Super 16: Canadiens top NHL.com voting

The Montreal Canadiens were the unanimous choice as the No. 1 team in the Super 16 this week as voted on by a panel of NHL.com editorial staff members who participated in a point-based ranking exercise to arrive at the final rankings.

The Dallas Stars were the only other team to be selected in the top three in the five separate polls submitted.

The participating staff members were LNH.com managing editor Arpon Basu, NHL.com deputy managing editor Brian Compton, NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman, NHL.com staff writer Mike G. Morreale, and NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen.

Each writer submitted his version of the Super 16 and a point total was assigned to each ranking:

No. 1 = 16 points
No. 2 = 15
No. 3 = 14
No. 4 = 13
No. 5 = 12
No. 6 = 11
No. 7 = 10
No. 8 = 9
No. 9 = 8
No. 10 = 7
No. 11 = 6
No. 12 = 5
No. 13 = 4
No. 14 = 3
No. 15 = 2
No. 16 = 1

The point totals for each, based on where each staff member had them ranked, were totaled to come up with the Super 16 for this week.

This exercise will be conducted for the first Super 16 of each month during the 2015-16 season.

Though the Canadiens were ranked first in every poll, the Stars were the only team to be selected No. 2 in multiple polls. They were ranked second in two polls and third in the other three.

Three points separated the Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers.

The Blues were ranked as high as second in one poll and as low as eighth in another. The Kings were ranked as high as second and as low as sixth. The Rangers also garnered a No. 2 ranking in one poll, but were also ranked seventh in two polls.

The highest ranking for the Winnipeg Jets was No. 8. They also were not ranked by one staff member. The New York Islanders were ranked as high as seventh and as low as 14th.

Here are the final rankings, including the total points, where they were ranked last week, and a bit of good and not so good with each team.

DISCLAIMER: While the Super 16 is NHL.com's weekly power rankings, the focus will be more on the "power" than the "rankings" when determining the order. It's not always going to look like the League standings. If two teams are close the tiebreaker almost always is this: If the two teams started a seven-game series right now, who would prevail?

All rankings, records and statistics are through the games played Wednesday night. Don't ignore the scattered links to good stories either:

1. Montreal Canadiens (11-2-1)

Total points: 80

Last week: No. 1

What's good: Rookie goalie Mike Condon picked up where Carey Price left off and was 4-0-1 with a 1.60 goals-against average and .941 save percentage entering Thursday.

What's not so good: Forward Alexander Semin has been a healthy scratch for five straight games as it appears the experiment with him is not working out.

2. Dallas Stars (10-3-0)

Total points: 72

Last week: No. 6

What's good: Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn were tied for first in the NHL in scoring with 20 points each entering play Thursday.

What's not so good: The Stars allowed three or more goals in six consecutive games, yet are 4-2-0 in those games.

A look inside some pretty impressive numbers from Stars.com's Josh Bogorad

3. Los Angeles Kings (8-4-0)

Total points: 65

Last week: No. 10

What's good: Jhonas Enroth is proving to be a quality backup to Jonathan Quick with one goal allowed in two starts.

What's not so good: Marian Gaborik had one goal in 12 games entering play Thursday.

4. St. Louis Blues (9-3-1)

Total points: 63

Last week: No. 5

What's good: Jake Allen, who has appeared in five straight games, allowing only six goals, might be establishing himself as the No. 1 goalie.

What's not so good: Brian Elliott has allowed seven goals in his past two appearances.

Ken Hitchcock says two-thirds of Vladimir Tarasenko's goals are important, so our Arpon Basu did some research and discovered it's true

5. New York Rangers (8-2-2)

Total points: 62

Last week: No. 11

What's good: After a slow start, center Derick Brassard has seven points in the past four games.

What's not so good: Rick Nash still has one goal and now he might be injured after leaving practice early Thursday.

6. Washington Capitals (8-3-0)

Total points: 56

Last week: No. 2

What's good: They finished October with a .800 winning percentage (8-2-0), the highest winning percentage for the month in franchise history.

What's not so good: They had only themselves to blame for a 5-2 loss to the Rangers on Tuesday when mistakes and defensive miscues burned them.

Capitals' fans probably recognize the name Graham McPhee, a 2016 draft-eligible prospect who was profiled this week by Mike G. Morreale

7. Nashville Predators (7-2-2)

Total points: 48

Last week: No. 3

What's good: They were the last team in the NHL to allow a goal in the first period (10 straight before allowing three to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday).

What's not so good: Backup goalie Carter Hutton has allowed seven goals in two starts.

Another one from Morreale, this one on Predators assistant coach Phil Housley, who goes into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday

8. Minnesota Wild (7-2-2)

Total points: 47

Last week: No. 9

What's good: They had allowed only five goals in the third period entering Thursday.

What's not so good: They had allowed 15 goals in the first period entering Thursday.

A really cool look at how it began for Mikko Koivu, Ryan Suter and Zach Parise from Wild.com's Evan Sporer

9. New York Islanders (7-3-3)

Total points: 34

Last week: No. 4

What's good: Captain John Tavares returned to the lineup Thursday after missing three consecutive games with an illness.

What's not so good: As expected, they struggled to score without Tavares, getting five goals in three games.

10. Chicago Blackhawks (7-5-1)

Total points: 33

Last week: No. 7

What's good: The offense has come back with 13 goals in the past three games after scoring three in the previous three games.

What's not so good: They're just 1-1-1 in the past three games despite all the goals.

11. Winnipeg Jets (8-4-1)

Total points: 30

Last week: No. 15

What's good: Blake Wheeler was on pace for a 100-point season entering play Thursday with 16 points in 13 games.

What's not so good: They've played eight road games already, tied for third most in the League, and have seven more to go this month.

12. Pittsburgh Penguins (8-4-0)

Total points: 26

Last week: No. 12

What's good: They won their fifth straight game thanks to four points, all assists, from defensemen in a 3-2 victory against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.

What's not so good: They had only six points on a goal and five assists from defensemen in the previous four wins.

NHL.com correspondent and resident goalie guru Kevin Woodley examines Marc-Andre Fleury

13. Tampa Bay Lightning (6-6-2)

Total points: 25

Last week: No. 8

What's good: Goalie Ben Bishop has a .936 save percentage (104 of 111) in his past four starts after posting a .894 save percentage (110 of 123) in his previous four starts.

What's not so good: The Lightning are 0-4-0 in Bishop's past four starts after going 2-1-1 in his previous four.

14. Boston Bruins (6-4-1)

Total points: 19

Last week: No. 14

What's good: They entered play Thursday with the best power play in the League at 34.2 percent (13-for-38).

What's not so good: They also had the worst penalty kill in the League at 70.0 percent (28-for-40).

15. Vancouver Canucks (6-3-4)

Total points: 12

Last week: No. 16

What's good: Their plus-12 goal differential in regulation is the best in the Western Conference and third in the NHL.

What's not so good: Their minus-4 goal differential in overtime is the worst in the NHL.

Canucks fans would be interested in this feature on Pavel Bure by NHL.com staff writer Vassili Ossipov

16. Ottawa Senators (6-4-2)

Total points: 4

Last week: NR

What's good: They were second in the League with 17 goals in the second period.

What's not so good: They were 29th in the League with four goals in the first period entering play Thursday.

Other receiving votes: Carolina Hurricanes (1 point), San Jose Sharks (1), Detroit Red Wings (1), Florida Panthers (1)

Out: Florida Panthers

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Here is how each staff member ranked the teams this week:

ROSEN	KIMELMAN	BASU	MORREALE	COMPTON
1. Canadiens	1. Canadiens	1. Canadiens	1. Canadiens	1. Canadiens
2. Blues	2. Rangers	2. Stars	2. Kings	2. Stars
3. Stars	3. Stars	3. Kings	3. Stars	3. Rangers
4. Kings	4. Blues	4. Blues	4. Rangers	4. Blues
5. Capitals	5. Kings	5. Wild	5. Capitals	5. Capitals
6. Predators	6. Capitals	6. Predators	6. Wild	6. Kings
7. Rangers	7. Predators	7. Rangers	7. Predators	7. Islanders
8. Wild	8. Lightning	8. Capitals	8. Blues	8. Jets
9. Blackhawks	9. Islanders	9. Jets	9. Blackhawks	9. Wild
10. Islanders	10. Wild	10. Penguins	10. Jets	10. Blackhawks
11. Jets	11. Blackhawks	11. Islanders	11. Penguins	11. Predators
12. Bruins	12. Penguins	12. Bruins	12. Lightning	12. Lightning
13. Penguins	13. Canucks	13. Blackhawks	13. Bruins	13. Penguins
14. Lightning	14. Senators	14. Lightning	14. Islanders	14. Bruins
15. Canucks	15. Bruins	15. Canucks	15. Canucks	15. Canucks
16. Senators	16. Panthers	16. Hurricanes	16. Sharks	16. Red Wings

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