ClutchPoints’ NHL Power Rankings, Week 2: Panthers still elite despite injuries

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ClutchPoints’ NHL Power Rankings, Week 2: Panthers still elite despite injuries

Colin Gallant, ClutchPoints

Mon, Oct 13, 2025 ·

22 min read

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The post ClutchPoints' NHL Power Rankings, Week 2: Panthers still elite despite injuries appeared first on ClutchPoints .

What an incredible feeling it is to be back watching NHL hockey on a daily basis. And what a terrific first six days of the 2025-26 season it's been, with multiple noteworthy feats being seen across the league.

Arranging the second edition of ClutchPoints' NHL Power Rankings was tricky, as a couple of expected bottom-feeders remain undefeated, while a few supposed contenders still don't have a win under their belts. The PR's are in complete flux in Week 2, with a couple of serious jumps up and down the list.

Still, what an encouraging almost-seven days of the National Hockey League campaign. Who saw the Boston Bruins getting out to a 3-1 start, with Jeremy Swayman returning to top form? What about Pavel Dorofeyev leading the league in goals? Or Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby turning back the clock to help the Penguins win two of their first three games?

There are storylines aplenty ahead of a packed Monday slate , which is just what we needed after the first Friday and Sunday of the season had, for some reason, a combined one game. It's way too early to read much into Week 1, but hockey fans across North America and beyond will just be happy to be watching the sport again after a long summer.

Read on for ClutchPoints' second NHL Power Rankings of 2025-26.

Previous 2025-26 NHL Power Rankings: Week 1

1. Florida Panthers (+3)

The Panthers weren't happy to see themselves all the way down at No. 4 in the NHL Power Rankings after winning the Stanley Cup in June, and following three straight victories to start the season, they're already back at the top of the leaderboard. It's a seriously impressive start for a team that, already without Matthew Tkachuk and Sasha Barkov, just lost Dmitry Kulikov to a long-term injury . The roster has stepped up tremendously, especially Sergei Bobrovsky , who has allowed just five goals in three games as he continues to defy Father Time. We all know how good this squad is when healthy, but even banged up, it's still looking like a wagon.

2. Edmonton Oilers (-1)

The Oilers got off to a tough start, with more goaltending woes from Stuart Skinner leading to a Battle of Alberta shootout loss to the Flames on Thursday. But Edmonton bounced back in a big way to stymie the Canucks two nights later, leading to three of a possible four points to start the year. They'll take it, and they'll also take another key piece of the core getting a new contract. Mattias Ekholm re-upped for $12 million over three years , which is a very solid pact for both player and club. The Oil haven't been nearly as dominant in the regular-season as they have in the playoffs over the last few years, but it's an encouraging start to another Stanley Cup or bust campaign.

3. Carolina Hurricanes (-1)

Despite being leapfrogged in the NHL Power Rankings by the Panthers, it's so far, so good in Raleigh. The Hurricanes are 2-0, beating the Devils on Thursday and following it up by squeaking past the Flyers in overtime on Saturday. That has them at the top of the Metropolitan Division with only 80 games to go! Seth Jarvis is leading the way with three goals, while Taylor Hall has been great, playing at a point-per-game pace as well. Nikolaj Ehlers is still getting acquainted with his new team, but it should be only a matter of time before he gets going offensively. The Canes are heading out for a long six-game road trip that begins Tuesday night in San Jose .

4. Dallas Stars (-1)

The Stars are in a very similar boat to the Hurricanes, getting a slight bump down the NHL Power Rankings despite a perfect start. Dallas is 2-0, with both victories coming against strong Central Division rivals in the Jets and Avalanche last week. Glen Gulutzan's club has had no trouble putting the puck in the net, scoring nine goals over those two games — both 5-4 finals, one in a shootout. But Jake Oettinger is struggling out of the gate, and he'd love to have a few of the eight goals against him back. He'll look to right the ship and keep the Stars undefeated when the Wild come to town on Tuesday for the home opener in Texas.

5. Colorado Avalanche (+1)

Despite a shootout loss to the Stars on Saturday night, the Avalanche remain undefeated in regulation. A 3-0-1 record is enough to get them into the top-five on the leaderboard after they just wrapped up another victory over the reeling Sabres on Monday afternoon. Martin Necas is looking like a true superstar on Nathan MacKinnon 's wing, while he and Cale Makar continue to lead the charge in Denver. Scott Wedgewood has been excellent in the injury absence of Mackenzie Blackwood , and the latter is on a conditioning stint in the American Hockey League this week. Colorado is looking potent early on, and they certainly have some President's Trophy juice in 2025-26.

6. Winnipeg Jets (+1)

The Jets opened their season with a Round 2 rematch against the Stars on Thursday night in Winnipeg, but they were unable to avenge last season's crushing playoff defeat. A 5-4 regulation loss was a difficult way for Connor Hellebuyck and co. to start the year, but they followed it up with a tight 3-2 victory over the Kings two days later. They also got a W on Monday afternoon, beating the winless Islanders 5-2. It's a good start for last year's top regular-season team, and Jonathan Toews is on the scoresheet for the first time in over two years.

7. Vegas Golden Knights (-2)

Mitch Marner hasn't been quite as potent with his new team in 2025-26, but the same can't be said for Pavel Dorofeyev and Jack Eichel . The former is leading the league with five goals in three games, while the latter had a league-best seven points in the same span (MacKinnon and Necas leapfrogged him on Monday). Despite that, the Golden Knights have only won once in three tries, with all of those contests going past regulation. In order: a 6-5 shootout loss to the Kings, a 4-3 overtime win over the Sharks and a 2-1 OT defeat at the hands of the Kraken. The individual stats are nice, but a disappointing start overall for Vegas, and they're taking a hit in the NHL Power Rankings because of it.

8. Washington Capitals (+1)

The Capitals got off to a disappointing start in front of the home crowd, losing 3-1 to the Bruins on Wednesday night. But they had much better luck away from Capital One Arena, beating the Islanders and Rangers , both in New York. A 4-2 victory over the Isles was followed up by a Charlie Lindgren shutout in a 1-0 final over the Blues hirts — in what was, for some reason, the only game on Sunday. Alex Ovechkin remains without a goal through three games, and he remains at 897 career tallies. But with three games on tap in Week 2, there's a very real chance The Great Eight can reach yet another milestone and be the first player ever to score 900 times.

9. New Jersey Devils (+1)

The Devils had a gauntlet of a schedule to begin their season, playing two away games in the Sun Belt. It began with a 6-3 loss to the Hurricanes, a game that was tied in the waning minutes. New Jersey righted the ship two nights later, beating the Lightning 5-3. A 1-1 record is fine, but Jacob Markstrom needs to be better. Jake Allen will get the start in the finale of the season-opening three-game road trip, a battle with the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Monday night.

10. Minnesota Wild (+2)

Although the Wild are 1-1, they're getting a bump up the NHL Power Rankings due to the absolute dominance of the top line. Kirill Kaprizov , Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi have combined for 15 points in two games, and it looks like the Russian superstar is ready for a run at the Art Ross Trophy after becoming the richest player in league history. It was a tale of two Filip Gustavsson 's in Minnesota's first two games. He shut out the Blues to start the year before giving up six against the Blue Jackets on Saturday. He'll get the night off on Monday against the Kings, with Jesper Wallstedt set to start between the pipes.

11. Tampa Bay Lightning (-3)

It's been a challenging start to the campaign for Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Lightning. The Russian netminder has allowed nine goals in just two games, which is extremely uncharacteristic for one of the league's best netminders. Tampa Bay has lost both of those games, a 5-4 defeat to Ottawa followed by a 5-3 loss at the hands of New Jersey. It's costing the Bolts a few spots in the NHL Power Rankings, although this roster is too talented to go too long without a victory. And it didn't, getting into the win column for the first time in 2025-26 by beating the no longer undefeated Bruins 4-3 at TD Garden on Monday afternoon.

12. Toronto Maple Leafs (-1)

Welcome to the show, Easton Cowan . The top prospect and Maple Leafs' first-round pick made his debut on Monday afternoon against the Red Wings , playing on the top line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies . What a spot for the rookie, who will have a chance to produce right off the bat after ripping up the Ontario Hockey League with the London Knights the last few seasons. Unfortunately, that didn't happen on Monday; the Leafs lost to the Red Wings for a second straight time, giving up the game-winning goal with just 45 seconds left in the 3-2 final. Not a great start in Toronto; the Leafs beat the Canadiens to open the campaign, but have lost back-to-back games to the Wings since.

13. Montreal Canadiens (+3)

It's been an encouraging start all around for the 2025-26 Canadiens. On top of being 2-1 — beating Detroit and Chicago after losing to Toronto — the front office got Lane Hutson locked up on a terrific contract extension on Monday. The reigning Calder Trophy winner will make $8.85 million in each of the next eight seasons, which could be an absolute steal with the salary cap set to continue rising. The Habs now have Hutson, Cole Caufield , Nick Suzuki , Juraj Slafkovsky and Noah Dobson all under contract until at least 2030 — and all of them for under $10 million. That's a huge credit to Montreal's front office, and this star young core is going to be very good for a very long time. The Canadiens are back in action for the start of a four-game homestand, which begins with their home opener at the Bell Centre against the Kraken on Tuesday.

14. Los Angeles Kings (-1)

It's been a rough start in Los Angeles . The Kings remain without a victory in regulation, sitting 1-2 through three games. In their defense, the opening schedule was ridiculous, with the Avalanche, Golden Knights and Jets all on tap in Week 1. LA was able to defeat Vegas in a shootout, but dropped regulation finals to Colorado and Winnipeg on either side of it. Things are only going to get easier after that trio, but a Monday night date with the Wild in Minnesota probably won't be. After that, it's home for two more games — against Pittsburgh and Carolina — to end the week.

15. Ottawa Senators (-1)

The Senators are one of the few teams standing pat in the NHL Power Rankings in Week 2. Ottawa is 1-2, sending Tampa Bay a home opening loss before being crushed 6-2 by the defending Stanley Cup champions two nights later. They also lost 4-1 to the Predators at home on Monday afternoon, another disappointing defeat. It's an unspectacular start, but Shane Pinto has been the opposite, leading the team with four goals and five points. Huge start to the year for him, but the star forwards — especially Tim Stutzle — need to get going. Linus Ullmark also needs to be better after allowing 12 goals in three starts.

16. St. Louis Blues (-1)

The Blues are sitting right in the middle of the NHL Power Rankings in Week 2 after a 1-1 start. Getting shut out in their home opener was a nightmare, especially considering the Wild put up five on them. But St. Louis was able to rebound, doubling up the Flames 4-2 in Calgary on Saturday. Jake Neighbours is leading the way, scoring two of his team's four goals so far this season. After 46 points in 2024-25, he's looking like a top breakout candidate this year. The Blues will eye a sweep of their two-game road trip — and try to get above .500 — in Vancouver on Monday night.

17. New York Rangers (+2)

The Rangers are one of the hardest teams to rank in the PR's, even though they've already played four games in six nights. The start was miserable, with Mike Sullivan suffering a shutout defeat against the team he won two Stanley Cups with in his debut behind New York's bench. The Blueshirts rebounded by crushing the hapless Sabres 4-0 before getting revenge on the Penguins with a convincing 6-1 win, making up for the zero goals they scored in their opener. But the week finished with another shutout loss, this time to the Capitals on Sunday. It's already been a tumultuous start, and it wouldn't be surprising if the entire campaign went like this on Broadway. The Rangers get a quick breather before welcoming the Oilers to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

18. Boston Bruins (+8)

The biggest surprise of the 2025-26 season so far is the Bruins, who were undefeated before losing a tight contest to the Lightning on Monday afternoon. Still, a 3-1 record is fantastic for a team that finished dead last in the Atlantic Division last year. With Charlie McAvoy healthy and Jeremy Swayman looking like his old self, Boston certainly looks much-improved compared to the version of the roster at the end of 2024-25. It'll be interesting to see if they can keep it going, but they're getting a healthy jump in the NHL Power Rankings in Week 2.

19. Utah Mammoth (-2)

It certainly hasn't been as exciting a start to the year as Utah's debut in Salt Lake City in 2024-25. That's mainly because the Mammoth have played both of their first two games on the road, losing a tight 2-1 final to the Avalanche before beating the Predators in overtime. A 1-1 record is fine, but only four goals in two games leaves something to be desired. Karel Vejmelka was great between the pipes in both of those games, but he'll concede the net to backup Vitek Vanecek for Monday night's tilt against the Blackhawks in Chicago. The Mammoth will finally play in front of their home crowd on Wednesday night when the Flames visit a revamped Delta Center.

20. Vancouver Canucks (-2)

The season started great for the Canucks, with Thatcher Demko backstopping a 5-1 victory over the Flames at Rogers Arena. Filip Chytil scored twice as he looks to solidify his hold at 2C. But it was a completely different team against the other Alberta franchise, with Edmonton beating Vancouver 3-1 on Saturday and holding them to just 15 shots. Demko was excellent again, making 34 saves. He looks like the bonafide starter even with Kevin Lankinen signing a contract extension, but the Elias Pettersson problem continues to loom large. He has one assist in two games and needs to be much, much better if the Canucks hope to make a legitimate playoff push in 2025-26.

21. Columbus Blue Jackets (no change)

Like the Mammoth and Canucks, the Blue Jackets are 1-1 — but they won't be getting a bump down the NHL Power Rankings in Week 2. They peppered Juuse Saros with 39 shots in a season-opening 2-1 loss to the Predators. But the floodgates opened two nights later, with Columbus crushing Minnesota 7-4. Kirill Marchenko led the way offensively with a hat trick, while Zach Werenski continued his ascent into a top-three D-man in the league with a three-point night of his own. Not a bad start at all, considering both of those games were on the road. The Jackets are back home for all three games this week, starting with a date with the Devils on Monday.

22. Detroit Red Wings (no change)

The Red Wings began their season at home, playing a Canadiens team that was on the second half of a back-to-back. It was a prime spot to start, but Detroit was hammered 5-1 by Montreal in front of the home crowd, with John Gibson getting the hook in his first game in Michigan. Not ideal. Cam Talbot was the starter in game two, and he was solid in a 6-3 victory over the Maple Leafs. The Wings again beat the Leafs on Monday afternoon, with Talbot up to the task once more. He looks to be the starter, at least for now, and it's a 2-1 start in Motown. That start probably earned this team a few spots up in the NHL Power Rankings, but we're in wait and see mode with this roster.

23. Pittsburgh Penguins (+2)

All things considered, a great start for the 2025-26 Penguins. Evgeni Malkin looks fantastic, and he's leading the team with five points in three games. The goals leader? Justin Brazeau , who has three after signing as a free agent this summer. A 2-0 start was spoiled by a 6-1 shellacking by the Rangers, but this is still looking like a competitive team, which couldn't really be said at the end of last year. It could just be early-season luck, but Pittsburgh is getting the benefit of the doubt — and a leap up the NHL Power Rankings — in Week 2.

24. Seattle Kraken (+4)

The Kraken are the lowest ranked team in the NHL Power Rankings to still be undefeated. Not a ton was expected from Seattle this season, but when the campaign starts, all predictions are thrown out the window. Lane Lambert's team is 2-0 after beating the Ducks (3-1) and Golden Knights (2-1 in OT), respectively. Joey Daccord has looked marvellous in the early going, allowing just two goals and looking like he'll be getting as many starts as he can handle in 2025-26. Things will now get a lot tougher over a lengthy six-game road trip that begins in Quebec on Tuesday night.

25. Anaheim Ducks (-2)

The Ducks are taking a hit in Week 2 despite a 1-1 record. After a tough season-opening loss to the Kraken, Anaheim was en route to 0-2 before a late comeback against the Sharks ended in a wacky 7-6 overtime victory. It was a fun one, but not one that new coach Joel Quenneville will love. Still, they've taken a ton of shots over two games, and the young guys are looking potent even if the points aren't coming. They are for Leo Carlsson , who looks primed for a full on breakout in 2025-26 after scoring the OT winner on Saturday.

26. Calgary Flames (-6)

The largest drop in the NHL Power Rankings belongs to the Flames in Week 2, who just do not look great through three games. They managed to erase a two-goal deficit to beat the Oilers in a shootout in the first Battle of Alberta of the season, but followed it up with back-to-back regulation losses to the Canucks and Blues, respectively. There's just not a lot of star power on this team, especially with Jonathan Huberdeau injured, and if Dustin Wolf doesn't play lights out, they're in trouble. He's been just fair through three starts, and if that doesn't change, this club is going to have a hard time staying competitive in the Western Conference playoff race.

27. Nashville Predators (+3)

Is Juuse Saros back? The Predators netminder has allowed just five goals in three games — two of them wins — and helped Nashville to a 2-0-1 start. That's fantastic, especially considering this team went 0-5 last year en route to putting together one of the worst seasons in franchise history. It's going to take some time to work back up the NHL Power Rankings despite the hot start, but Nashville is looking much better already. Do they have the juice to make a push for the playoffs in a tough Western Conference this season? Only time will tell.

28. New York Islanders (-4)

Matthew Schaefer has not looked out of place at all in his first three games as a Islander. In fact, he's tied for the team lead with three points — and that includes his first NHL goal against the Capitals on Saturday night. Unfortunately, the No. 1 overall pick's hot start hasn't helped New York. The Isles are 0-3, suffering back-to-back-to-back regulation losses and only scoring seven goals in span. Ilya Sorokin has struggled, especially in a 5-2 loss to the Jets on Monday. It could be a long season for this club, who are still looking for their first win. They won't be able to try again until Thursday night against the Oilers at UBS Arena.

29. Philadelphia Flyers (no change)

It's been a rough start to the Rick Tocchet era for the Flyers. Playing two powerhouses in Florida and Carolina, Philadelphia dropped both games, the first in regulation and the second on a Seth Jarvis OT winner on Saturday night. Considering the strength of schedule, and the fact that both games were on the road, Philly will get the benefit of the doubt and stand pat in the NHL Power Rankings. But things don't get any easier, with the Panthers, Jets and Wild on tap this week. A pointless Matvei Michkov needs to lead the charge, but Tocchet needs to give him more than 14 minutes of ice time per game for that to happen. The best players in the early going have been Bobby Brink and Tyson Foerster, but the entire roster needs to be better.

30. San Jose Sharks (+1)

The Sharks could very easily be 2-0, but instead, it's an 0-0-2 start in California after back-to-back overtime losses. The first came at the expense of Alex Nedeljkovic, who made two brutal blunders to basically gift the Golden Knights a 4-3 win on Thursday night. San Jose led 3-2 late in that contest before Jack Eichel beat Nedeljkovic with a weak blue line dump in. He then evacuated his crease errantly and allowed Reilly Smith to score one of the easiest OT winners of his career. Two nights later, the Sharks again led, this time against the Ducks, before allowing two late goals and another in the extra frame. All things considered, it isn't a bad start. Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith have looked great together, and should only get better as the year goes on. But this team could really use a win, and will get another chance against the undefeated Hurricanes on Tuesday.

31. Buffalo Sabres (-4)

We are less than a week into the 2025-26 season, and there's no reason to panic for any NHL team. Except the Sabres. It's been an absolute nightmare start in Western New York, and the fanbase is already completely out of patience. Josh Norris, Zach Benson and Mattias Samuelsson are all injured — Norris, devastatingly long-term — and Buffalo has scored just two goals in three games. It probably goes without saying that all three of those were regulation losses. The boo birds were out in full force at the end of Monday afternoon's 3-1 loss to the Avalanche, and we still have 79 games left. It's a sinking ship, and that's just a brutal thing to type about a franchise that hasn't played in the playoffs since 2011. Can the Sabres climb out of this hole? It's going to take herculean efforts from Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin, and even that might not be enough.

32. Chicago Blackhawks (no change)

Welcome to primetime, Frank Nazar. The 21-year-old has been Chicago's best player through three games, with a seriously impressive five points. Connor Bedard has also managed three of his own, while Sam Rinzel looks like the future of the blue line in the Windy City. Despite all of that, the Blackhawks are 0-2-1, and very much looking like a bottom-of-the-Western-Conference team in 2025-26. That's expected as the rebuild continues, although Nazar and Rinzel look like true breakout candidates. It's still the Bedard show, but it's nice to see he could have at least a bit of a supporting cast this year. Chicago will look for win No. 1 in game No. 4 against the Mammoth on Monday night.

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