ClutchPoints’ NHL Power Rankings, Week 22: President’s Trophy race tightening up

In each of the last two National Hockey League seasons, the President’s Trophy race has been nothing short of an insane sprint to the finish. We all remember the 2022-23 Boston Bruins, who clinched the league’s best record before the end of March following one of the greatest runs in history. In the two years since, it has been a completely different story.

In 2023-24, it was a photo finish, with the New York Rangers coming out on top but seven teams, ridiculously, all within five points by the end. Last season, the Winnipeg Jets, Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights all battled right until game No. 82, with the former capturing the prize for the first time in franchise history.

This time around, it figures to be another Central Division behemoth being the last club standing, although things have tightened up tremendously. The Colorado Avalanche have dominated the NHL in 2025-26, but they’ve faltered down the stretch and opened up the door for the Dallas Stars, Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes, who are all within seven points. It’s still the Avs’ to lose, but we could be in for some more thrilling hockey down the stretch — as if we didn’t have enough of that with 25 days left.

Not since 2013 has a team that won the regular-season gone on to capture Lord Stanley; you’d have to go all the way back to the prime of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. The Chicago Blackhawks won everything that year, beating the Bruins in six games to capture their second championship in four seasons, before triumphing again two years later to cement the dynasty.

Since the heyday of the Hawks, no first-place team has won the title. Not the 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning, who were on the wrong side of one of the biggest upsets ever when the Columbus Blue Jackets shockingly swept them. Or the 2021 Avalanche, who couldn’t make it past the second-round but ended up winning the next year. Or even Ovechkin’s Caps, who won back-to-back league titles in 2016 and 2017, but didn’t capture hockey’s greatest prize until 2018.

The point being, winning the President’s Trophy means absolutely nothing. But it’s still a status symbol, and more importantly, guarantees home-ice advantage for all four rounds, which does mean something.

All that said, after another busy week in the National, we’re getting closer and closer to April 16 — which will be the final day of the season for 16 teams. And what a phenomenal campaign it’s been. Like always, the latest edition of ClutchPoints’ NHL Power Rankings is here to make some sense of the chaos. Let’s get into it.

Previous 2025-26 NHL Power Rankings: Week 21 | Week 20 | Week 19 | Week 18 |  Week 17 | Week 16 | Week 15 | Week 14 | Week 13 | Week 12 | Week 11 | Week 10 | Week 9 | Week 8 | Week 7 | Week 6 | Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1

1. Colorado Avalanche (no change)

The almighty Avalanche remain the NHL’s top team in Week 22 — but the hold is as precarious as it’s ever been after Colorado fell in a shootout to Dallas on Wednesday. Still, after righting the ship with back-to-back victories, the No. 1 slot remains secure. With two more editions of CP’s PR’s to come, there is a very real chance the Avs run the table and end the campaign first in both league standings and the NHL Power Rankings. It’s hard to believe that these two powerhouses could be facing off as soon as Round 2, as this would be an electric Western Conference Final with a different format. But, as Gary Bettman said at GM meetings last week, he isn’t even considering changing the format despite the obvious flaws in the system. Getting Gabriel Landeskog back in the lineup is huge, though, and he should be joined by Artturi Lehkonen, Ross Colton and Logan O’Connor shortly as the roster gets healthy for a crucial postseason.

2. Buffalo Sabres (+1)

Another terrific week for the Sabres, and another jump up the NHL Power Rankings for the Eastern Conference’s elite. Does Buffalo deserve to be even higher than No. 2? You could make a case; they’ve been that potent in the second half of the campaign. Regardless, they continue to win prolifically, something that has been happening for months now. They’re also getting unreal goaltending from the tandem of UPL and Alex Lyon — not counting a 6-5 OT loss to the Ducks to end the week. It’ll be interesting to see if the two netminders continue to split starts in the postseason, as both have been red hot in front of a locked in defensive unit. There’s not really much more we can say about this franchise, except that there isn’t a team we are more excited to watch in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs — and it isn’t even close.

3. Dallas Stars (-1)

The Stars were on the verge of taking over the top spot in the NHL Power Rankings after beating the Avalanche. But considering they lost all three of the other games they played — two of them in regulation — they will spend at least another seven days in the shadow of their bitter Central Division rivals. Dallas is right there, just five points back in the President’s Trophy race. But with only 12 games left, and considering the Avs have a game in hand, it’s going to take a herculean effort to get there. Considering they’ve lost two of the three games they’ve played against the Wild this year, you know the Stars would love to win the division and get away from Minnesota in Round 1.

4. Carolina Hurricanes (no change)

Hot on Buffalo’s trail at the top of the East is Carolina, who are locked in to win the Metropolitan Division after crushing Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon. They’ve been slightly overshadowed by the Sabres’ dominance over the last few months, but the Hurricanes are a wagon once again. The goaltending is the one question mark, as rookie sensation Brandon Bussi has faltered as of late, and Frederik Andersen is 36 years old. If the Canes don’t get back to the Eastern Conference Final for the third time in four years, it’ll probably be because of that, as the offense and defense are both as locked in as they’ve ever been under Rod Brind’Amour.

5. Tampa Bay Lightning (+1)

Is the Hart Trophy Nikita Kucherov’s to lose? He’s been the best player in the NHL by a wide margin since the New Year, and he’s now passed Connor McDavid in the Art Ross race with a nearly unfathomable 118 points in 64 games. He’s also leading the league in points per game, and has a ridiculous 12 in his last three. It almost goes without saying that the Lightning have won all three of those tilts, and none have been particularly close. Yes, Tampa Bay is back after a rough patch, and they’re now mere points behind Buffalo at the top of the Atlantic Division. That’s going to be a thrilling race down the stretch, but one thing is for sure: this is a team you do not want to see in Round 1.

6. Minnesota Wild (-1)

The Wild are in the middle of an extremely rough patch, as evidenced by regulation losses to the Rangers, Maple Leafs and Blackhawks over the last week and change — three of the bottom five teams in this edition of the NHL Power Rankings. Yet, they were able to end the week with an electric overtime win over the Stars, one of the league’s elite. Make it make sense! Minnesota looks like a team that has accepted its place in the hierarchy — almost certainly third place in the Central — and are just waiting for the postseason to begin. Kirill Kaprizov, who missed the first two games of his season on Thursday and Saturday, will need to be fully healthy if the State of Hockey hopes to have any chance.

7. Montreal Canadiens (+1)

Saturday night was probably the most electric game of Montreal’s 2025-26 season. On the back of a Cole Caufield hat trick and five point game, the Canadiens crushed the Islanders 7-3. Juraj Slajkovsky recorded four points, the Habs scored four goals in the third period, and by the end, you couldn’t hear yourself think at the Bell Centre. Remarkably, Caufield is now just two goals back of Nathan MacKinnon in the Rocket Richard Trophy race. The way the kid is scoring goals, don’t count him out. And with five wins in their last eight games, don’t count the Canadiens out of a second straight trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They currently have a one-point cushion on the Islanders after Saturday’s critical triumph, and need to keep winning down the stretch to make it a reality.

8. Pittsburgh Penguins (+1)

The Penguins are now back to full strength, with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin both returning to the lineup last week. And Pittsburgh had a great seven-day stretch, handing Colorado maybe its worst loss of the campaign in an eye-opening 7-2 final. They also snuck by Winnipeg 5-4 in a shootout. But the Pens suffered two defeats to the Hurricanes, one in overtime on Wednesday and another in regulation on Sunday. It goes without saying that this club would love to string a couple more wins together, finish second or third in the division, and avoid the Canes altogether in Round 1 as a wildcard team. But that will be easier said than done, especially as the Blue Jackets, Islanders and Flyers will want to have their say down the stretch. It’s shaping up to be an intriguing race to the finish in the Metro.

9. Anaheim Ducks (+1)

It’s been an encouraging eight days for the Ducks, who won three of four games and picked up seven of a possible eight points in that span. That’s especially impressive considering the trio of victories came against playoff teams in the Canadiens, Mammoth and Sabres. Sunday night’s 6-5 overtime victory over Buffalo was electric, as the Eastern Conference leaders have not been allowing many goals at all these days. Anaheim is heating up at the perfect time, and they’ve opened up a four-point cushion at the top of the Pacific. The division is theirs to lose, and it’s looking more likely by the day that postseason hockey will be returning to SoCal for the first time since 2017-18.

10. New York Islanders (-3)

The Islanders have had such a terrific 2025-26 season, but all it’s going to take is a bad couple of games to reverse all of that. With the Penguins and Blue Jackets continuing to string wins together, and the Flyers lurking, New York needs to finish as strong as they’ve looked for most of the campaign. Losing back-to-back games to Ottawa and Montreal was not encouraging, but a tight 1-0 victory over Columbus to end the week was enormous. The Isles are now holding onto the second wildcard berth in the East for dear life, with four teams all within five points. They still control their own destiny, and with four consecutive games coming up at UBS Arena, the wins at home need to keep coming.

11. Ottawa Senators (+1)

The Senators are picking the perfect time in the season to go on a little tear, and even in an ultra-competitive Eastern Conference, they’ve put themselves back in the conversation. Ottawa has won four of five and seven of nine, and considering all of that was done without Jake Sanderson, it’s extremely impressive. The star defenseman should be back in the lineup sometime in the next 7-10 days, and in the month of March, Linus Ullmark has looked like one of the league’s most reliable netminders. The Sens just need to get in to seriously make some noise, but despite the hot stretch, they remain four points back. The highlight of Week 21 was a Brady Tkachuk game-winning goal against the Islanders with 12 seconds left in regulation, and those are the kind of vibes we’re seeing in Canada’s capital right now.

12. Boston Bruins (-1)

Even when the Bruins lose, they find a way to get past regulation. And that could be the deciding factor that gets Boston back into the postseason this April. They’ve now won two games in a row, and before that, had lost four of six — but picked up a point in five of those. With that, the B’s are an impressive 39-23-8, especially considering they finished dead last in the Eastern Conference in 2024-25. There’s still a lot of work to do, but this is a seasoned club that has been there before, and that counts for something down the stretch. Now occupying the top wildcard berth in the conference — and just a point away from third in the Atlantic Division — a busy four-game week begins against the Maple Leafs at TD Garden on Tuesday.

13. Utah Mammoth (no change)

With the East and West playoff races getting more and more frantic by the day, there are very few teams standing pat in the NHL Power Rankings in Week 22. The Mammoth are one of them, as they’ve hovered around .500 since the beginning of this month. Utah is looking well-positioned to finish in the top wildcard berth in the conference, but Nashville is closing the gap, and they need to improve the results down the stretch. A shutout victory over the flailing Golden Knights was impressive, and this club needs that version of Karel Vejmelka over their final 12 games. We are oh-so-close to postseason hockey debuting in Salt Lake City, but the Mammoth need to keep their foot on the gas over the next three weeks.

14. Columbus Blue Jackets (+3)

It’s been a long time coming, but after 70 games in 2025-26, the Blue Jackets are back into the top-three in the Metropolitan Division. That’s massive, but the job is far from done. After losing to New York on Sunday, the two playoff hopefuls are tied. It looks unlikely that the Flyers will be able to secure anything but a wildcard berth, meaning the Jackets, Isles and Penguins are batting tooth and nail for second and third in the Metro — and the trio are separated by a whopping one point. It’s going to come down to the wire, and it’s going to be electric for fans of all three franchises who are all desperate to see their clubs back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

15. Detroit Red Wings (-1)

The Red Wings got Andrew Copp back in the lineup last week, and Dylan Larkin’s return is imminent — but will it be enough? Detroit has lost four of six and six of nine, and have now fallen out of a playoff spot altogether. That’s brutal considering how good they were looking before the Olympic break. They simply need to be better over these last 12 games, or it’s going to be a devastating collapse that could cost GM Steve Yzerman his job. The patience is wearing thin in Motown, and this roster needs to dig deep and find a way over the next few weeks. Things don’t get any easier in Week 22; in fact, they get much harder, against red-hot Ottawa on Tuesday, Buffalo on Friday and Philly on Saturday.

16. Florida Panthers (-1)

It’s time to officially admit it: after advancing to back-to-back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals — and winning two of them — the Panthers won’t even get the opportunity for the threepeat. The injuries and insane amount of hockey over the last three years has just been too much to overcome, and Florida suffered another blow when Niko Mikkola went down with an ailment last week. It wouldn’t be surprising if he, Brad Marchand and Sam Reinhart all got shut down, as Paul Maurice’s team has lost three of four, and are now an insurmountable 14 points back of a playoff spot. It’s a disappointing but understandable end result, and Panthers fans will still have the incredible memories created over the last three campaigns. Don’t be surprised if a well-rested Cats roster is right back in the dance in the spring of 2027. And congrats to Paul Maurice, who will become just the second head coach in NHL history to coach 2,000 games on Tuesday night.

17. Philadelphia Flyers (+4)

Do the Flyers have the juice to make a miraculous late-season playoff push? They’ve looked terrific as of late, with Dan Vladar locked in between the pipes. Philadelphia has won three games in a row, five of six and nine of 12 since Feb. 26. Rick Tocchet’s club has just looked like a different beast since the Olympic break, and they’ve decreased the magic number for a playoff berth to just five with 13 games left. We were totally ready to write off this club, but as we continue to learn in the National Hockey League, not so fast. The Flyers are playing inspired hockey and treating the fans in the City of Brotherly Love to a truly impressive level on a game-to-game basis. Let’s see if they can keep it up over a busy — and crucial — four-game Week 22 slate.

18. Vegas Golden Knights (-2)

What an absolutely abysmal week for the Golden Knights. Vegas, which is just flush with offensive talent, got shutout in back-to-back games, losing 2-0 to Buffalo on Tuesday and 4-0 to Utah on Thursday — both at home. They were able to score a goal against Nashville on Saturday, but still lost 4-1. Thank goodness for them that they were able to bank so many points earlier in the season, because it’s been a slog. At least they were able to finish the week strong, beating a terrific Stars team 3-2 on the road on a late regulation goal. Still, all of a sudden, the Western Conference wildcard teams are creeping up, and if the Knights don’t right the ship soon, there’s no guarantee there will be playoff hockey on the strip this spring.

19. San Jose Sharks (-1)

The Sharks put themselves in an excellent position coming out of the Olympic break, and they’ve absolutely squandered it. San Jose looked like close to a lock at the end of February, but have now lost four games in a row and seven in nine tries. With Yaroslav Askarov on the shelf, Alex Nedeljkovic had a terrible week, starting three straight games and allowing 12 goals over three regulation defeats. Now 32-30-6, the Sharks have fallen down the Western Conference table, and are a full five points away from getting back into wildcard positioning. It’s not looking good, and Macklin Celebrini is going to need to be even more heroic than he’s already been to give this club a fighting chance.

20. Washington Capitals (-1)

If this ends up being Alex Ovechkin’s final season in the National Hockey League, it would be just brutal if the Capitals were unable to advance to the dance for just the second time since 2013-14. Especially considering he just scored his 1,000th career goal when counting both regular season and the playoffs. And it’s not looking good. After Sunday afternoon’s overtime loss to Colorado, Washington is six points out with just 12 games left. And teams like Boston, Ottawa, Philadelphia and Columbus are not making things even a little bit easier. It’s going to take a miraculous run over the last couple of weeks, and considering the Caps are playing .500 hockey since the Olympic break, it’s not looking good. All three road contests this week — in St. Louis, Utah and Las Vegas, in that order — are must-wins.

21. Edmonton Oilers (-1)

The injuries just continue to pile up for the Oilers at the absolute worst time. As Edmonton continues to battle for a top-three berth in the Pacific Division, they’ve lost Trent Frederic, Mattias Janmark, Curtis Lazar, Colton Dach and Leon Draisaitl, who have all suffered significant injuries over the last few weeks. Obviously, Draisaitl is the most significant, and the fact he is back in Germany seeing a well-known sports doctor is not good news at all. It doesn’t look like he’ll be an option at all for the rest of the regular season, and the Oil have lost two games in a row and four of six. They’ve banked enough points that it isn’t time to panic just yet, but the math shows them just four points ahead of the Kings, who are on the outside looking in.

22. New Jersey Devils (+1)

There are just too many productive teams in the Eastern Conference for the Devils to get back into contention this late in the season. Despite winning three of their last four games, New Jersey remains a full 13 points back of the final wildcard berth with 13 games left. At this point, they’re closer to getting mathematically eliminated than they are to being one of the last eight teams standing in the conference. It’s a tough spot to be in, as they aren’t likely to get a very high pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, either. It’s nice to finish strong, but for management, they would probably prefer a few more losses and a few less wins over these last couple weeks.

23. St. Louis Blues (+2)

The Blues were the only team in the NHL that played just two games last week, and they came against the two bottom teams in the standings in the Flames and Canucks. St. Louis lost in a shootout to Calgary before beating Vancouver, keeping their slim playoff hopes alive. With 13 games left in their campaign, they have to leapfrog five teams. Although they are playing arguably better hockey than any of those teams, with seven wins in their last 10 — and points in nine of those — it’s looking very very bleak. Let’s see what Week 22 brings; at least the Blues have three games on the schedule, all against non-playoff opponents.

24. Nashville Predators (+4)

Right when it looked like the Predators were going to go quietly into golf season, they said not just yet. Nashville is on a late-campaign heater — stop me if you’ve heard that before — playing four games in Week 21 and winning all of them. That not only has them firmly back in the playoff race, it has them in a postseason slot with 12 games left. Catching the Mammoth, who are five points ahead, seems unlikely. But the three teams chasing the Preds — the Kings, Kraken and Sharks — have lost a combined 10 consecutive games. They needed some help to get back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and boy are they getting it! This roster is playing with a ton of confidence, and considering they play San Jose three more times, and LA twice, Nashville controls its own destiny down the stretch.

25. Seattle Kraken (-1)

The Kraken also controlled their own destiny in a tight Western Conference playoff race — and they’ve thrown it away. Seattle has lost three games in a row and seven of nine since March 4. To add insult to injury, all seven of these defeats came in regulation, with the roster unable to bank even a single point in that span. That’s just detrimental to the postseason hopes, as they’ve now fallen out of a wildcard berth altogether. The dream isn’t over, but with the Mammoth, Predators and Kings all ahead and playing better, the chances of playoff hockey returning to the Emerald City are getting slimmer by the day. It doesn’t help that, after losing back-to-back games on the road, Seattle has to play four more away from Climate Pledge Arena between now and the last day of March.

26. Los Angeles Kings (no change)

The Kings continue to play uninspiring hockey down the stretch, but they’re one of the few teams standing pat in the NHL Power Rankings in Week 22 due to the struggles of a few teams around them. That, and the fact that they’re already pretty low down the leaderboard as it is with only three weeks left. At the most important time of year, LA has floundered, losing four of five games. They’ve been able to bank a couple points past regulation, but it’s probably not going to be enough. Artemi Panarin is doing his part offensively, but there just isn’t enough firepower here. With 12 games left, the second wildcard berth seems to be the only reasonable path to the postseason, and not only are the Predators now two points up, they’ve won four in a row and are showing no signs of slowing down. It’s gut check time for this Kings club, and road games in Calgary on Tuesday and Vancouver on Thursday are must-wins.

27. Winnipeg Jets (-3)

The Jets didn’t do themselves any favors in a razor-thin Western Conference playoff race last week, losing three of four games in a stretch that they could barely afford to lose once. Although they got past regulation in three of those tilts and picked up four of a possible eight points, Winnipeg is not doing themselves any favors down the stretch. Now .500 at 29-29-12 and three points out of a postseason berth — with four teams to leapfrog — things are getting more dire by the day. Coming up is a very difficult week that includes games against the Golden Knights once, and NHL-leading Avalanche twice.

28. New York Rangers (-1)

Right when it looked like the Rangers were going to go on a little bit of a late-season heater, they regressed to their lowly ways in a truly brutal Week 21. New York lost all four games they played — three of them at Madison Square Garden — giving up 18 goals in that span and scoring just nine. It ended with a 3-2 shootout loss to the Jets on Sunday, and also included regulation losses to the Kings (4-1), Devils (6-3) and Blue Jackets (6-3), in that order. With that, any chances the Blueshirts may have had of coming out of the conference basement were firmly dashed, and with 13 games left in their regular-season, it’ll be a last-place finish in the East. April 16 cannot come soon enough for this franchise.

29. Toronto Maple Leafs (no change)

The Maple Leafs finally showed some signs of life in the middle of March, managing to win two times in three tries — the first time that had happened since before the Olympic break. But they were back to their old tricks last week, losing three consecutive games, to the Islanders on Tuesday, Hurricanes on Friday and Senators on Saturday, respectively. And, in true Toronto fashion, William Nylander took a high shot on goaltender Anthony Stolarz in warmups on Saturday that not only took him out of the game, but sent the injury-prone netminder to the hospital. Just brutal. Nylander probably feels terrible, as does much of the fanbase in the city at this point. Now 29-29-13, the entire organization just cannot wait for what could be one of the worst seasons in franchise history to end — and that’s saying something.

30. Calgary Flames (+1)

The Flames won consecutive games for the first time since the end of February last week, and although it won’t matter at all in the standings, moral victories. Calgary beat St. Louis in a shootout on Wednesday before putting together a terrific effort against the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champions on Friday, beating Florida 4-1. They followed it up with a 4-3 overtime victory over resurgent Tampa Bay on Sunday evening, concluding a terrific seven days. Despite a very poor team in front of them, both Dustin Wolf and Devin Cooley have performed well this season, and that tandem figures to remain intact for at least the next couple of campaigns. Cooley is a UFA in the summer of 2029, while Wolf is signed through 2033 as the goalie of the future in Alberta.

31. Chicago Blackhawks (-1)

It was another losing week in the Windy City, which is to be expected when you have to play the Wild twice and the Avalanche once. The Blackhawks fared reasonably well considering, managing to pick up four of a possible eight points. But with the Flames going on a little bit of a run, it’s back to an all-too-familiar No. 31 slot in the NHL Power Rankings in Week 22. Ah well, at least it isn’t the basement, a place Chicago spent quite a bit of time in in 2024-25. With 12 games left in their regular-season, the Hawks are letting the kids play, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them finish in this exact spot — in both league standings and CP’s PR’s.

32. Vancouver Canucks (no change)

Although there’s nothing more to say about the 2025-26 iteration of the Canucks from a standings perspective — they’ve been mathematically eliminated — it’s nice to see a couple of developments over the last few weeks. Marco Rossi is looking like a bonafide 2C, as evidenced by his incredibly impressive five-game, 10-point streak. He’s formed a terrific second line with Brock Boeser and Liam Ohgren, one that figures to remain intact to start next season as well. Defenseman Victor Mancini also earned a two-year extension with the big-league club last week and should get an opportunity to make the team out of training camp in 2026-27. The roster is getting younger, and with significant capital over the next few drafts, Vancouver has a real chance to rebuild properly. The big question for next year: who will be named the 16th captain in franchise history? My gut tells me Filip Hronek has a great chance.

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