Super 16: Top three teams end 2018 unchanged

The Tampa Bay Lightning remain the unanimous No. 1 in the weekly Super 16 power rankings coming out of the three-day holiday break, putting a nice bow on what has been an impressive 2018 for the NHL's best team.

The Lightning, who have three games remaining before the calendar flips to 2019, lead the NHL with 54 wins and 113 points in 81 regular-season games played in 2018. The Winnipeg Jets, who are again No. 2 in the Super 16, are second with 53 wins and 112 points in 78 games.
But what will happen in 2019 to the Lightning, Jets and the rest of the teams ranked this week? That's part of the exercise in the final Super 16 of this calendar year.
To create the power rankings, each of the 13 staff members puts together his or her version of what the Super 16 should look like. Those are submitted, and a point total is assigned to each.
The team picked first is given 16 points, second gets 15, third gets 14 and so on down to No. 16, which gets one point.
Here is latest Super 16, with a look back at the biggest moment of 2018 and a 2019 prediction for each team:

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (28-7-2)

Total points: 208
Last week: No. 1
2018 biggest moment: Victor Hedman wins the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman for the 2017-18 season.
2019 prediction: The Lightning will at least reach the Stanley Cup Final.

2. Winnipeg Jets (24-10-2)

Total points: 189
Last week: No. 2
2018 biggest moment: The Jets win a Stanley Cup Playoff game for the first time in Winnipeg/Atlanta Thrashers franchise history on April 11, defeating the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round. They advance to the conference final, where they lose in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights.
2019 prediction: At age 20, forward Patrik Laine will score at least 50 goals this season and sign the richest contract in team history during the offseason. Laine, who can become a restricted free agent after this season, has 23 goals in 36 games, a 52-goal pace. Oh, and the Jets will reach the Stanley Cup Final.

3. Toronto Maple Leafs (25-10-2)

Total points: 182
Last week: No. 3
2018 biggest moment: The Maple Leafs sign center John Tavares to a seven-year, $77 million contract on July 1.
2019 prediction: They will win their first playoff series in 15 years.

4. Washington Capitals (22-10-3)

Total points: 165
Last week: No. 5
2018 biggest moment: The Capitals win the Stanley Cup for the first time since entering the NHL in 1974 when they defeat the Golden Knights 4-3 in Game 5 of the Final on June 7 at T-Mobile Arena.
2019 prediction: Alex Ovechkin will win the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy for the eighth time and will score 60 goals for the second time in his career, good enough for the 33-year-old left wing to win the Hart Trophy as MVP for the fourth time. He leads the NHL with 29 goals in 35 games, a 68-goal pace.

5. Nashville Predators (22-13-2)

Total points: 156
Last week: No. 4
2018 biggest moment: The Predators win the Presidents' Trophy for the first time in their history, finishing 2017-18 with 117 points. At age 35, Pekka Rinne wins the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best goalie for the first time in his career.
2019 prediction: General manager David Poile will make a significant move before the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 25 to upgrade his slumping team, which lost all four games last week (0-3-1) and has fallen four points behind the Jets for first in the Central Division.

6. Calgary Flames (22-12-3)

Total points: 141
Last week: No. 6
2018 biggest moment: The Flames acquire defenseman Noah Hanifin and forward Elias Lindholm from the Carolina Hurricanes for defenseman Dougie Hamilton, forward Micheal Ferland and the rights to defenseman Adam Fox on June 23. Hanifin has 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) and is playing 20:55 per game. In 37 games, Lindholm has matched his NHL career high in goals (17) and has 39 points, six shy of tying his career best, set in 2016-17.
2019 prediction: The Flames will finish first in the Pacific Division and play the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference First Round in the first Battle of Alberta matchup in the playoffs since 1991.

7. Buffalo Sabres (21-11-5)

Total points: 124
Last week: No. 7
2018 biggest moment: The Sabres select defenseman Rasmus Dahlin with the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft on June 22 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
2019 prediction: The Sabres will reach the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

8. San Jose Sharks (19-12-7)

Total points: 115
Last week: No. 8
2018 biggest moment: The Sharks acquire defenseman Erik Karlsson in a blockbuster trade from the Ottawa Senators on Sept. 13. Karlsson has 26 points (two goals, 24 assists) in 37 games, including 10 assists during an active eight-game point streak.
2019 prediction: Karlsson will not re-sign and instead become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Forward Joe Thornton will sign a one-year contract with the Sharks for the third consecutive offseason and continue his career into his 40s (he turns 40 on July 2). Forward Joe Pavelski, who is also in the final year of his contract, will also re-sign with the Sharks and the 34-year-old captain will play in his 1,000th NHL game, all with San Jose, next season.

9. Columbus Blue Jackets (21-12-3)

Total points: 99
Last week: No. 12
2018 biggest moment: The Blue Jackets rally from a three-goal deficit by scoring four consecutive goals to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 5-4 in overtime at Nationwide Arena on April 3, moving within one point of clinching a playoff berth for the second straight season. They clinch that berth two nights later in a 5-4 overtime loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
2019 prediction:The Blue Jackets will re-sign forward Artemi Panarin and trade goalie Sergei Bobrovsky before the trade deadline on Feb. 25.

10. Boston Bruins (20-13-4)

Total points: 93
Last week: No. 10
2018 biggest moment: After losing Games 5 and 6 and trailing by one goal going into the third period of Game 7,the Bruins rally by scoring four goals to defeat the Maple Leafs 7-4 in the Eastern Conference First Round at TD Garden on April 25.
2019 prediction: David Pastrnak will be talked about as a superstar after his two big moments in January. He'll produce big in a Bruins win in the 2019 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic against the Chicago Blackhawks at Notre Dame Stadium on New Year's Day, and he'll put on a show representing the Atlantic Division during All-Star Weekend in San Jose.

11. Colorado Avalanche (19-12-6)

Total points: 84
Last week: No. 9
2018 biggest moment: The Avalanche clinch a playoff berth with a 5-2 win against the St. Louis Blues on April 7, the final day of the 2017-18 regular season. The win gives them 95 points, one season after they finished with an NHL-low 48.
2019 prediction: Nathan MacKinnon, who is third in the NHL coming out of the break with 56 points (22 goals, 34 assists), will win the Art Ross Trophy as the League's top scorer. He'll finish with two more points than linemate Mikko Rantanen, who is first with 59 points (16 goals, 43 assists).

12. Vegas Golden Knights (20-15-4)

Total points: 51
Last week: No. 13
2018 biggest moment: The Golden Knights defeat the Jets 2-1 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final at Bell MTS Place on May 20 to advance to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season. They defeat the Capitals 6-4 in Game 1 of the Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on May 28 before dropping four in a row to lose the series.
2019 prediction: They will get back to the playoffs but lose in the Western Conference First Round against the Sharks in a matchup of the second- and third-place teams in the Pacific Division.

13. Pittsburgh Penguins (18-12-6)

Total points: 47
Last week: NR
2018 biggest moment: Jake Guentzel scores four consecutive goals in a span of 13:52 bridging the second and third periods and the Penguins win their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Philadelphia Flyers with an 8-5 victory in Game 6 at Wells Fargo Center.
2019 prediction: Matt Murray will use his last three performances going into the Christmas break as a springboard to re-establishing himself as Pittsburgh's No. 1 goalie, and he will finally stay healthy. Murray allowed four goals on 112 shots in winning three straight games against the Los Angeles Kings, Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes.

14. Anaheim Ducks (19-14-5)

Total points: 45
Last week: No. 11
2018 biggest moment: The Ducks cap a second-half surge by clinching a playoff berth for a sixth consecutive season with a 3-1 win against the Minnesota Wild at Honda Center on April 4. The Ducks go 25-10-4 from Jan. 13 to the end of the season after going 19-15-9 in their first 43 games.
2019 prediction: Anaheim will qualify for the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season, and goalie John Gibson will win the Vezina Trophy.

15. Montreal Canadiens (19-13-5)

Total points: 35
Last week: No. 15
2018 biggest moment: The Canadiens acquire center Max Domi for center Alex Galchenyuk in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on June 15. Domi leads Montreal with 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists) in 37 games. The Canadiens also draft center Jesperi Kotkaniemi with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft on June 22. Kotkaniemi, 18, has 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in 37 games.
2019 prediction: The Canadiens will qualify for the playoffs.

16. New York Islanders (18-13-4)

Total points: 13
Last week: No. 16
2018 biggest moment: Lou Lamoriello takes over as director of hockey operations on May 22, names himself general manager on June 5 and hires Barry Trotz, fresh off his Stanley Cup championship with the Capitals, as coach on June 21. Lamoriello and Trotz can't convince Tavares to re-sign, but the Islanders are still in the playoff mix without him.
2019 prediction: The Islanders will miss the playoffs, but the sting won't feel so bad because they will feel good about their future, especially with the emergence of forward Joshua Ho-Sang in the second half. Those good feelings will get even better in May, when ground is broken on their new arena near Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

Others receiving points: Dallas Stars 10, Edmonton Oilers 9, Minnesota Wild 2
Dropped out: Edmonton Oilers (No. 14)

HERE'S HOW WE RANKED 'EM

AMALIE BENJAMIN
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Toronto Maple Leafs; 3. Winnipeg Jets; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Calgary Flames; 6. Nashville Predators; 7. Buffalo Sabres; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Colorado Avalanche; 10. Boston Bruins; 11. Vegas Golden Knights; 12. Anaheim Ducks; 13. Columbus Blue Jackets; 14. Montreal Canadiens; 15. Edmonton Oilers; 16. Pittsburgh Penguins
TIM CAMPBELL
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Toronto Maple Leafs; 3. Winnipeg Jets; 4. Nashville Predators; 5. Calgary Flames; 6. Buffalo Sabres; 7. Washington Capitals; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Colorado Avalanche; 10. Columbus Blue Jackets; 11. Boston Bruins; 12. Pittsburgh Penguins; 13. Anaheim Ducks; 14. Montreal Canadiens; 15. Vegas Golden Knights; 16. Dallas Stars
BRIAN COMPTON
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Toronto Maple Leafs; 3. Winnipeg Jets; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Calgary Flames; 6. Buffalo Sabres; 7. Columbus Blue Jackets; 8. Nashville Predators; 9. San Jose Sharks; 10. Vegas Golden Knights; 11. Colorado Avalanche; 12. Boston Bruins; 13. Pittsburgh Penguins; 14. New York Islanders; 15. Montreal Canadiens; 16. Anaheim Ducks
NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Toronto Maple Leafs; 3. Winnipeg Jets; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Nashville Predators; 6. Calgary Flames; 7. Buffalo Sabres; 8. Columbus Blue Jackets; 9. Boston Bruins; 10. Colorado Avalanche; 11. Pittsburgh Penguins; 12. San Jose Sharks; 13. Montreal Canadiens; 14. New York Islanders; 15. Anaheim Ducks; 16. Vegas Golden Knights
TOM GULITTI
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Toronto Maple Leafs; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Calgary Flames; 6. Nashville Predators; 7. San Jose Sharks; 8. Columbus Blue Jackets; 9. Buffalo Sabres; 10. Boston Bruins; 11. Colorado Avalanche; 12. Pittsburgh Penguins; 13. Anaheim Ducks; 14. New York Islanders; 15. Montreal Canadiens; 16. Vegas Golden Knights
ADAM KIMELMAN
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Nashville Predators; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Toronto Maple Leafs; 6. Calgary Flames; 7. San Jose Sharks; 8. Buffalo Sabres; 9. Columbus Blue Jackets; 10. Colorado Avalanche; 11. Vegas Golden Knights; 12. Boston Bruins; 13. Edmonton Oilers; 14. Dallas Stars; 15. Anaheim Ducks; 16. Montreal Canadiens
ROBERT LAFLAMME
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Nashville Predators; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. Washington Capitals; 6. Buffalo Sabres; 7. Calgary Flames; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Colorado Avalanche; 10. Boston Bruins; 11. Anaheim Ducks; 12. Columbus Blue Jackets; 13. Vegas Golden Knights; 14. Pittsburgh Penguins; 15. Montreal Canadiens; 16. Edmonton Oilers
MIKE G. MORREALE
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Toronto Maple Leafs; 4. Nashville Predators; 5. San Jose Sharks; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. Buffalo Sabres; 8. Columbus Blue Jackets; 9. Boston Bruins; 10. Calgary Flames; 11. Colorado Avalanche; 12. Dallas Stars; 13. Pittsburgh Penguins; 14. Anaheim Ducks; 15. Minnesota Wild; 16. Vegas Golden Knights
TRACEY MYERS
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Toronto Maple Leafs; 3. Winnipeg Jets; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Buffalo Sabres; 6. Nashville Predators; 7. Calgary Flames; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Columbus Blue Jackets; 10. Boston Bruins; 11. Anaheim Ducks; 12. Colorado Avalanche; 13. Vegas Golden Knights; 14. Montreal Canadiens; 15. Pittsburgh Penguins; 16. New York Islanders
BILL PRICE
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Toronto Maple Leafs; 3. Winnipeg Jets; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Nashville Predators; 6. Buffalo Sabres; 7. Calgary Flames; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Colorado Avalanche; 10. Columbus Blue Jackets; 11. Boston Bruins; 12. Vegas Golden Knights; 13. Montreal Canadiens; 14. Pittsburgh Penguins; 15. Edmonton Oilers; 16. Anaheim Ducks
SHAWN P. ROARKE
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Nashville Predators; 5. Toronto Maple Leafs; 6. Calgary Flames; 7. Boston Bruins; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Vegas Golden Knights; 10. Pittsburgh Penguins; 11. Anaheim Ducks; 12. Columbus Blue Jackets; 13. Buffalo Sabres; 14. Colorado Avalanche; 15. Montreal Canadiens; 16. Dallas Stars
DAN ROSEN
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. Calgary Flames; 6. Nashville Predators; 7. Columbus Blue Jackets; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Boston Bruins; 10. Buffalo Sabres; 11. Colorado Avalanche; 12. Pittsburgh Penguins; 13. Montreal Canadiens; 14. Vegas Golden Knights; 15. New York Islanders; 16. Anaheim Ducks
MIKE ZEISBERGER
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Toronto Maple Leafs; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Nashville Predators; 6. Calgary Flames; 7. Buffalo Sabres; 8. Boston Bruins; 9. Columbus Blue Jackets; 10. San Jose Sharks; 11. Colorado Avalanche; 12. Montreal Canadiens; 13. Anaheim Ducks; 14. Vegas Golden Knights; 15. Pittsburgh Penguins; 16. New York Islanders