Super 16: Sharks return to top 10

Three Pacific Division teams are in the top 10 of NHL.com Super 16 power rankings for the first time since Oct. 19. That one of those teams isn't the Los Angeles Kings might be the biggest surprise.
The Vegas Golden Knights stayed at No. 2, behind the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are No. 1 for a 14th consecutive week. The San Jose Sharks moved into the top 10, at No. 9, for the first time since Nov. 16, and the Calgary Flames are No. 10, their highest ranking since Nov. 22.

The Kings, who have lost four in a row, dropped to No. 12. It's the first time they're not in the top 10 since they weren't ranked in the preseason Super 16, which came out Oct. 4.
To create the weekly rankings, each of the participating staff members puts together his or her version of what they think the Super 16 should look like. Those are submitted and a point total is assigned to each.
The team picked first (the Lightning by all 14 staff members this week) is given 16 points, second gets 15, third gets 14, and so on down to No. 16, which gets one point each.

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (31-10-3)

Total points: 224Last week: No. 1
Hit: Forward Ondrej Palat has a three-game point streak (four assists). He's contributing in many areas even though he hasn't scored in 21 games since Nov. 25.
Miss: Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, arguably the leading candidate for the Vezina Trophy, has allowed 15 goals in his past three games.

2. Vegas Golden Knights (29-11-3)

Total points: 192Last week: No. 2
Hit:The Golden Knights are 23-for-23 on the penalty kill in 10 games since they allowed two power-play goals in a 4-3 win against the Lightning on Dec. 19.
Miss: Vegas is 1-for-27 on the power play in those 10 games. It was 4-for-5 against Tampa Bay.

3. Nashville Predators (26-11-6)

Total points: 191Last week: No. 4
Hit:Goalie Juuse Saros has not allowed a goal in four of his six games since Dec. 14, including three 60-minute shutouts and 26 saves in 53 minutes in relief of Pekka Rinne in a 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec. 21.
Miss:Center Nick Bonino has no goals and one assist in 14 games since Dec. 13.

4. Washington Capitals (28-14-3)

Total points: 186Last week: No. 3
Hit:ForwardAlex Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 28 goals, is two assists from 500 in his NHL career. He will become the second player in Capitals history to get 500 assists (Nicklas Backstrom has 568) and will join Jaromir Jagr, Marian Hossa and Patrick Marleau as the active players with at least 500 goals and 500 assists.
Miss:Part of the reason Washington's power play is 14th in the NHL at 19.6 percent instead of in the top five, where it finished in each of the past five seasons, is the Capitals have five goals from players who regularly are on their second unit, including three from forward Brett Connolly, who scored two of them when he was filling in for forward T.J. Oshie on the first unit.

5. Winnipeg Jets (26-13-7)

Total points: 167Last week: No. 4
Hit: Forward Blake Wheeler leads Central Division players with 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in 13 games against those teams.
Miss: Forward Adam Lowry, one of Winnipeg's top penalty killers, has missed four games and is on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.

6. Boston Bruins (25-10-8)

Total points: 164Last week: No. 7
Hit:The Bruins are plus-39 in goal differential (92-53), including plus-17 in the third period (32-15), in 26 games since Nov. 16. They were minus-8 (46-54) in their first 17 games.
Miss: Boston plays three of its next four games, and 11 of its next 17, on the road, where it is 9-1-2 since a 2-1 win at Los Angeles on Nov. 16.

7. St. Louis Blues (27-17-3)

Total points: 125Last week: No. 8
Hit: Forward Alexander Steen has three goals in his past five games after scoring four in his first 36.
Miss:The Blues are 2-for-32 on the power play in 13 games since Dec. 17. They're 5-7-1 in those games.

8. New Jersey Devils (23-12-8)

Total points: 97Last week: No. 11
Hit: The Devils have won 11 road games (11-6-5). They won 12 last season (12-23-6).
Miss: Rookie center Nico Hischier doesn't have a power-play goal despite averaging 2:12 of ice time per game with the man-advantage.

9. San Jose Sharks (24-13-6)

Total points: 87Last week: No. 14
Hit:The Sharks have scored a power-play goal in 14 of 17 games since Dec. 7, going 20-for-64 (31.3 percent) in that span. They are fifth in the NHL on the power play at 23.0 percent.
Miss:Defenseman Paul Martin, a veteran of 859 NHL games, was assigned to San Jose of the American Hockey League on Tuesday. Martin has played in three NHL games this season because of various injuries.

10. Calgary Flames (25-16-4)

Total points: 85Last week: No. 16
Hit: The Flames are 5-for-20 on the power play, 22-for-24 on the penalty kill, and have outscored the opposition 27-14 during their seven-game winning streak, the longest active streak in the NHL. They've won their past four games on the road.
Miss: Nothing right now.

11. Dallas Stars (26-17-3)

Total points: 79Last week: No. 13
Hit:The Stars are 7-3-1 on the road since Nov. 28. They were 3-8-1 in their first 12 road games.
Miss: Defenseman Marc Methot has missed four games with a knee injury. He returned to play Jan. 4 after missing 26 games from Nov. 10-Jan. 2 following knee surgery. He has played in 16 games this season.

12. Los Angeles Kings (24-15-5)

Total points: 73Last week: No. 6
Hit:Center Jeff Carter
has resumed skating on his own
. Carter has been out since Oct. 18, when he lacerated an ankle tendon in a 5-1 win against the Canadiens.
Miss:The Kings have lost four straight games and have allowed four goals in each game.

13. Columbus Blue Jackets (25-18-3)

Total points: 70Last week: No. 9
Hit:Defenseman Seth Jones has a four-game point streak (one goal, five assists) and 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in 20 games since Dec. 2.
Miss:Forward Josh Anderson, who is fourth on the Blue Jackets with 24 points (14 goals, 10 assists) in 44 games, has no points in his past seven games and three in 12 (one goal, two assists) since Dec. 20.

14. Toronto Maple Leafs (25-17-4)

Total points: 59Last week: No. 10
Hit:The Maple Leafs are 19-for-20 on the penalty kill in their past seven games.
Miss:They have lost three in a row and are 2-3-3 since Dec. 29. They haven't won in regulation since Dec. 28 and haven't scored in overtime since Nov. 16.

15. Pittsburgh Penguins (24-20-3)

Total points: 48Last week: NR
Hit:Penguins captain Sidney Crosby needs one goal to reach 400 for his NHL career entering the game against the Kings on Thursday. Mario Lemieux (690 goals) and Jaromir Jagr (439) are the other players who have scored 400 goals for the Penguins.
Miss:Goalie Matt Murray is not with the Penguins after his father, James Murray, died Tuesday.

16. Colorado Avalanche (24-16-3)

Total points: 20Last week: NR
Hit:During a seven-game winning streak, forward Nathan MacKinnon has 14 points (five goals, nine assists), goalies Jonathan Bernier and Semyon Varlamov have combined for a .957 save percentage (228 saves on 238 shots), and the Avalanche are 8-for-24 on the power play (33.3 percent).
Miss:Varlamov has missed four games with a lower-body injury.

Dropped out:New York Rangers (No. 12), Chicago Blackhawks (No. 15)
Others receiving points:New York Rangers 17, Minnesota Wild 9, Anaheim Ducks 6, New York Islanders 3, Chicago Blackhawks 2

HERE'S HOW WE RANKED 'EM

AMALIE BENJAMIN
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Vegas Golden Knights; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Winnipeg Jets; 5. Nashville Predators; 6. Boston Bruins; 7. St. Louis Blues; 8. Los Angeles Kings; 9. New Jersey Devils; 10. Dallas Stars; 11. San Jose Sharks; 12. Columbus Blue Jackets; 13. Toronto Maple Leafs; 14. Calgary Flames; 15. Minnesota Wild; 16. Colorado Avalanche
TIM CAMPBELL
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Nashville Predators; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Winnipeg Jets; 5. Los Angeles Kings; 6. St. Louis Blues; 7. Boston Bruins; 8. Columbus Blue Jackets; 9. New Jersey Devils; 10. Vegas Golden Knights; 11. Dallas Stars; 12. Calgary Flames; 13. New York Rangers; 14. Toronto Maple Leafs; 15. San Jose Sharks; 16. Colorado Avalanche
BRIAN COMPTON
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Vegas Golden Knights; 3. Nashville Predators; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Boston Bruins; 6. Calgary Flames; 7. Winnipeg Jets; 8. St. Louis Blues; 9. San Jose Sharks; 10. Dallas Stars; 11. Toronto Maple Leafs; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. New Jersey Devils; 14. Pittsburgh Penguins; 15. Los Angeles Kings; 16. Columbus Blue Jackets
NICK COTSONIKA
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Vegas Golden Knights; 3. Nashville Predators; 4. Boston Bruins; 5. Washington Capitals; 6. Winnipeg Jets; 7. New Jersey Devils; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. St. Louis Blues; 10. Los Angeles Kings; 11. Calgary Flames; 12. Dallas Stars; 13. Colorado Avalanche; 14. Toronto Maple Leafs; 15. Minnesota Wild; 16. Columbus Blue Jackets
LISA DILLMAN
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Nashville Predators; 3. Vegas Golden Knights; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Winnipeg Jets; 6. Boston Bruins; 7. St. Louis Blues; 8. New Jersey Devils; 9. Columbus Blue Jackets; 10. Toronto Maple Leafs; 11. Calgary Flames; 12. Dallas Stars; 13. Pittsburgh Penguins; 14. San Jose Sharks; 15. Colorado Avalanche; 16. Los Angeles Kings
TOM GULITTI
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Vegas Golden Knights; 3. Nashville Predators; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Winnipeg Jets; 6. Boston Bruins; 7. St. Louis Blues; 8. Calgary Flames; 9. New Jersey Devils; 10. Dallas Stars; 11. Columbus Blue Jackets; 12. Toronto Maple Leafs; 13. Pittsburgh Penguins; 14. San Jose Sharks; 15. Los Angeles Kings; 16. New York Rangers
ADAM KIMELMAN
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Nashville Predators; 4. Boston Bruins; 5. Vegas Golden Knights; 6. Winnipeg Jets; 7. Calgary Flames; 8. Pittsburgh Penguins; 9. St. Louis Blues; 10. San Jose Sharks; 11. Toronto Maple Leafs; 12. Columbus Blue Jackets; 13. Los Angeles Kings; 14. Dallas Stars; 15. New York Rangers; 16. New Jersey Devils
ROBERT LAFLAMME
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Vegas Golden Knights; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Nashville Predators; 5. Winnipeg Jets; 6. St. Louis Blues; 7. Boston Bruins; 8. Los Angeles Kings; 9. Columbus Blue Jackets; 10. Dallas Stars; 11. New Jersey Devils; 12. San Jose Sharks; 13. Toronto Maple Leafs; 14. Pittsburgh Penguins; 15. Calgary Flames; 16. New York Rangers
MIKE G. MORREALE
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Vegas Golden Knights; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Nashville Predators; 5. Winnipeg Jets; 6. Columbus Blue Jackets; 7. St. Louis Blues; 8. Boston Bruins; 9. Toronto Maple Leafs; 10. Calgary Flames; 11. Los Angeles Kings; 12. Dallas Stars; 13. San Jose Sharks; 14. Pittsburgh Penguins; 15. New Jersey Devils; 16. New York Rangers
TRACEY MYERS
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Vegas Golden Knights; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Nashville Predators; 5. Boston Bruins; 6. Winnipeg Jets; 7. New Jersey Devils; 8. Los Angeles Kings; 9. St. Louis Blues; 10. Dallas Stars; 11. New York Rangers; 12. San Jose Sharks; 13. Columbus Blue Jackets; 14. Calgary Flames; 15. Colorado Avalanche; 16. New York Islanders
BILL PRICE
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. Vegas Golden Knights; 4. Winnipeg Jets; 5. Washington Capitals; 6. Nashville Predators; 7. San Jose Sharks; 8. Calgary Flames; 9. New Jersey Devils; 10. Toronto Maple Leafs; 11. St. Louis Blues; 12. Pittsburgh Penguins; 13. Columbus Blue Jackets; 14. Los Angeles Kings; 15. New York Islanders; 16. Colorado Avalanche
SHAWN ROARKE
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Nashville Predators; 3. Winnipeg Jets; 4. Boston Bruins; 5. Vegas Golden Knights; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. St. Louis Blues; 8. New Jersey Devils; 9. San Jose Sharks; 10. Los Angeles Kings; 11. Anaheim Ducks; 12. Pittsburgh Penguins; 13. Columbus Blue Jackets; 14. Dallas Stars; 15. New York Rangers; 16. Colorado Avalanche
DAN ROSEN
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Nashville Predators; 4. Vegas Golden Knights; 5. Winnipeg Jets; 6. Boston Bruins; 7. Dallas Stars; 8. Pittsburgh Penguins; 9. Calgary Flames; 10. San Jose Sharks; 11. St. Louis Blues; 12. New Jersey Devils; 13. Colorado Avalanche; 14. Columbus Blue Jackets; 15. Los Angeles Kings; 16. Toronto Maple Leafs
MIKE ZEISBERGER
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Vegas Golden Knights; 3. Nashville Predators; 4. Boston Bruins; 5. Washington Capitals; 6. Winnipeg Jets; 7. San Jose Sharks; 8. New Jersey Devils; 9. St. Louis Blues; 10. Dallas Stars; 11. Calgary Flames; 12. Toronto Maple Leafs; 13. Colorado Avalanche; 14. Pittsburgh Penguins; 15. Chicago Blackhawks; 16. Columbus Blue Jackets