Super 16: Lightning hold off Blues for another week

The Tampa Bay Lightning kept a lock on the top spot in NHL.com's Super 16 power rankings for the fourth consecutive week, but it was closer this week than it was in the previous three.

The St. Louis Blues stayed at No. 2 for the second straight week, finishing nine points behind the Lightning, who outpolled the competition by 23 points three weeks ago, 32 points two weeks ago, and 14 points last week.
Tampa Bay received 10 votes as the No. 1 team. St. Louis received the other three plus eight No. 2 votes and three No. 3 votes.
The Los Angeles Kings remained No. 3 for the second straight week.
The Winnipeg Jets moved into the top five at No. 5 in their second week in the Super 16 this season. The Nashville Predators also returned, at No. 8, after falling out last week.
To create the power 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 is given 16 points, second gets 15, third gets 14 and so on down to No. 16, which gets one point.
Check out how the rankings came together once the math was finished this week, and be sure to stay for the information about each team.

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (12-2-2)

Total points: 205Last week: No. 1
Hit: The Lightning are 10-1-2 against Eastern Conference opponents this season. The regulation loss was in their second game of the season, 5-4 at the Florida Panthers on Oct. 7.
Miss: Overall, they look good on the penalty kill, but breaking it down shows they're 20th in the NHL on the PK at home (78.8 percent; 26-for-33). They did kill 6-of-6 power plays while gaining three out of four points against the New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets last week.

2. St. Louis Blues (12-3-1)

Total points: 196Last week: No. 2
Hit: Twelve wins are the most the Blues have had in the first 16 games of a season in their history, and 25 points ties for the most they've had in the first 16 games.
Miss: The one knock on the Blues remains the power play, which is 4-for-33 in the past 11 games but has scored twice in the past two games. They're 22nd in the NHL at 16.7 percent.

3. Los Angeles Kings (11-2-2)

Total points: 184Last week: No. 3
Hit: The Kings have a League-best plus-13 goal differential in the third period (20-7) and are first on the penalty kill (92.6 percent; 50-for-54).
Miss: They have allowed at least three goals in each of the past four games after allowing two or fewer in eight of their first 11.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins (9-6-2)

Total points: 147Last week: No. 6
Hit: Right wing Phil Kessel leads the Penguins with 19 points (five goals, 14 assists), including one goal and two assists in a 3-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday.
Miss: Center Sidney Crosby is in a rare slump with three assists in the past nine games. He had two assists and was minus-6 on the recently completed five-game road trip, when the Penguins went 1-3-1.

5. Winnipeg Jets (8-3-3)

Total points: 141Last week: No. 12
Hit: Forward Blake Wheeler has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in his past five games, including four points in two of them and three straight multipoint games. He had four assists in a 4-1 win at the Dallas Stars on Monday. The Jets are 6-for-9 on the power play in their past three games.
Miss: The Jets have been outscored 17-7 in the second period.

6. Columbus Blue Jackets (9-6-1)

Total points: 140Last week: No. 4
Hit: The Blue Jackets are second in the NHL in 5-on-5 goals (41), four fewer than the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Miss: The power play, which helped carry them through the first half of last season, has been a problem. They are last in the NHL at 10.4 percent (5-for-48). Columbus was first through 16 games last season (14-for-44, 31.8 percent).

7. New Jersey Devils (9-4-1)

Total points: 122Last week: No. 5
Hit: Forward Taylor Hall has 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 14 games. He has had at least one point in 10 of their 14 games.
Miss: The Devils have been outshot in seven straight games by an average of 13.3 per game (40.4-27.1). They were outshot 40-22, their worst margin of the season, in a 3-1 home loss to the Blues on Tuesday.

8. Nashville Predators (8-5-2)

Total points: 106Last week: NR
Hit: The Predators have won three consecutive games and have scored at least three goals in each after failing to score more than two goals in any of their previous six. Forward Viktor Arvidsson has a goal in three straight games after scoring three in the first 12.
Miss: Forward Filip Forsberg has one goal in the past six games after scoring seven in the first nine.

9. Toronto Maple Leafs (10-7-0)

Total points: 85Last week: No. 8
Hit: The Maple Leafs are 3-0-0 in games that extend into overtime.
Miss: Center Auston Matthews (upper body) was scratched against the Wild. Entering the 4-2 win, the Maple Leafs had lost six of nine (3-6-0) and allowed at least five goals in four of those.

10. San Jose Sharks (8-6-0)

Total points: 81Last week: No. 14
Hit: The Sharks have started to get some secondary scoring. Forward Joonas Donskoi has scored in his first three games this month;
Mikkel Boedker
and Joel Ward, and defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, scored in the first two.
Miss: Forward Tomas Hertl has no goals in his past nine games and two this season. He did have seven shots on goal in a 2-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday and is fourth on the Sharks with 37 shots.

11. New York Islanders (8-5-2)

Total points: 70Last week: No. 7
Hit: Right wing Jordan Eberle is heating up after a slow start with five goals in the past five games. He had none in the first 10. Center Mathew Barzal has a six-game point streak (two goals, nine assists), including five assists in a 6-4 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday.
Miss: Forward Jason Chimera has no points in the past 12 games.

12. Ottawa Senators (6-3-5)

Total points: 67Last week: No. 10
Hit: Forward Mark Stone has scored at least one goal in four of the past five games and five of the past seven. Defenseman Erik Karlsson has a five-game point streak (one goal, six assists) and has at least one in seven of his nine games.
Miss: Ottawa's penalty kill has allowed six goals in the past four games (8-for-14), including three in a 5-4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.

13. Vegas Golden Knights (9-5-1)

Total points: 65Last week: No. 9
Hit: Forward Erik Haula has a three-game point streak (three goals, two assists). Forward David Perron also has a three-game streak (four assists).
Miss: They went 1-4-1 on their recently completed six-game road trip despite outshooting their opponent in five of the games.

14. Vancouver Canucks (8-5-2)

Total points: 46Last week: No. 15
Hit: The Canucks' line of Sven Baertschi, Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser has combined for 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in the past eight games. Horvat has 10 points (three goals, seven assists), Boeser has nine (three goals, six assists), and Baertschi has eight (four goals, four assists).
Miss: Center Brandon Sutter hasn't scored since the season opener, and center Henrik Sedin's goal in a 5-3 win against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday was his first this season.

15. Washington Capitals (8-7-1)

Total points: 30Last week: NR
Hit: Defenseman Matt Niskanen (left hand) has been upgraded to day to day from week to week. He could practice Thursday. Niskanen has missed 11 games.
Miss: The Capitals are 0-4-0 and have been outscored 17-5 when playing the second game of a back-to-back set. They have four more sets before the calendar flips to 2018.

16. Dallas Stars (8-7-0)

Total points: 19Last week: No. 11
Hit: The Stars are third in the NHL on the penalty kill at home (92.8 percent, 26-for-28) and fourth overall at 86.5 percent (45-for-52).
Miss: Forward Jason Spezza has no goals and five assists in 15 games this season.
Dropped out: Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks
Others receiving points: Chicago Blackhawks, 18; Calgary Flames, 12; Anaheim Ducks, 10; Boston Bruins, 7; New York Rangers, 7; Philadelphia Flyers, 4; Montreal Canadiens, 2; Detroit Red Wings, 2; Colorado Avalanche, 2

HERE'S HOW WE RANKED 'EM

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