The Colorado Avalanche had mostly avoided adversity during their dominant first half of the season.
Then it hit.
Captain Gabriel Landeskog crashed into the net on Jan. 4 and is week-to-week. Defenseman Devon Toews (upper body) and goalie Mackenzie Blackwood also are out long term.
The Avalanche lost back-to-back games in regulation for the first time this season during their trip to Florida.
But they have regrouped, beating the Ottawa Senators 8-2 and the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0. Their 33-4-7 record through Sunday, Jan. 11, gives them a 12-point edge in the Presidents’ Trophy race.
The Avalanche remain on pace to break the Boston Bruins’ 2022-23 NHL record of 135 points in a season and remain the top team in USA TODAY Sports’ latest power rankings. Here are the full rankings:
USA TODAY Sports NHL power rankings
Note: Stats through Jan. 11. Parentheses show movement from two weeks ago:
1. Colorado Avalanche (0)
The Avalanche have yet to lose in regulation at home. They have won 17 in a row at Ball Arena.
2. Minnesota Wild (+1)
Both Wild goalies, Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt, are heading to the Olympics with Team Sweden, along with forward Joel Eriksson Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin. Minnesota is also sending three Americans (Quinn Hughes, Brock Faber and Matt Boldy) and Germany’s Niko Sturm.
3. Tampa Bay Lightning (+2)
The Lightning have won nine in a row. That has coincided with a nine-game point streak in which Nikita Kucherov has scored 23 points.
4. Dallas Stars (-2)
The Stars remain second in the league in points percentage, but they have one win in their last eight games.
5. Carolina Hurricanes (-1)
Goalie Pyotr Kochetkov is likely done for the season after surgery, leaving Brandon Bussi and Frederik Andersen as the tandem. Andersen picked up his first win since Nov. 6.
6. Detroit Red Wings (0)
Patrick Kane reached the 500-goal milestone with a two-goal performance on Jan. 8. He’s the fifth U.S.-born scorer to hit that mark and needs five points to pass Mike Modano (1,374 points), the top U.S.-born scorer.
7. Montreal Canadiens (+2)
The Canadiens have had a topsy-turvy January. They scored 21 goals in their four victories and were shut out in their two losses.
8. Vegas Golden Knights (-1)
Jack Eichel, shut out in his return from an injury, has put together a five-game point streak. He also had a five-game streak before his injury.
9. New York Islanders (+1)
Bo Horvat, named to Team Canada on Dec. 31, has been out since suffering a lower-body injury the following day. The Islanders have won three of their last four games without him.
10. Buffalo Sabres (+5)
The Sabres have won 13 of their 14 games to move into a wild-card spot. Most of that surge has happened after the firing of general manager Kevyn Adams. Buffalo is trying to end a record 14-season playoff drought.
11. Philadelphia Flyers (-3)
Trevor Zegras is heading to a career season with 41 points in 43 games, but he has been shut out in four of his last five games. He’ll become a restricted free agent in July.
12. Toronto Maple Leafs (+10)
William Nylander had a goal and two assists in his return from a six-game injury absence. He leads the Maple Leafs with 44 points despite missing 10 games this season.
13. Pittsburgh Penguins (+3)
The Penguins, who averaged five goals a game during their six-game winning streak, have been limited to one goal in losing their last two games. … Forward Blake Lizotte signed a three-year contract extension averaging $2.25 million a year.
14. Edmonton Oilers (0)
Connor McDavid has a career-best 18-game point streak and has moved into a tie with Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon for the NHL scoring lead.
15. Washington Capitals (-4)
NHL all-time leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin has reached 20 goals for a 21th consecutive season. That puts him in second place all time in that category behind Gordie Howe.
16. Boston Bruins (+5)
Pavel Zacha and Marat Khusnutdinov had their first career hat tricks in a 10-2 win against the Rangers. Khusnutdinov finished with four goals, and David Pastrnak tied a franchise record with six assists. The game was the Bruins’ first with double hat tricks since 1964.
17. Seattle Kraken (+9)
The Kraken’s 10-game point streak ended on Jan. 11 with a 3-2 loss to the Hurricanes. Seattle was limited to 12 shots in that game.
18. Florida Panthers (-5)
Matthew Tkachuk (offseason hernia surgery) is accompanying the Panthers on their road trip in hopes of getting back into the lineup for the first time this season. But coach Paul Maurice told reporters that there would be no lineup changes for their Jan. 12 game, meaning no Tkachuk or injured Brad Marchand.
19. Los Angeles Kings (-1)
Captain Anze Kopitar, out for the second time this season, was placed on the injured list. He has missed two games with a lower-body injury. He missed four games earlier this season.
20. San Jose Sharks (+3)
Macklin Celebrini, named to Team Canada, saw his 13-game point streak end in a Jan. 11 loss to the Golden Knights. He had 27 points in that stretch.
21. Utah Mammoth (+3)
Clayton Keller, considered the biggest player left off the USA’s 4 Nations Face-Off squad, has made the U.S. Olympic team. He has seven points in his last three games.
22. Nashville Predators (+6)
The Predators have gone 13-7 since the beginning of December to move from last in the NHL to two points out of a playoff spot.
23. New Jersey Devils (-6)
Dougie Hamilton was a healthy scratch on Sunday after the return of defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic. Hamilton has a 10-team trade list and his agent, J.P. Barry. told TSN’s Pierre LeBrun: ‘We have made it clear to the Devils that we will consider teams outside our list and other creative ways to get to a team that is mutually acceptable.’
24. Ottawa Senators (-4)
Senators general manager Steven Staios put out a statement criticizing ‘the lowest forms of trolls and sick people who scour the internet’ after a rumor was spread about goalie Linus Ullmark’s leave of absence. The team on Jan. 12 signed veteran goalie James Reimer for the remainder of the season at a pro-rated $850,000.
25. New York Rangers (-6)
The Rangers have given up 15 goals in the two games since Igor Shesterkin left a Jan. 5 game with a lower body injury. Jonathan Quick left a 10-2 loss to the Bruins after giving up six goals on 20 shots.
26. Chicago Blackhawks (+5)
Connor Bedard, who wasn’t named to Canada’s Olympic team, has returned after missing 12 games with a shoulder injury. He had two assists in his second game back. The Blackhawks won their last four games before Bedard’s return and are 1-1 since.
27. Anaheim Ducks (-15)
The Ducks have gone through a 1-8-2 skid to drop out of a playoff spot. Leading scorer Leo Carlsson has been held without a point in nine of those 11 games.
28. Columbus Blue Jackets (-3)
Defenseman Denton Mateychuk was injured on Brandon Tanev’s hit from behind on Sunday, Jan. 11. The Blue Jackets ended a four-game losing streak by defeating the Mammoth in that game.
29. Calgary Flames (0)
Defense prospect Zayne Parekh set a career record for most points by a Canadian defenseman at the world junior championships (13) to help his team win a bronze medal.
30. St. Louis Blues (-3)
The Blues signed defenseman Philip Broberg to a six-year contract extension averaging $8 million a year. St. Louis obtained Broberg via an offer sheet in 2024 that the Oilers didn’t match. The defenseman has been named to the Swedish Olympic team.
31. Winnipeg Jets (-1)
The 2024-25 Presidents’ Trophy winners dropped to last in the NHL with an 11-game winless streak. But they have escaped the cellar by winning two in a row.
32. Vancouver Canucks (0)
The Canucks have been outscored 21-12 in a six-game winless streak and 10-2 in their last two games. Goalie Thatcher Demko has been placed on the injured list.
This story has been updated with new information.