NHL Notebook: Avalanche and Devils top latest Power Rankings, Oilers drop down to 14th

Arriving at the 10-game mark of the 2025-26 NHL season, it’s already been a season of both surprising surges and shaky starts.

As we hit another Monday, Daily Faceoff’s Scott Maxwell and Hunter Crowther are back with this week’s edition of the NHL Power Rankings. Atop the list for another week as a unanimous number one are the Colorado Avalanche, off to a 5-1-4 start. Climbing three places to second are the New Jersey Devils, who currently sit atop the league with 16 points through nine games played. With Jack Hughes off to an impressive start and Jake Allen stepping up in between the pipes, things are looking good in the Garden State.

The Edmonton Oilers fell three places in this week’s list, landing at 14th overall, averaged from Scott’s 16th-place ranking and Hunter’s 12th. Here’s what the two had to say about the Oilers, who are off to a 4-4-2 start:

Scott: Okay everybody, Connor McDavid finally scored his first goal of the season. Can we all calm down now? Anyone freaking out over the Oilers right now clearly hasn’t followed them the past few seasons. They’ve always started off the season slowly, and the fact their struggles haven’t been because of Stuart Skinner should be a sign of hope… unless this means that he’s going to suck when the rest of the team turns it around and they’re still struggling. Maybe Edmonton should panic a bit then.

Hunter: Even if their struggles weren’t entirely assigned to Skinner, the idea they’re going to stick with him the remainder of the season is a sign that it’s time to panic. Slow starts that become habitual eventually bite you in the ass, and while Edmonton is good enough to sleepwalk to the postseason, bad habits through the regular season will end your year in April instead of June.

One of the biggest drops this week was the Toronto Maple Leafs, who fell to 23rd after landing at 16th last week. Toronto has had a messy start to its season, dropping key games to some lighter opponents, and has a 4-4-1 record.

More from around the NHL:

• Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll is expected to have a stint in the AHL before coming off the LTIR.
• Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis breaks down New York Islanders’ rookie Matthew Schaefer’s hot start to the season.
• The St. Louis Blues are currently without Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbours, both listed as day-to-day.