Capitals top Super 16 for 10th straight week

Despite a rare regulation loss, the Washington Capitals are the unanimous No. 1 in NHL.com's weekly Super 16 for the second straight week, as voted by seven NHL.com staff members who participate in a point-based system to come up with the weekly rankings.
The same 16 teams from the Super 16 last week are in the rankings this week.

Each staff member submits his version of the Super 16 and a point value is assigned to each ranking to come up with the final power rankings:
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 Capitals are No. 1 for the 10th consecutive week. They went 2-1-0 since the Super 16 was released last Thursday, defeating the Minnesota Wild and Los Angeles Kings but losing 4-3 at the Dallas Stars, who moved up two spots to No. 3.
The Stars finished 10 points behind the Chicago Blackhawks despite defeating them 4-2 last Thursday. The Blackhawks, with 100 points, are No. 2 for the seventh consecutive week. However, Chicago finished with four fewer points than it had last week.
The red-hot Anaheim Ducks, 3-0-1 since the rankings came out last week, made the biggest jump, moving up three spots to No. 7 to crack the top eight for the first time this season. The Ducks received 73 points this week, up from 49.
The Tampa Bay Lightning had the worst fall of the week, dropping 30 points to 45 and moving from No. 6 down to No. 9 in the rankings. The Lightning went 1-2-0.
The Super 16 rankings will come out weekly, every Thursday, and continue to be a point-based ranking system with NHL.com staff members contributing through the end of the regular season.
Here are the rankings for this week, with pertinent information and a Hit and Miss for each team:
1. Washington Capitals (41-10-4)
Total points: 112
Last week: No. 1
Hit: Center Evgeny Kuznetsov has 20 points, including 17 assists, and forward Andre Burakovsky has 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in the past 14 games. The Capitals are 10-3-1 in that stretch.
Miss: Washington's power play is 3-for-33 in the past nine games, but it did score in three straight games before going 0-for-5 against Los Angeles on Tuesday.

2. Chicago Blackhawks (38-18-5)
Total points: 100
Last week: No. 2
Hit: They've allowed a League-low 53 goals against at home, where they are an NHL-best 22-7-2 (46 points).
Miss:It might be good in the long run for Marian Hossa to sit out some games now, but it's an undeniable miss for the Blackhawks to lose the veteran forward to a lower-body injury that will keep him out for at least two weeks.
3. Dallas Stars (37-15-6)
Total points: 90
Last week: No. 5
Hit: The Stars are 5-1-2 in their past eight road games and 17-8-6 on the road this season; that's good for 40 points, tied for the most road points in the Western Conference with the San Jose Sharks
Miss: Forward Valeri Nichushkin has gone 17 straight games without a goal.
4. Florida Panthers (33-18-6)
Total points: 87
Last week: No. 3
Hit:Center Nick Bjugstad scored a goal in regulation and another in the shootout in the Panthers' 2-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday. It was his best game since coming off injured reserve Jan. 3. And it was important because …
Miss:CenterAleksander Barkov (concussion) has missed four straight games and was placed on injured reserve Sunday.

5. Los Angeles Kings (33-20-3)
Total points: 85
Last week: No. 4
Hit: Forward Dustin Brown has nine points in his past 10 games. He had zero points in the 10 games prior to his current hot streak.
Miss:Forward Tyler Toffoli has one goal in the past 12 games; the Kings are 5-7-0 in those games.
6. St. Louis Blues (33-17-9)
Total points: 77
Last week: No. 7
Hit: They are 3-0-1 with six goals allowed since defenseman Alex Pietrangelo went on injured reserve with a right knee injury. Forward Jaden Schwartz has two goals and an assist in three games since returning from a fractured left ankle that kept him out for 49 games.
Miss:They haven't reached 30 shots on goal in eight straight games, a small price to pay for going 5-2-1 in those games.

7. Anaheim Ducks (29-19-8)
Total points: 73
Last week: No. 10
Hit:The Ducks are 17-4-2 in their past 23 games and are three points behind the Kings for first in the Pacific Division. Each team has played 56 games.
Miss:They have allowed seven power-play goals in the past five games, though it hasn't hurt them because they've scored six power-play goals of their own and are 4-0-1 in that stretch.
8. New York Rangers (32-19-6)
Total points: 68
Last week: No. 9
Hit: The Rangers have scored power-play goals in three consecutive games (4-for-7) after a stretch of 18 games in which they went 2-for-50 with the extra man.
Miss:Forward Rick Nash didn't play Wednesday against the Chicago Blackhawks and has missed 10th New York's past games with a bone bruise in his left leg.
9. Tampa Bay Lightning (30-22-4)
Total points: 45
Last week: No. 6
Hit: Tampa Bay is 38-for-40 (95 percent) on the penalty kill in the past 12 games and 64-for-69 (92.8 percent) in its past 23 games.
Miss: The Lightning have scored two or fewer goals in four of their past five games and are 0-4-0 in those games.
10. Pittsburgh Penguins (28-19-8)
Total points: 44
Last week: No. 8
Hit:Marc-Andre Fleury has allowed six goals on 117 shots (.949 save percentage) in his past four starts after allowing nine goals on 37 shots (.757 save percentage) in his first two starts after the All-Star break.
Miss:They've hit a bit of a cold spell again with two non-shootout goals in their past three games (1-1-1), all without center Evgeni Malkin, who has missed six straight games with a lower-body injury.

11. San Jose Sharks (30-20-5)
Total points: 43
Last week: No. 12
Hit: Marc-Edouard Vlasic has assists in eight straight games, giving him the franchise record for longest assist streak by a defenseman. His eight-game point scoring streak is also a career-high.
Miss:Defenseman Brenden Dillon has missed the past three games with an upper-body injury.
12. New York Islanders (30-19-6)
Total points: 35
Last week: No. 13
Hit: John Tavares has 17 points in the past 13 games. Prior to his hot streak, he had seven points in 16 games from Dec. 4-Jan. 9.
Miss:Jaroslav Halak has allowed three or more goals in four of his past five starts; he is 0-4-0 in those four games. He allowed six goals in two periods in a 6-3 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.
13. Boston Bruins (31-20-6)
Total points: 31
Last week: No. 14
Hit: Not only did center Patrice Bergeron return to the lineup on Tuesday after missing two games with an undisclosed injury, he scored a goal in a 2-1 overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. It's impossible to overstate the importance of Bergeron in the Bruins' lineup.
Miss: They're 0-for-15 on the power play in their past four games and 1-for-32 in the past nine.

14. Detroit Red Wings (29-19-9)
Total points: 29
Last week: No. 11
Hit: Center Pavel Datsyuk has 10 points (five goals, five assists) during a six-game point streak.
Miss:Detroit has allowed nine goals in its past two games, which is eyebrow-raising considering the Red Wings had allowed four non-shootout goals in their previous four games.
15. Nashville Predators (26-21-10)
Total points: 20
Last week: No. 15
Hit: They've scored at least one special-teams goal in four of the past six games, including a shorthanded goal in a 6-2 win against the Sharks on Feb. 6.
Miss: They've allowed at least one special-teams goal in five of the past six games, including a shorthanded goal in a 3-2 overtime loss to Dallas on Monday.
16. New Jersey Devils (29-22-7)
Total points: 8
Last week: No. 16
Hit:Kyle Palmieri broke a nine-game goal-scoring drought with a goal late in a 6-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. The Devils need Palmieri's offense, especially with Michael Cammalleri still out, so getting a goal could be a sign of good things to come.
Miss:Cammalleri has missed eight straight games with a right hand/wrist injury. His status for New Jersey's game Friday against the Islanders is in doubt.
Out:None
Other receiving votes:Carolina Hurricanes (4 points), Colorado Avalanche (2 points)
HERE'S HOW WE VOTED
ARPON BASU
1. Capitals
2. Stars
3. Panthers
4. Blackhawks
5. Blues
6. Rangers
7. Kings
8. Ducks
9. Penguins
10. Islanders
11. Sharks
12. Bruins
13. Red Wings
14. Lightning
15. Hurricanes
16. Devils
BRIAN COMPTON
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Stars
4. Blues
5. Panthers
6. Kings
7. Rangers
8. Ducks
9. Sharks
10. Islanders
11. Bruins
12. Red Wings
13. Lightning
14. Penguins
15. Predators
16. Hurricanes
ADAM KIMELMAN
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Kings
4. Stars
5. Panthers
6. Blues
7. Ducks
8. Rangers
9. Penguins
10. Lightning
11. Red Wings
12. Predators
13. Sharks
14. Bruins
15. Devils
16. Islanders
ROBERT LAFLAMME
1. Capitals
2. Ducks
3. Rangers
4. Panthers
5. Blackhawks
6. Stars
7. Kings
8. Blues
9. Sharks
10. Penguins
11. Lightning
12. Bruins
13. Red Wings
14. Islanders
15. Predators
16. Devils
MIKE G. MORREALE
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Panthers
4. Kings
5. Blues
6. Stars
7. Lightning
8. Predators
9. Ducks
10. Islanders
11. Rangers
12. Penguins
13. Sharks
14. Red Wings
15. Avalanche
16. Devils
SHAWN ROARKE
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Kings
4. Ducks
5. Stars
6. Panthers
7. Blues
8. Sharks
9. Lightning
10. Bruins
11. Rangers
12. Penguins
13. Islanders
14. Red Wings
15. Predators
16. Devils
DAN ROSEN
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Stars
4. Kings
5. Rangers
6. Panthers
7. Blues
8. Ducks
9. Penguins
10. Lightning
11. Islanders
12. Bruins
13. Sharks
14. Red Wings
15. Devils
16. Hurricanes