Super 16: Canadiens No. 1 again

The Montreal Canadiens retained their spot atop the NHL.com Super 16 power rankings this week with the same amount of points they had last week.
The rankings are calculated by a points-based system based on the votes of 12 NHL.com staff members. Point values are assigned to each ranking. The point values are assigned as follows: 16 points for a No. 1 ranking, down to one point for a No. 16 ranking.

Montreal, which received 184 points, was ranked first by seven of the 12 staff members and second by four. Only Adam Kimelman had the Canadiens lower than second, ranking them fifth in his Super 16.

Montreal has been in the top three of each of the first six Super 16s this season.
Fourteen of the 16 teams that were ranked last week are again ranked this week, with the Ottawa Senators and Nashville Predators joining the Super 16. The Boston Bruins barely hung on, dropping from No. 8 last week to No. 16 this week.
For the first time this season, the Toronto Maple Leafs received points, getting ranked No. 16 by Bill Price and Nick Cotsonika.
Here's where they all landed once the math was finished:

1. Montreal Canadiens (16-5-2)

Total points: 184
Last week: No. 1
Hit: Brendan Gallagher has a point in three straight games (one goal, two assists) after he had one point, an assist, in his previous 10 games.
Miss: The Canadiens have scored two goals or fewer in five of their past six games.

2. Chicago Blackhawks (15-6-3)

Total points: 175
Last week: No. 3
Hit:The Blackhawks are 2-0-1 without Jonathan Toews, who has missed the past three games with a concussion.
Miss: They have earned five out of six points without Toews despite winning 39 percent of faceoffs (78 of 199) in his absence.

3. New York Rangers (16-7-1)

Total points: 174
Last week: No. 2
Hit: Rick Nash, with 10 goals in 24 games, is on pace for 34 goals if he plays in 82 games. He scored 15 goals in 60 games last season.
Miss: Defenseman Kevin Klein has struggled in his own end and his ice time has taken a hit. He has played fewer than 16 minutes in three straight games, including a season-low 13:12 against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday. He played more than 16 minutes in 17 of his first 18 games, including 20 or more minutes in five.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins (13-7-3)

Total points: 157
Last week: No. 4
Hit:Patric Hornqvist had an assist, two shots on goal and three hits in 17:10 in a 5-3 loss to the New York Islanders on Wednesday after missing six straight games with a concussion. The Penguins were 2-for-20 on the power play without him and did not score against New York in three chances.
Miss:Marc-Andre Fleury has allowed 10 goals on 71 shots in his past two starts and at least three goals in six of his past seven starts. He has a .892 save percentage in those seven starts.

5. Washington Capitals (13-6-2)

Total points: 142
Last week: No. 5
Hit:Nicklas Backstrom has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in the past seven games.
Miss: Capitals defensemen have scored three goals this season (Karl Alzner, two; Dmitry Orlov, one).

6. St. Louis Blues (13-7-3)

Total points: 135
Last week: No. 7
Hit: The Blues have 28 goals in their past eight games after scoring two goals or fewer in 10 of their previous 12 games.
Miss:They have allowed 10 goals in the past three games.

7. San Jose Sharks (14-9-1)

Total points: 116
Last week:No. 10
Hit: The first period has been quite kind to the Sharks. They have outscored the opposition 21-11 and outshot them 257-180.
Miss: The Sharks are 3-for-35 on the power play (8.6 percent) away from SAP Center. Only two teams are worse on their road power play.

8. Columbus Blue Jackets (12-5-4)

Total points:96
Last week: No. 9
Hit:The Blue Jackets have scored the first goal in 15 of their 21 games and are 10-2-3 in those games. Only the Canadiens, Capitals and Blackhawks have scored first in as many or more games.
Miss: Not a miss, per se, but the Blue Jackets have a challenge ahead of them: Three of their next four games and six of eight are on the road. They are 8-3-1 at home and 4-2-3 on the road.

9. Tampa Bay Lightning (13-10-1)

Total points: 95
Last week: No. 6
Hit: Nikita Kucherov had 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) in November, more than any other player in the Eastern Conference and tied for second overall behind Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid.
Miss: The loss of Steven Stamkos is starting to hurt the offense. The Lightning have lost four of their past five games and have been limited to one goal in three of the games. Stamkos has missed seven in a row and is out at least another three-and-a- half months following knee surgery.

10. Anaheim Ducks (11-8-4)

Total points: 73
Last week: No. 11
Hit: Ryan Kesler had 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 14 games and won 59.9 percent of his faceoffs in November.
Miss:Corey Perry did not score a goal in November (he did have 12 assists).

11. Ottawa Senators (14-8-1)

Total points:72
Last week: NR
Hit:The Senators have been able to rebound from slow starts, going 9-7-1 in games they allowed the first goal.
Miss:No team has allowed the first goal in more games than the Senators.

12. Nashville Predators (11-8-3)

Total points:66
Last week: NR
Hit: Pekka Rinne went 9-1-2 with a 1.49 goals-against average and .949 save percentage in 12 starts in November. It's quite a turnaround after he went 1-4-1 with a 3.22 GAA and .906 save percentage in six starts in October.
Miss: Defenseman Ryan Ellis has missed three straight games with an upper-body injury.

13. Minnesota Wild (11-8-3)

Total points: 47
Last week:No. 16
Hit: Jason Zucker has at least a point in four straight games (one goal, four assists).
Miss: Backup goalie Darcy Kuemper has allowed at least three goals in four of his five starts, including five in two of them.

14. Los Angeles Kings (12-10-1)

Total points: 45
Last week: No. 14
Hit: The Kings are 5-0 in games decided in overtime.
Miss:They are 26th in the League in home power play at 11.5 percent (3-for-26).

15. Edmonton Oilers (12-10-2)

Total points: 24
Last week: No. 12
Hit:McDavid's 19 points in November led the NHL.
Miss:After scoring three goals in the first four games, Jordan Eberle has four goals in the past 20 games and hasn't scored in 18 of them.

16. Boston Bruins (12-10-1)

Total points: 17
Last week: No. 8
Hit:Torey Krug has four assists in the past two games after he had five in the first 21.
Miss:The Bruins have lost four of their past five games (1-3-1) and have scored two or fewer goals in each of the losses.
Others receiving points: New Jersey Devils 12, Toronto Maple Leafs 2
Dropped out from last week:New Jersey Devils, Florida Panthers
HERE'S HOW WE RANKED 'EM
ARPON BASU
1. Montreal Canadiens; 2. New York Rangers; 3. Pittsburgh Penguins; 4. Chicago Blackhawks; 5. St. Louis Blues; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. San Jose Sharks; 8. Columbus Blue Jackets; 9. Nashville Predators; 10. Los Angeles Kings; 11. Tampa Bay Lightning; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Anaheim Ducks; 14. Minnesota Wild; 15. Boston Bruins; 16. Edmonton Oilers
AMALIE BENJAMIN
1. Montreal Canadiens; 2. New York Rangers; 3. Chicago Blackhawks; 4. St. Louis Blues; 5. Pittsburgh Penguins; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. San Jose Sharks; 8. Columbus Blue Jackets; 9. Tampa Bay Lightning; 10. Anaheim Ducks; 11. Ottawa Senators; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Boston Bruins; 14. Nashville Predators; 15. Los Angeles Kings; 16. Edmonton Oilers
TIM CAMPBELL
1. Montreal Canadiens; 2. Chicago Blackhawks; 3. New York Rangers; 4. Pittsburgh Penguins; 5. St. Louis Blues; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. San Jose Sharks; 8. Ottawa Senators; 9. Tampa Bay Lightning; 10. Columbus Blue Jackets; 11. Anaheim Ducks; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Nashville Predators; 14. Los Angeles Kings; 15. Edmonton Oilers; 16. New Jersey Devils
BRIAN COMPTON
1. New York Rangers; 2. Montreal Canadiens; 3. Chicago Blackhawks; 4. Pittsburgh Penguins; 5. Washington Capitals; 6. St. Louis Blues; 7. Columbus Blue Jackets; 8. Ottawa Senators; 9. San Jose Sharks; 10. Anaheim Ducks; 11. Tampa Bay Lightning; 12. Nashville Predators; 13. Los Angeles Kings; 14. Edmonton Oilers; 15. Minnesota Wild; 16. Boston Bruins
NICK COTSONIKA
1. Montreal Canadiens; 2. New York Rangers; 3. Chicago Blackhawks; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Pittsburgh Penguins; 6. Columbus Blue Jackets; 7. St. Louis Blues; 8. Ottawa Senators; 9. Nashville Predators; 10. San Jose Sharks; 11. Tampa Bay Lightning; 12. Los Angeles Kings; 13. Anaheim Ducks; 14. Minnesota Wild; 15. New Jersey Devils; 16. Toronto Maple Leafs
TOM GULITTI
1. Montreal Canadiens; 2. New York Rangers; 3. Chicago Blackhawks; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Pittsburgh Penguins; 6. St. Louis Blues; 7. Columbus Blue Jackets; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Tampa Bay Lightning; 10. Anaheim Ducks; 11. Ottawa Senators; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Los Angeles Kings; 14. Nashville Predators; 15. New Jersey Devils; 16. Edmonton Oilers
ADAM KIMELMAN
1. New York Rangers; 2. Chicago Blackhawks; 3. Pittsburgh Penguins; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Montreal Canadiens; 6. St. Louis Blues; 7. San Jose Sharks: 8. Tampa Bay Lightning; 9. Minnesota Wild; 10. Anaheim Ducks; 11. Edmonton Oilers; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Nashville Predators; 14. Columbus Blue Jackets; 15. New Jersey Devils; 16. Los Angeles Kings
ROBERT LAFLAMME
1. New York Rangers; 2. Montreal Canadiens; 3. Chicago Blackhawks; 4. Pittsburgh Penguins; 5. Washington Capitals; 6. St. Louis Blues; 7. Columbus Blue Jackets; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Tampa Bay Lightning; 10. Ottawa Senators; 11. Anaheim Ducks; 12. Edmonton Oilers; 13. Nashville Predators; 14. New Jersey Devils; 15. Minnesota Wild; 16. Los Angeles Kings
MIKE G. MORREALE
1. Chicago Blackhawks; 2. Montreal Canadiens; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Pittsburgh Penguins. 5. New York Rangers; 6. San Jose Sharks; 7. St. Louis Blues; 8. Tampa Bay Lightning; 9. Columbus Blue Jackets; 10. Anaheim Ducks; 11. Nashville Predators; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Los Angeles Kings; 14. Minnesota Wild; 15. Boston Bruins; 16. New Jersey Devils
BILL PRICE
1. Montreal Canadiens; 2. Chicago Blackhawks; 3. New York Rangers; 4. Pittsburgh Penguins; 5. St. Louis Blues; 6. San Jose Sharks; 7. Washington Capitals; 8. Nashville Predators; 9. Tampa Bay Lightning; 10. Anaheim Ducks; 11. Columbus Blue Jackets; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Minnesota Wild; 14. Edmonton Oilers; 15. Los Angeles Kings; 16. Toronto Maple Leafs
SHAWN ROARKE
1. Chicago Blackhawks; 2. Montreal Canadiens; 3. Pittsburgh Penguins; 4. New York Rangers; 5. St. Louis Blues; 6. Washington Capitals, 7. Tampa Bay Lightning; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Nashville Predators; 10. Boston Bruins; 11. Los Angeles Kings; 12. Columbus Blue Jackets; 13. Anaheim Ducks, 14. Ottawa Senators; 15. Minnesota Wild; 16. New Jersey Devils
DAN ROSEN
1. Montreal Canadiens; 2. Chicago Blackhawks; 3. Pittsburgh Penguins; 4. New York Rangers; 5. San Jose Sharks; 6. Washington Capitals 7. St. Louis Blues; 8. Tampa Bay Lightning; 9. Columbus Blue Jackets; 10. Anaheim Ducks; 11. Los Angeles Kings; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Nashville Predators; 14. Ottawa Senators; 15. Edmonton Oilers; 16. Boston Bruins