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The 2025-26 NHL season is about a week old now, so we should have a large enough sample size to examine where the teams are stacking up.
Keep in mind, though, we are still early. There are surprising results in the league so far and some early trends that may turn out to be mirages.
That’s why in this first power ranking of the regular season, I want to focus on the teams that’ve surprised us, both with good play and with poor play, and figure out whether what we’re seeing is real.
With that said, here is the first regular-season power ranking with BetMGM odds for Stanley Cup winners as of October 16.
Detroit (3-1-0) earns a fifth-place spot in the first power rankings after a 4-1 statement win over Florida on Wednesday night.
The Red Wings have an overall record, but they’ve earned that record after playing some of the best teams in the league.
Outside of their opening night loss to Montreal, the Red Wings have outscored their opponents 13-6.
They’ve done this with one of the most challenging opening schedules in the league. All of their first four games this season have been against playoff teams from last year: the Canadiens, Panthers, and Maple Leafs, whom they’ve played twice.
They’re benefitting from some solid offensive production out of their second-line right winger, Alex DeBrincat, who leads the team in points after contributing six assists. Dylan Lakrin and Mason Appleton on Detroit’s top line have combined for five goals so far.
Cam Talbot has been performing like a top-ten goaltender in the league in his three starts this season. He’s got a 1.77 GAA and a .932 save percentage, and in the advanced stat categories, he’s currently 11th in the league in goals saved above expected.
Beyond that, the Red Wings are in the top five in special teams right now, with a 26.7 power play percentage and an 88.9 penalty kill percentage.
Right now, with all the under-the-hood numbers I’ve seen, I think their success is sustainable. It’ll really be tested with their next two matchups against the Lightning, who’ve had some trouble getting off the ground so far, and the Oilers.
If Detroit can maintain its play over that upcoming stretch, I think it’ll firmly establish itself within that top five.
Going into the season, there was some disconnect between what the betting markets were projecting Montreal to be and the actual caliber of team they were.
But, through four games, I think they’ve confidently established themselves as a playoff favorite and possibly a contender to do more than that in the Eastern Conference.
The main thing I like about Montreal so far is the depth of offense up and down the lineup.
They’ve gotten at least three goals out of each of their top three lines so far, with the most production actually coming off of their third line, which features Zach Bolduc, Kirby Dach, and Brendan Gallagher.
The Canadiens’ strength over other teams in the league is their depth of young talent,t and it’s a good sign that the offensive production isn’t just coming from Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki but from across that stable of forwards.
Montreal has got solid goalie play out of both Sam Montembeault, who has a 2.97 GAA and a .870 save percentage, and Jakub Dobes, who had a .968 save percentage in his one start. Though it was just one start, Dobes’ performance has him in the upper echelon of advanced goalie stats this season.
I’ve always viewed the Canadiens as a real contender, so I do think this success is sustainable, but I have a slight concern about their strength of schedule to start the season. Their win over the Red Wings is the only win they have so far over a team that I think has a chance to make the playoffs.
Maybe that gives cause to take the early results with a grain of salt, but I think they’ll be near the top of this power ranking throughout the season.
Another team that the betting markets had been down on throughout the offseason is the Bruins.
Boston earned that standing because of the disastrous season it had last year. But on paper, this is still a talented team. They’ve shown that through their first four games this season, where they’ve earned a 3-1-0 record.
The Bruins could easily be one of the only unbeaten teams in the league had they not fallen behind early in their loss to the Lightning on Monday, where they allowed three goals in the first 21 minutes of the game. Boston eventually lost 4-3 in that game.
Concerningly, though, they also could have easily lost to the Blackhawks a few days earlier, which would have sent them back down to the bottom of this power ranking. The Bruins escaped that game with a 4-3 win in overtime.
At their absolute ceiling, Boston has a Hart Trophy candidate in David Pastrnak, a Vezina candidate in Jeremy Swayman, and a long-shot Norris candidate in Charlie McAvoy. What they don’t have on paper is much else outside of that.
Pastrnak can sleepwalk his way to a 40 or 50-goal season, but the Bruins need scoring outside of him. And they’ve actually gotten that so far. Elias Lindholm has two goals, Casey Mittelstadt also has two, and every line has at least two players who’ve scored a goal.
Seeing that continue will be enough to cement Boston as a playoff team once again.
Right off the bat, I’m going to say that Florida’s 3-2-0 record probably doesn’t matter. They’re without their heart and soul player, Matthew Tkachuk, and their perennial Selke Trophy favorite, Aleksander Barkov.
As long as the Panthers can tread water, those two get back, they’ll be fine.
But through their first five games, they’ve looked very un-Florida-like.
They started strong with wins against three non-playoff teams, the Blackhawks, Flyers, and Senators. But on Monday, they lost their second game against Philadelphia, and on Wednesday, they lost to Detroit.
More concerning, though, is that they currently lead the league in giveaways despite having a soft schedule to start the year. In addition to that, they currently have a -3.61 goal differential above expected, emphasizing their poor performance against a weak schedule.
On the positive side, though, they’re still leading the league in hits given, so that’s a plus for them.
It’s a small sample size for the Panthers, but it’s concerning for me that their title defense hasn’t been so strong through the first week of games, since, again, they really haven’t played anyone that good yet.
Anaheim has been the number one surprising team to start this season.
Going into the year, they had +260 odds to make the playoffs and +3500 odds to win their division, the fourth-worst odds in the Pacific.
But now, they have a 2-1-0 record to start the year, fueled mainly by the performance of left winger Chris Kreider, who has four goals in three games played.
They’ve also gotten some great offensive production out of their second line, comprised of Cutter Gauthier, Mason McTavish, and Beckett Sennecke. They have a 76.6% expected goal percentage when that line is on the ice.
Beyond that, the Ducks are near the top of the league in a variety of meaningful statistical categories, like the second-best power play percentage in the league.
Anaheim has an exciting team, and they’ve been fun to watch so far, two things you couldn’t really say about last year’s team. But they have the weakest strength of schedule in the league so far, having played three teams that all finished in the lottery last season.
Thursday night will be a massive test for the Ducks as they face the best team in the league so far, the Hurricanes.
Los Angeles may have the worst performance so far this season compared to their expectations going into the year.
They have a 1-2-1 record so far, with their only win coming in a 6-5 shootout victory over the Golden Knights. The Kings lost their opening game against the Avalanche 4-1 and dropped their last two games 3-2 to the Jets and 4-3 in a shootout loss against the Wild.
It’s not just the game results that have been poor for LA — their underlying numbers are also some of the weakest in the league.
They have a -4 goal differential through three games and a 1.79 goals against above expected, indicating poor performance from the defense and goalie Darcy Kuemper.
Kuemper has 3.35 GAA so far and an .868 save percentage. For reference, last year he had a 2.02 GAA and a .922 save percentage.
All their games have come against playoff teams to start the year, but the Kings were a playoff team and expect to be one again this year.
I expect some regression to the mean for Kuemper as the year goes on, and that will probably turn around their season.
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The content provided in this blog is intended for entertainment purposes only. All views and opinions expressed are the authors and reflect their individual perspectives on sports, betting, and related topics. This content should not be considered professional betting advice or the official views of BetMGM LLC. Please gamble responsibly. If you or someone you know is experiencing issues related to gambling, seek help from a licensed health professional. This blog is not liable for any losses, damages, or consequences resulting from betting activities.