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Andy's NHL power rankings for all 16 teams heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs of the 2025-2026 season. Where does each NHL team stand in our latest power rankings for the 2025-26 season?
With the regular season now finally behind us, the Stanley Cup Playoff bracket is set. Even though most teams have only played the first game of their series, our power rankings have begun to shift.
In the opening weekend of the postseason, we saw several road teams pull off upsets, and the Buffalo Sabers rallied to down two goals within the final 10 minutes of their contest against the Bruins.
All statistics and team records mentioned are updated as of Monday, April 20. Who were the biggest risers and fallers from this past week? Let's dive in!
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No. 16 - Los Angeles Kings
Sitting in the bottom spot among playoff teams is the team that just sneaked into a spot, the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings finished the regular season with a modest 35-27-20 record, but it was enough to book their ticket as the No. 2 Wild Card in the Western Conference. Over their last 10, they have shown some progress, winning six games and only dropping two in regulation.
However, they have the toughest opening-round matchup, facing the President's Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche. Their offense finished the season scoring the fourth-fewest goals in the entire sport. In Game 1, they gave the Avalanche a strong fight, but fell 2-1 to open the series.
No. 15 - Anaheim Ducks
Like the Kings, the Ducks nearly fell out of a playoff position. However, given the weaker Pacific Division, 92 total points were enough to seal their position in the No. 3 seed, setting them up to face the Edmonton Oilers in Round 1. The Ducks entered the playoffs having won just two of their last 10 games, with six of their losses coming in regulation.
Overall, the Ducks have major concerns on the defensive side of their game (and goaltending), as they surrendered the fourth-most goals in the sport while scoring the 15th-most. Their seventh-worst penalty kill% will face the Oilers, who have posted the league's best power-play%.
No. 14 - Utah Mammoth
The Mammoth slide into the No. 1 Wild Card and will face the Vegas Golden Knights in the opening round. The Mammoth finished their regular season with a 43-33-6 record, tallying 92 points. They enter the postseason with a strong +28 goal differential and have been one of the most consistent offensive attacks in the sport.
Per MoneyPuck.com, the Mammoth sit sixth in terms of xGoals% and fourth in terms of Corsi%. Both of these marks place them alongside the favorites to win the cup. While they enter the postseason as the underdog, they are on the radar for an upset, given their underlying metrics. In Game 1, they took a 4-2 loss to the Golden Knights.
No. 13 - Edmonton Oilers
Sitting just above this bottom tier are the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers enjoyed a dominant conclusion to the season and nearly caught up to Vegas to claim the top spot in the Pacific Division. However, they finished their regular season with 93 points (two behind the Golden Knights), which will set them up for a first-round title against the Ducks.
Over their last 10, the Oilers have posted a solid 6-2-2 record. While Leon Draisaitl may miss the opening games of this series, Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard are both playing some of the best hockey of their career and should lead the way to the second round.
No. 12 - Ottawa Senators
The Senators enjoyed a dominant stretch to conclude the regular season, which earned them the No. 2 Wild Card in a tough Eastern Conference. Entering the postseason, the Senators posted a 6-3-1 record over their last 10 games. Their overall 99 points placed them just one behind the Bruins for the No. 1 Wild Card.
While they have a tall task ahead of them, facing the East's top team, the Carolina Hurricanes, they carry impressive underlying metrics. Per MoneyPuck.com, the Senators sit third in xGoals%, trailing only the Hurricanes and Avalanche. In Game 1 of their series, they lost 2-0 but showed enough promise to keep the series close.
No. 11 - Boston Bruins
Despite finishing their regular season with 100 points, the Bruins will enter the Stanley Cup Playoffs as a Wild card given the depth in the Eastern Conference. These 100 points would have placed them as the No. 4 overall team in the entire Western Conference. Despite not having much scoring talent around him, David Pastrnak has continued to do well, totaling 29 goals with 71 helpers over 77 games played.
Even though they will face a potent Buffalo Sabers team, the Bruins have the squad to pull off the upset. If Jeremy Swayman can extend his current streak (.917% SV% over his last 10), the B's could be moving on to Round 2. They opened their series against Buffalo with a tough 4-3 loss. The Bruins had a 2-0 lead for nearly the entire game but were unable to hold off Tage Thompson and company.
No. 10 - Vegas Golden Knights
Led by newly-named HC John Tortorella, the Golden Knights have been among the sport's top teams since March 1. Tortorella has led the Golden Knights to an impressive 7-0-3 record (over their last 10), entering the postseason, which brought them to the top of the Pacific Division.
As a result, they will embark on their quest for Lord Stanley with a tilt against the Utah Mammoth. Under the hood, the Golden Knights sit seventh in terms of Corsi% and fourth in terms of xGoals%. However, the Mammoth nearly matches them in both statistics, which suggests this series could go the distance. The X-factor for their postseason run will come down to Carter Hart. Entering the playoffs, Hart has posted a 6-0 record with a stellar .930% SV%.
On Sunday night, they continued this hot surge, taking down the Mammoth (4-2) to begin the series.
No. 9 - Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers were one of the most dominant teams after the Olympic Break, not only claiming a spot in the playoffs but also finishing the regular season as the No. 3 team in the Metropolitan Division. They were one of the sport's top defensive teams, allowing the ninth-fewest goals. Much of this was due to Dan Vladar's resurgent campaign in net.
However, their offense was very inconsistent, as they scored the 12th-fewest total goals and had the league's worst power-play. Their lack of offense could prevent them from making a deep playoff run. On Saturday night, they kicked off their quest for Lord Stanley with a dominating upset in the Steel City.
PORTER MARTONE!!! 🗣️
WELCOME TO THE #STANLEYCUP PLAYOFFS!!! pic.twitter.com/LygZU7A6hj
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 19, 2026
No. 8 - Pittsburgh Penguins
Sitting just above them in our rankings is the team that will face the Flyers in the opening round, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Like the Flyers, not many predicted them to be in the postseason, but they were able to smash all expectations under first-year HC Dan Muse and clinch the No. 2 spot in the Metropolitan Division.
While their defense and goaltending remain major weaknesses, their offense has been among the game's best, as they have scored an impressive 290 goals, the third-most in the league, trailing only Carolina and Colorado. While they fell to the Flyers in Game 1, they remain the favorites to win this series, but it will likely go to six or seven games.
No. 7 - Minnesota Wild
The Wild fell to the No. 3 spot in one of the sport's most top-heavy divisions but remains a high-end contender for the Stanley Cup. Minnesota finished the regular season with a solid 46-24-12 record, but their 104 points were not enough to earn them home ice in Round 1 in their match-up against the Stars.
Minnesota has been one of the sport's top defensive teams this season, allowing the 11th-fewest Expected Goals Against and the fourth-fewest great danger shots against. They got out to a dominant start in Round 1, taking down the Stars 6-1 in Game 1, thanks to a two-goal showing from budding superstar Matt Boldy.
No. 6 - Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning held a top-3 spot on our list for most of the fall and early winter, but fell to the lower end of the top tier in the second half. Despite their slight fall-off, the Bolts were able to earn the No. 2 spot in the Atlantic Division, which will set them up for a first-round match-up against the Montreal Canadiens.
In terms of underlying metrics, the Lightning stand among the league's best, holding a 54% xGoals (fifth-highest) and a 53.3% Corsi%, which places them third. However, they could be on "upset" alert, facing a Canadiens team that enters this series as one of the game's hottest clubs. In Game 1, they fell to the Canadiens in overtime, but given how close that contest was, this series will likely go to seven.
No. 5 - Dallas Stars
The Stars ended their regular season on a dominant 7-2-1 run, which booked their ticket as the no. 2 seed in the Central Division, securing them home-ice advantage over their first-round tilt against the Minnesota Wild. During the regular season, the Stars allowed just 222 goals, placing them second in the sport, behind only the Avalanche.
Their offense was just as lethal, scoring the ninth-most goals (273)and boasting the sport's No. 2 power-play unit, trailing only the Edmonton Oilers. Unfortunately, this play did not translate in Game 1 as they fell to the Minnesota Wild on their own ice in a tough 6-1 loss.
No. 4 - Buffalo Sabres
The Sabers snapped their lengthy playoff drought this season in dominant fashion, sitting at the top of the Atlantic Division and the No. 2 overall team in the Eastern Conference in terms of points. During the regular season, the Sabers would total 109 points while posting an elite +47 GD.
Their defense ranked in the top-5, while the goals allowed (240), placed them tied for the 10th fewest in the sport. They concluded the regular season by winning six of their last 10 and will open the postseason with a match against the Boston Bruins. On Sunday night, they pulled off an impressive comeback, scoring four goals in the final 10 minutes of the third period to take down the Bruins in Game 1.
TAGE THOMPSON'S GOT TWO GOALS AND TIED IT FOR THE SABRES! GET LOUD BUFFALO! 😆
🇺🇸: @espn
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet & @TVASports 2 pic.twitter.com/7CQFbkVw4j— NHL (@NHL) April 20, 2026
No. 3 - Montreal Canadiens
Despite finishing with the same total of points as the Lightning (106), they were unable to claim home ice in this series as they totaled fewer regular-season wins during the 82-game regular season. However, the Canadiens enter the postseason as one of the sport's most productive teams, which should put me in a prime position to enjoy a deep run.
Over their last 10, they have posted a strong 7-3 record. Much of their success is credited to young netminder Jakub Dobes, who has posted a stellar 10-4 record with a .924% SV% and a 2.27 GAA over his last 14 contests. He will have to outduel Vezina-favorite Andrei Vasilevskiy to bring his team to Round 2. Juraj Slafkovsky led the way in their Game 1 upset, netting the first hat trick of the 2026 postseason.
No. 2 - Carolina Hurricanes
The favorite to come out of the East will hold the No. 2 spot on our ranking. The Hurricanes ran away with the Metropolitan Division, posting a 53-22-7 record, totaling 113 points. The Hurricanes were among the most dominant teams in terms of advanced metrics and entered the playoffs as a top contender for the cup.
Per MoneyPuck.com, the Hurricanes led the sport in Corsi% (57.9%) by nearly two points and finished alongside the Avalanche at the top of xGoals% with 56%. They opened the postseason with a dominant 2-0 victory over the Senators and are looking poised to make a deep playoff run.
No. 1 - Colorado Avalanche
Of course, remaining in the top spot in our rankings are the Colorado Avalanche. The President's Trophy winners enter the 2026 postseason as the clear favorites to win the cup. In the regular season, the Avalanche finished with an impressive 121 points and lost only 16 games in regulation.
Per MoneyPuck.com, the Avalanche sit along the Hurricanes at the top of nearly all metrics, generating a 56.8% xGoals (best in the sport), 56.7% Corsi% (second-best in the sport), and a league-high 57.65% Score Adjusted Expected Goals%. They enjoyed a hot start to their playoff run on Sunday afternoon, taking down the Kings 2-1.
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