days before that, he scored a goal and assisted in regulation in a 5-4 win over Colorado. Winnipeg Jets (1-0-0; 6-3-0)The Jets had a five-game win streak at the end of Week 2, but dropped two of their three games in last week. The Jets scored two goals between those two losses. Mark Scheifele is the one who scored the goal. He has eight goals and is tied with the NHL leader. Kyle Connor, who set a new career high of 97 points in the previous season, has continued to excel in 2025-26.9. He has scored at least one goal in each of his nine first games. Seattle Kraken (2-1-1; 5-2-2)The Kraken lost to Washington Capitals in Week 3, but won over Winnipeg and Edmonton. Joey Daccord’s sixth career shutout was achieved by turning away all 32 shots against the Jets. Seattle scored six goals, half of which were scored by captain Jordan Eberle. The 35-year old right winger was only able to play 42 games for the Kraken in 2024-25 because of a pelvic problem. He has now scored in 7 out of 9 matches in this season. Detroit Red Wings (1-0-0; 6-3-0). The Red Wings fell six places in the ratings mainly due to their losses against Buffalo Sabres, and New York Islanders where they were outscored by 11-4. Detroit looked to be headed for a winless weekend when St. Louis scored the first four goals of Saturday’s game before Detroit stormed back with six unanswered scores. Simon Edvinsson, a Swedish defenseman, broke a tie at 4-4 with 9:12 left in the third quarter and finished off a two goal performance with a empty-netter. The 6-4 win ended the eight-game scoring streak of Captain Dylan Larkin, but Emmitt Finnie, a 20-year old rookie center, has a four game run in which he’s scored four goals and recorded two assists.
2025-10-28 19:04:20
