The well-known school of thought is that if you’re in the playoff bracket by the time of Thanksgiving, then you will probably be there when the season is done. That may not hold true this season.
In the Eastern Conference, a mere eight points separated the top team from the 15th team going into Friday’s play. The divide is a little wider in the Western Conference, but so far, across the league, it really feels like only Calgary, Nashville, and Buffalo have identified themselves as also-rans.
There are some familiar teams missing from the Herald’s first Power Rankings of the 2025-26 season. Some we expect will eventually climb in—Edmonton, Tampa Bay, and Vegas are in that category. Some may not. Looking at you, Toronto.
Here’s our early look at the top 16 teams (Friday’s games not included):
**1. Colorado Avalanche**
In a league whose chief characteristic right now is parity, the Avs stand apart. At 12-1-5, they’ve gotten points in 17 out of 18 games. A plus-28 goal differential at this point in the season is fairly insane. The only question — and not that it will matter come playoff time — is how a team that has Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, and Cale Makar is not better at 3-on-3.
**2. Dallas Stars**
The Stars have responded well to the playoff meltdown that cost Pete DeBoer his job last spring. They walked into Montreal and thrashed a young, talented Canadiens team, 7-0, on Thursday. Even when the Habs have been bad, that hasn’t been easy to do.
**3. New Jersey Devils**
If the Devils can stay healthy, and that has been a big if for them, they are legitimate contenders for the Eastern Conference. Another question is whether the tandem of Jake Allen and Jacob Markstrom can take them to the promised land.
**4. Anaheim Ducks**
You didn’t think Joel Quenneville just picked the Ducks out of a hat, did you? The Ducks are young, talented, and they could be a menace for years to come. Center Leo Carlsson is the real thing.
**5. Carolina Hurricanes**
The Canes have not let injuries on the back end slow them down. They are still waiting for some decent return on their investment in Nikolaj Ehlers, and Andrei Svechnikov has not given them much up until now. And yet, they’re still in the upper echelon of the league.
**6. Montreal Canadiens**
The Habs have a Patrice Bergeron-like character in Nick Suzuki, offensive dynamos in Cole Caufield and Ivan Demidov, and a unique talent on the blue line in Lane Hutson. What they don’t have right now is a true No. 1 goalie. Sam Montembault has an .857 save percentage, and Jakub Dobes had been better than that, but then he gave up five goals on 13 shots to the Stars before getting yanked. Prospect Jacob Fowler is not far away in Laval.
**7. Ottawa Senators**
Give this team credit. They have handled the loss of heart-and-soul player Brady Tkachuk, who has been out since Oct. 13 (thumb surgery), better than most of us thought they would. Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, and old hand Claude Giroux have been keeping the Sens in the hunt while Tkachuk heals.
**8. Pittsburgh Penguins**
We can put the Sidney Crosby trade talk on hold for a while. Dan Muse has given the Pens that new-coach bump. Evgeni Malkin (21 points) seems rejuvenated, and they’ve gotten a spark from 18-year-old rookie Ben Kindel. Old friend Justin Brazeau was having a great start (6-6-12 in 12 games) before suffering an upper body injury that will keep him out a month.
**9. Los Angeles Kings**
The prototypical “hard-to-play-against” team, the Kings always seem to be there. This is Anze Kopitar’s farewell season and, though the Kings may not have enough firepower to get him a third Stanley Cup, they should make it interesting.
**10. Boston Bruins**
The B’s are making a surprise appearance in the first power rankings. They could be higher if they hadn’t squandered points. They lost six games in regulation, including Thursday’s in Ottawa, in which at least one point was attainable but they let it slip away late in the third period.
**11. Winnipeg Jets**
They’re still finding their way a bit after the loss of top-six forward Ehlers, but they’re scoring (3.24 GPG) and defending (2.76 GAA) at a decent clip. In a tough Central Division, the Jets will be there in the end.
**12. Seattle Kraken**
Scoring has been an issue for the Kraken (2.56 GPG), but they’ve managed to suffer just four regulation losses so far. Seattle may not be here in a month, but they’re here now.
**13. Utah Mammoth**
The former Coyotes got a bit of a comeuppance when they traveled east earlier this month, but they’ve been tough at home. The Mammoth had an interesting matchup against the Islanders on Friday night in Salt Lake City.
**14. Chicago Blackhawks**
Spencer Knight has been a nice comeback story, if you can even say that about a 24-year-old goalie, and the Hawks have been decent away from the United Center (5-3-2). Connor Bedard has been on a mission to prove he won’t be pushed around.
**15. New York Islanders**
It’s amazing how much life one player—in this case, No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer—can breathe into an organization.
**16. Florida Panthers**
The two-time defending champion Panthers are not technically in the playoff bracket, but we all know they’ll be there. Brad Marchand was supposed to be a nice complementary player, but he’s almost single-handedly kept them afloat until Matthew Tkachuk gets back next month. But the loss of Sasha Barkov is an issue that won’t go away.
https://www.bostonherald.com/2025/11/14/the-heralds-nhl-power-rankings/
