NHL Power Rankings 2026 hit different after Gabriel Landeskog slid into a goalpost in Florida and stayed down long enough for the whole building to go quiet. One second, Colorado looked untouchable. Hours later, the league looked at the standings again and remembered the truth: nobody skates through January clean. ESPN’s updated NHL standings still show the Colorado Avalanche with 69 points and a plus 70 goal differential. However, those numbers carry a new footnote, because of pain, because of ice, because of bodies hitting posts.
Reuters reported on January 6 that Landeskog and Devon Toews will miss weeks with upper body injuries, and coach Jared Bednar framed it with the blunt honesty teams save for this month. At the time, Colorado’s pace still looked like a video game. Yet still, the sport never stops collecting payment.
So this version of NHL Power Rankings 2026 asks a simpler question than “Who looks best on paper?” It asks who keeps their shape when the schedule turns mean, when the legs feel heavy, and when every shift ends with a shove that lingers.
The midseason hinge
January kills the loose stuff first. Track meet hockey fades. In that moment, coaches shorten benches, defenders chip pucks off glass, and teams learn what they actually trust. However, the NHL standings never explain that part, the part where a tired winger takes the long route to the backcheck because his lungs burn.
The math still matters, though. Goal differential tells you who controls games. Special teams expose who panics. Because of this loss, or because of a single injury, a contender can turn into a weekly mystery.
This month also turns goaltending into a mood. One hot night can rewrite a room. Suddenly, one save can make a roster believe again.
That’s why NHL Power Rankings 2026 needs context, not just totals.
How we built these NHL Power Rankings 2026
Form comes first. We leaned on recent results, and we cared about who teams played, not just how many points they banked. However, we also weighed the January “trust factor” that shows up in small habits: clean exits, disciplined changes, and a penalty kill that holds when legs wobble.
Opponent quality matters, too. On the other hand, a points heater against wounded rosters can inflate confidence without proving anything.
Finally, we used one tiebreaker that never lies in January: do you still know your blueprint when the game turns ugly?
With that, here are the NHL Power Rankings 2026, counted down from ten, grouped by the kind of stress each team has learned to live with.
The contenders living near the edge
10. Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas has spent weeks playing with fire, and the burn marks show up in the extra time column. Yet still, the Golden Knights keep walking into games like the league’s most annoying house guest: they clog the middle, kill your cycle, and wait for you to blink first.
The defining stretch came in late December, when Reuters noted Vegas had struggled beyond regulation and even coughed up two goal leads against Colorado in one of those games that felt like a warning label. However, the fix does not require a new identity. It requires cleaner decisions at the tops of circles and less chaos below the dots.
ESPN’s standings show Vegas at 48 points with a minus 1 goal differential, the kind of profile that screams “good team, messy nights.” Despite the pressure, Vegas just ended a five game skid with an overtime win in Winnipeg, and that matters because the room needed proof it could still close.
Culturally, this franchise never apologized for being pragmatic. In that moment, they choose structure over romance, and their fan base has learned to respect the coldness.
9. Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton can look ordinary for forty minutes, then score two goals on the same breath. Suddenly, the game starts orbiting Connor McDavid again, and opponents skate like they feel the pull.
The data point sits right in the middle: 48 points, 145 goals for, 145 against, dead even on differential in ESPN’s table. However, even a neutral goal differential can hide the real threat, because Edmonton wins with bursts, not with slow suffocation.
In that moment, the Oilers either look like a contender or a gamble, and the swing depends on their defensive details. On the other hand, the ceiling remains terrifying, which is why nobody wants to see them in the Stanley Cup playoffs if the power play gets hot for two weeks.
The legacy note feels familiar. Edmonton still sells electricity, and the league still treats that as dangerous currency.
8. Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo has started to feel like a team that finally trusts its own noise. Yet still, the Sabres keep a chip on their shoulder, like they remember every joke the league made about them.
The defining proof came in the way they responded to a snapped streak. An AP roundup captured Buffalo winning again, and it framed the run plainly: they have taken 11 wins in 12 games, and they keep finding goals without begging for perfect games. However, the bigger point lives in their posture, not their celebrations.
ESPN’s standings show Buffalo at 48 points and a plus 1 goal differential, with a recent run that reads like a heater. At the time, skeptics wanted to call it soft schedule luck. Yet still, you do not win that often without a real plan.
Culturally, Buffalo hockey always carries emotion, sometimes too much. Before long, this version might learn how to weaponize it instead.
The teams with a clear plan
7. Detroit Red Wings
Detroit plays like a team that knows it can score, and also knows it cannot keep trading chances forever. However, the Red Wings keep leaning into talent because the talent keeps bailing them out.
Watch Dylan Larkin push pace, then watch Lucas Raymond find soft pockets when defenders stare at the puck. In that moment, the Red Wings feel modern, fast, and loud.
The data point lands like a warning: ESPN lists Detroit with 141 goals against in 44 games, and a minus 5 goal differential. Yet still, Detroit has 54 points, which tells you how often their top end finishes nights that their coverage tries to throw away.
The legacy note matters here. Detroit fans grew up on controlled dominance. Consequently, this version feels like a different accent, more reckless, more explosive, and still learning how to protect a lead without gripping the stick.
6. New York Islanders
The Islanders turn games into a slow argument, and they love winning by making you miserable. On the other hand, they also own a second gear that shows up when their goaltender steals the room.
That proof arrived on January 6, when Ilya Sorokin returned and stopped 44 shots in a 9 to 0 win that did not feel like a normal NHL score. In that moment, the building turned into a party, and the Devils looked like they wanted the clock to sprint.
ESPN’s standings show the Islanders with 52 points and a plus 9 goal differential, which fits their whole brand of hockey. However, the bigger signal sits in the way they can survive low event nights and still explode when bounces turn friendly.
Culturally, this franchise has always preferred endurance over flash. Yet still, the Sorokin era gives them a loud kind of hope.
5. Minnesota Wild
Minnesota does not play pretty when it has to protect a lead. It plays serious. Because of this loss, or because of any lapse, the Wild seems built to respond with tighter layers the next night.
The defining feel comes from their spacing. They close the middle and force dumps. They make forechecks feel like work, not theater. However, they also need to score enough to keep that style from turning into a cage.
ESPN’s table shows 58 points and a plus 21 goal differential, a profile that screams contender even when the offense goes quiet. Yet still, the recent form includes stumbles, which is normal in January, and the test becomes whether they can keep finishing at five on five.
The cultural note fits Minnesota’s long arc. This fan base has begged for a team that looks hard to play against in April. Before long, they might finally have it.
The heavyweights that scare people
4. Dallas Stars
Dallas has hit the rough part of the schedule and started bleeding confidence. However, the roster still carries too much skill to ignore, and the underlying profile still points toward control.
The defining moment lately has been the skid itself. Six straight losses can turn a contender into a punchline in a week. Yet still, teams with this kind of spine usually bounce, because veterans hate embarrassment more than they love comfort.
ESPN lists Dallas with 58 points and a plus 26 goal differential, which tells you the Stars have banked enough quality to survive a slump. At the time, their margin for error felt huge. Suddenly, it has shrunk, because losing streaks turn every shift into a referendum.
Culturally, Dallas has lived inside “almost” for years. Consequently, the next response matters more than the last six results.
3. Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina wins by strangling time and space. It swarms and forces dump ins. It turns the neutral zone into a trap that feels personal. However, the Hurricanes also carry a ruthless patience that makes opponents feel like they are chasing shadows.
The defining highlight sits in their ability to keep stacking points without needing perfect health. In that moment, you see why coaches love them: the system survives scratches, and the habits hold even when legs fade.
ESPN shows Carolina at 55 points with a plus 16 differential, and that clean separation between goals for and goals against fits the style. Yet still, their recent ten game sample looks uneven, which hints at the one thing that can hurt them: finishing.
The legacy note feels consistent. This franchise keeps building teams that look built for May, not for highlight reels.
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa has started playing with that old, quiet menace again. In that moment, you see the routes tighten, the puck support sharpen, and the whole roster start moving like it remembers a previous life.
The defining highlight came Tuesday night, when Tampa beat Colorado 4 to 2 for its eighth straight win, a statement game that carried real weight because it came against the league’s pace setter. Reuters described it as the NHL’s longest active streak, and the details fit: Brandon Hagel finishing, Nikita Kucherov creating, and Andrei Vasilevskiy swallowing chances.
ESPN’s standings back it up with 55 points and a plus 34 differential, plus a last ten run that reads like dominance. However, the real story sits in their calm. On the other hand, Tampa has lived through every kind of playoff stress, and that history shows up in their decision making.
Culturally, Tampa still carries championship muscle memory. Before long, the league will start treating this surge like a warning, not a nice January storyline.
1. Colorado Avalanche
NHL Power Rankings 2026 begins with Colorado because nothing else makes sense. The Avalanche still skate like they own the rink, even when they lose. Yet still, the week has forced them to confront the first real crack in the season’s armor.
The defining moment was Landeskog’s crash in Florida, the kind of awkward, violent collision that makes teammates stare at the ice instead of the puck. Reuters reported on January 6 that Landeskog and Devon Toews will miss weeks, with Toews out at least two weeks and both dealing with upper body injuries. However, Colorado’s response will define its ceiling more than any goal total.
ESPN’s standings show the Avalanche at 69 points with a plus 70 goal differential, and those are bully numbers. At the time, they looked like they might run away with the league. Because of this loss, and because Tampa just handed them a second straight regulation defeat, Colorado now has to prove it can win without two pillars.
The cultural note runs deeper than a record. This team has built its brand of hockey around speed and pressure, and the fan base expects a Cup chase, not a cute season. In that moment, the standard rises, and excuses die.
What comes next for NHL Power Rankings 2026
The next few weeks will not reward style. They will reward habits. Yet still, every team on this list has one soft spot the league will keep punching.
Colorado has to survive without Landeskog’s presence and Toews’s steadiness, and that test will either harden the roster or expose the thin spots behind the stars. However, the Avalanche have already built a lead so large that they can absorb pain, as long as the details hold at five on five.
Tampa has to prove the surge travels. In that moment, a heater can become a season turning point, but only if the Lightning keep their defensive posture when the schedule turns hostile. Carolina has to finish more, because the system already gives them enough looks to win any series.
Dallas and Minnesota sit in the part of the bracket where a bad ten days can change everything. On the other hand, both teams have the kind of goal differential profile that usually predicts rebound, not collapse.
Detroit and Buffalo need to show they can defend a lead without playing scared, and the Islanders need Sorokin healthy enough to keep making their style feel like a dare. Vegas has to stop turning third periods into coin flips, especially with the trade deadline hovering as the league’s loudest threat and opportunity.
NHL Power Rankings 2026 will keep shifting, because January always shifts them. Suddenly, one injury, one goalie stretch, one ugly road win can reorder the whole story. So here’s the real question that hangs over the next month: when April arrives and the game speeds up again, which of these “best teams right now” will still trust its own blueprint enough to take a punch and skate forward anyway?
Read more: https://sportsorca.com/nhl/nhl-defensive-pairings-rankings/
FAQs
Q1: Who is No. 1 in the NHL Power Rankings 2026 right now?
A: Colorado sits at No. 1. Their pace and goal differential keep them on top even as injuries start to bite.
Q2: Why do injuries matter so much in January hockey?
A: January exposes depth. One missing pillar can change matchups, special teams, and how a team protects leads.
Q3: What makes Tampa Bay so dangerous right now?
A: They ride an eight game win streak and play with calm. Their structure holds when games turn tight.
Q4: How did the Islanders get a 9 to 0 win with Sorokin back?
A: Sorokin stopped 44 shots. The whole team fed off it and the game snowballed fast.
Q5: What should readers watch next in NHL Power Rankings 2026?
A: Watch who keeps habits when the schedule gets mean. The list will keep moving as January keeps collecting payment.
I’m a sports and pop culture junkie who loves the buzz of a big match and the comfort of a great story on screen. When I’m not chasing highlights and hot takes, I’m planning the next trip, hunting for underrated films or debating the best clutch moments with anyone who will listen.
