Super 16: Penguins surge in rankings

The Pittsburgh Penguins were the big upward movers in the NHL.com Super 16 this week, climbing five spots to No. 6 after going 3-0-1 on a four-game road trip that ended Monday. That surge comes one week after they fell four spots in the power rankings.

The Penguins finished their trip with wins against the Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars and New York Rangers. Pittsburgh is 10-2-3 since Feb. 26 and tied for second in the Metropolitan Division with the New York Islanders.
The top three teams stayed the same, but the Washington Capitals jumped one spot to No. 4. The San Jose Sharks took the biggest hit, moving down three spots to No. 7. The Vegas Golden Knights dropped two spots to No. 9 after rising four spots to No. 7 last week.
The same 16 teams were ranked for a fourth straight week.
To create the power rankings, each of the 13 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 is given 16 points, second gets 15, third gets 14 and so on down to No. 16, which gets one point.
Here is the latest Super 16:

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (59-14-4)

Total points: 208
Last week: No. 1
Hit: The Lightning need three wins in their final five games to tie the NHL record for most in a season (62), held by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings. If they win all five games, they will tie the NHL record for most points in a season (132), held by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens.
Miss: Defensemen Dan Girardi and Anton Stralman remain out of the lineup, each with a lower-body injury. Girardi has missed nine games; Stralman has missed 10.

2. Boston Bruins (47-21-9)

Total points: 191
Last week: No. 2
Hit: Each player on Boston's top line has scored at least 30 goals for a second straight season.David Pastrnak has 36, Brad Marchand has 34, and Patrice Bergeron has 32.
Miss:Sean Kuraly is out for at least the rest of the regular season after the forward had surgery to repair a broken right hand.

3. Calgary Flames (47-23-7)

Total points: 182
Last week: No. 3
Hit: The Flames lead the NHL with 110 third-period goals. That's the most goals scored in the third period since the Washington Capitals had 112 during the 2009-10 season. The only other team to score at least 109 goals in the third period since 2000 was the 2000-01 Pittsburgh Penguins, who finished with 109.
Miss: Calgary is 0-for-20 on the power play in eight games since March 12.

4. Washington Capitals (45-24-8)

Total points: 170
Last week: No. 5
Hit:Alex Ovechkin needs one goal to reach 50 in a season for the eighth time in the forward's NHL career, one short of the record held by Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky. Evgeny Kuznetsov needs two assists to reach 50 in a season for the third time in the center's past four seasons.
Miss: The Capitals are 2-for-21 on the power play (9.5 percent) in their past seven games.

5. Winnipeg Jets (45-27-4)

Total points: 135
Last week: No. 6
Hit: Kevin Hayes has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past two games, including four points (one goal, three assists) in a 5-0 win against the Nashville Predators on Saturday. The center had six points (three goals, three assists) in his first 12 games after the Jets acquired him in a trade with the New York Rangers on Feb. 25.
Miss: The Jets are 12-11-0 against the Central Division, including 3-6-0 in games against divisional opponents since Jan. 10. The three wins were against Nashville.

6. Pittsburgh Penguins (42-24-11)

Total points: 133
Last week: No. 11
Hit:Matt Murray is 8-2-2 with a .939 save percentage and 2.06 goals-against average in 12 starts since March 2.
Miss: Kris Letang is again dealing with an upper-body injury; it kept the defenseman out of a 5-2 win at the New York Rangers on Monday. Letang missed 11 games with an upper-body injury from Feb. 26-March 17.

7. San Jose Sharks (43-24-9)

Total points: 125
Last week: No. 4
Hit: The Sharks have set their record for most goals in a season with 268 through 76 games. Their previous record was 265, set in 2005-06.
Miss:Martin Jones has allowed at least three goals in each of his past five starts. He has an .871 save percentage (16 goals on 124 shots) during that span.

8. Toronto Maple Leafs (45-25-7)

Total points: 108
Last week: No. 8
Hit:John Tavares has 12 goals in 18 games since Feb. 21. The center has an NHL career-high 45 goals this season, tying him with Darryl Sittler (1977-78) for 10th in a single season in Maple Leafs history.
Miss: Toronto has allowed an NHL-high 39 goals in nine games since March 11.

9. Vegas Golden Knights (42-29-6)

Total points: 106
Last week: No. 7
Hit: The top line of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith has 45 points (18 goals, 27 assists) in 14 games since Feb. 26. Smith has 17 points (nine goals, eight assists). Marchessault (four goals, 10 assists) and Karlsson (five goals, nine assists) each has 14.
Miss: Marc-Andre Fleury, who is third in the NHL among goalies with 59 starts, has missed six games with a lower-body injury.

10. Nashville Predators (43-28-6)

Total points: 99
Last week: No. 10
Hit: The Predators are 16-for-16 on the penalty kill in their past seven games.
Miss: They have scored two goals in their past three games.

11. New York Islanders (44-26-7)

Total points: 87
Last week: No. 9
Hit: The Islanders have gotten at least one point from a defenseman on five of their past six goals. New York is 23rd in the NHL this season in points from defensemen with 136 (29 goals, 107 assists).
Miss: The Islanders have been shut out in three of their past five games and are 1-for-37 on the power play in 17 games since Feb. 23.

12. St. Louis Blues (41-27-8)

Total points: 73
Last week: No. 13
Hit: The Blues have won four in a row and are 5-0-1 in their past six games, including a 4-3 win against the Lightning, a 3-1 win against the Golden Knights, and a 5-1 win against the Penguins.
Miss: Nothing.

13. Carolina Hurricanes (42-27-7)

Total points: 66
Last week: No. 12
Hit:Andrei Svechnikov is tied for second among NHL rookies with 20 goals, all at even strength. The forward leads rookies in even-strength goals and is second among rookies in Hurricanes history behind Jeff Skinner's 25 in 2010-11.
Miss: The Hurricanes are 2-for-29 on the power play (6.9 percent) in 13 games in March and 0-for-14 in their past eight games. They did not have a power-play opportunity during a 4-1 loss to the Capitals on Tuesday.

14. Dallas Stars (40-31-6)

Total points: 32
Last week: No. 15
Hit:Tyler Seguin has nine points (four goals, five assists) in a five-game point streak.
Miss: The Stars are 1-4-1 at home since March 9.

15. Montreal Canadiens (41-28-8)

Total points: 28
Last week: No. 16
Hit: The Canadiens are 4-0-1 in their past five games and have scored at least three goals in four of them, including seven against the Buffalo Sabres on March 23 and six against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. Forward Tomas Tatar has seven points (three goals, four assists) in those five games.
Miss:Paul Byron did not make the trip for the game at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. The forward stayed in Montreal to be evaluated for an upper-body injury sustained during a 6-1 win against the Panthers.

16. Columbus Blue Jackets (42-30-4)

Total points: 19
Last week: No. 14
Hit:Sergei Bobrovsky has back-to-back shutout wins, putting the Blue Jackets into position to catch the Canadiens for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference if they defeat the Canadiens in regulation on Thursday. If that happens, each team would have 90 points, but Columbus would have three more regulation/overtime wins than Montreal and one game in hand.
Miss: Zach Werenski sustained an undisclosed injury in a 4-0 win against the Islanders on Tuesday. The defenseman's status will be updated after the morning skate Thursday.

Others receiving points: Colorado Avalanche 4, Arizona Coyotes 2
Dropped out: None

HERE'S HOW WE RANKED 'EM

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