NHL 2025-26 power rankings week 6: Avalanche surge to top as Oilers tumble

The sixth week of the 2025-26 NHL season delivered seismic shifts across the league landscape. Colorado’s dominant four-game winning streak catapults them to the summit, while Edmonton’s puzzling three-game slide sends them spiraling outside the top ten. Meanwhile, the New York Rangers quietly compile the league’s best points percentage (.810) and the Vegas Golden Knights welcome back Jack Eichel with a perfect 3-0-0 week.

Below is the definitive Week 6 edition of our NHL 2025-26 power rankings, complete with risers, fallers, and the advanced metrics that matter.

NHL 2025-26 power rankings week 6: the new top 16

1. Colorado Avalanche – 11-2-1, 23 pts (🔺+3)
2. New York Rangers – 10-2-2, 22 pts (🔺+1)
3. Dallas Stars – 10-3-1, 21 pts (🔺+2)
4. Carolina Hurricanes – 9-3-2, 20 pts (🔻-1)
5. Vegas Golden Knights – 9-4-1, 19 pts (🔺+4)
6. Toronto Maple Leafs – 9-4-2, 20 pts (🔻-4)
7. Winnipeg Jets – 9-5-0, 18 pts (🔺+2)
8. New Jersey Devils – 8-4-2, 18 pts (🔻-1)
9. Florida Panthers – 8-5-1, 17 pts (🔺+3)
10. Edmonton Oilers – 7-6-1, 15 pts (🔻-5)
11. Tampa Bay Lightning – 7-5-2, 16 pts (🔺+1)
12. Boston Bruins – 7-6-1, 15 pts (🔻-2)
13. Los Angeles Kings – 7-6-2, 16 pts (🔺+2)
14. Seattle Kraken – 6-5-3, 15 pts (🔻-1)
15. Minnesota Wild – 6-6-2, 14 pts (🔺+1)
16. Buffalo Sabres – 6-7-1, 13 pts (🔺NR)

Teams dropping out: Pittsburgh Penguins (5-7-2), Ottawa Senators (5-8-1).

NHL 2025-26 power rankings week 6: biggest risers

Colorado Avalanche

Mikko Rantanen’s league-leading 14 goals in 14 games is only half the story. Nathan MacKinnon’s line is controlling 62 % of expected goals at 5-on-5, and Alexandar Georgiev has stopped 93.4 % of shots during the streak. Coach Jared Bednar’s decision to pair Cale Makar with Devon Toews for 22 minutes a night has yielded five goals for and zero against.

Vegas Golden Knights

Jack Eichel recorded eight points in his first three games back from October wrist surgery. The top line of Eichel, Stone and Hertl has a 68 % offensive-zone start ratio and has yet to be out-chanced. Vegas out-scored opponents 16-7 in Week 6, the best goal differential in the league over that span.

Florida Panthers

Sergei Bobrovsky’s vintage stretch (1.65 GAA, .941 SV% in last five) has masked an injury-riddled blue line. Anton Lundell’s 56 % face-off win rate keeps the Panthers treading water until Brandon Montour returns next month.

NHL 2025-26 power rankings week 6: steepest fallers

Toronto Maple Leafs

A 1-2-1 road trip through Alberta exposed Toronto’s bottom-six scoring woes. The third line has one even-strength goal in 15 games, and Ilya Samsonov’s October save percentage (.887) is the worst of any starter. Auston Matthews remains day-to-day with a lingering wrist issue, and the power play has slipped to 21st (17.1 %).

Edmonton Oilers

Connor McDavid has gone three straight games without a point for the first time since 2019. Stuart Skinner’s five-hole vulnerability has ballooned his season SV% to .896, and the penalty kill is 30th at 68.4 %. Coach Kris Knoblauch called the slide “a five-alarm fire” after a 6-1 drubbing in Seattle.

Boston Bruins

Injuries to Charlie McAvoy (UBI, week-to-week) and Hampus Lindholm (lower body) forced 19-year-old rookie Mason Lohrei into 24 minutes a night. The Bruins were out-shot 117-83 during a three-game losing streak, and Jeremy Swayman’s workload (league-high 15 starts) is beginning to show.

NHL 2025-26 power rankings week 6: advanced stat spotlight

Expected goals share since 1 November (5-on-5, via Natural Stat Trick):

1. Colorado – 58.3 %
2. Carolina – 56.9 %
3. Dallas – 56.1 %
4. New Jersey – 55.7 %
5. Vegas – 54.4 %

Bottom five:

28. Chicago – 44.2 %
29. Anaheim – 43.8 %
30. Columbus – 42.9 %
31. San Jose – 40.1 %
32. Calgary – 39.5 %

The Flames’ 40-shot shutout loss to Utah on Saturday was the third time this month they’ve been held under 1.0 expected goals, a threshold Colorado has failed to reach only once.

NHL 2025-26 power rankings week 6: quote board

> “We’re not winning pretty, but we’re winning with structure. That’s what good teams do in November.” > — Peter Laviolette, Rangers head coach, after a 3-2 OT win in Detroit

> “I don’t care if it’s October or April, you can’t give up six rush chances a period and expect your goalie to bail you out every night.” > — Kris Knoblauch, Oilers head coach

> “Jack looks like he’s been shot out of a cannon. We’re managing his minutes, but it’s hard to take him off the ice.” > — Bruce Cassidy, Golden Knights head coach

NHL 2025-26 power rankings week 6: what to watch in week 7

• Colorado at Toronto, Thursday – Matthews’ possible return against the league’s hottest team.
• Vegas at Dallas, Saturday – A potential Stanley Cup Final preview: both clubs rank top-five in goals per game (Vegas 4.05, Dallas 3.88).
• Edmonton at Seattle, Tuesday – The Oilers’ PK (68.4 %) faces the Kraken’s 28 % power play, worst in the league. A get-right spot, or another trap door?
• Rangers at Carolina, Sunday – Metropolitan heavyweights collide; Igor Shesterkin vs. Frederik Andersen is must-see TV.

For a deeper dive into how the Metro division is shaping up, check out our NHL 2025-26 power rankings week 6: Metropolitan division breakdown which tracks every team’s underlying numbers. We also examined NHL 2025-26 power rankings week 6: Pacific division surprises after Edmonton’s slide and Vegas’ resurgence.

NHL 2025-26 power rankings week 6: early awards watch

Hart: Nathan MacKinnon (COL) – 24 points, 61 % xG share
Norris: Cale Makar (COL) – 18 points, +12 goal differential when on ice
Calder: Macklin Celebrini (SJS) – 9 goals, 45 % of team’s total offense
Vezina: Igor Shesterkin (NYR) – 1.91 GAA, .938 SV%, 4 shutouts
Jack Adams: Peter Laviolette (NYR) – 10-2-2 record despite 187 man-games lost

Week 6 reminded us that October narratives can flip overnight. Colorado’s ascent is built on sustainable two-way dominance, while Edmonton’s star power alone no longer guarantees wins. If the Oilers can’t plug their structural leaks before U.S. Thanksgiving, the Pacific door swings wide open for Vegas and Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the Rangers’ quietly historic start positions them as the East’s new standard-bearer—provided Shesterkin stays healthy.

The sample is still small, but the trends are crystallizing. By Week 10, today’s risers could be cemented as spring contenders, and today’s fallers could be shopping for coaches or goaltenders. Buckle up; the NHL’s roller-coaster never slows.