Kings jump to second spot in Super 16

A California team is No. 2 in the NHL.com Super 16 for the third straight week. It's just not the same California team as it was in the previous two weeks.
The Los Angeles Kings moved up one to No. 2 in the weekly Super 16, jumping ahead of the Anaheim Ducks, who are No. 4 based on rankings submitted by the panel of NHL.com staff members who participate in the points-based process to reach the final Super 16 every week.

Each staff member submits his version of the Super 16 and a point value is assigned to each ranking to come up with the final power rankings. The point value for each ranking is as follows:
No. 1 = 16 points
No. 2 = 15
No. 3 = 14
No. 4 = 13
No. 5 = 12
No. 6 = 11
No. 7 = 10
No. 8 = 9
No. 9 = 8
No. 10 = 7
No. 11 = 6
No. 12 = 5
No. 13 = 4
No. 14 = 3
No. 15 = 2
No. 16 = 1
The Kings were ranked No. 2 by three of the seven staff members. Adam Kimelman had them at No. 3, and Mike G. Morreale, Brian Compton and Robert Laflamme ranked the Kings fourth.

Morreale and Laflamme had the St. Louis Blues at No. 2. Compton and Kimelman had the Dallas Stars second.
The Stars took a hit because Shawn Roarke had them ranked eighth, behind the Washington Capitals, Kings, Ducks, Blues, San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators.
The Blues fell five points short of the Kings because they were ranked No. 5 by Kimelman, Arpon Basu and Dan Rosen.
The Ducks were ranked in the top four by six of the seven staff members. Compton had them at No. 5.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, winners of six straight games, made the biggest jump, moving to No. 8 from No. 13.
The Capitals were the unanimous No. 1 for the sixth straight week. This is Washington's 14th consecutive week ranked first. The Capitals have a 12-point lead on the Stars in the race for the Presidents' Trophy; they also have two games in hand on Dallas.
Here are the rankings for this week, with pertinent information and a Hit and Miss for each team.

1. Washington Capitals (52-15-5)
Total points:112
Last week:No. 1
Hit:Six of their last 10 games are against teams in position for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They also play the Colorado Avalanche, who are one point behind Minnesota for the final wild card from the Western Conference. For a team that has just about everything wrapped up, getting some tough competition before the playoffs should be good for preparation.
Miss:They haven't been playing their best of late, and instead have been playing in spurts. The Capitals have to use these 10 games to rediscover their best going into the playoffs.
2. Los Angeles Kings (44-24-5)
Total points:98
Last week: No. 3
Hit: Anze Kopitar has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in the past 12 games.
Miss: The Kings are 0-for-18 on the power play in the past seven games.
3. St. Louis Blues (43-22-9)
Total points:93
Last week: No. 4
Hit: Brian Elliott has back-to-back shutouts on a combined 58 saves in since returning from a lower-body injury. He made 37 saves in a 1-0 win against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
Miss: It's hard to find a flaw with how the Blues have played the past two games.

4. Anaheim Ducks (40-23-9)
Total points:92
Last week: No. 2
Hit: Corey Perry now has six 30-goal seasons, tied for second most in Ducks history with Paul Kariya. Teemu Selanne had seven 30-goal seasons with Anaheim. All of Perry's goals have come in the past 61 games; he had none in October.
Miss:It's a tough blow to lose forward David Perron (week-to-week) because of a shoulder injury.
5. Dallas Stars (44-21-9)
Total points:82
Last week:No. 6
Hit:A big reason the Stars lead the Central Division with 97 points is they are 16-7-3 against divisional opponents.
Miss:Tyler Seguin (Achilles) is an obvious miss, but the Stars are 2-0-0 and have scored nine goals without him.
6. Chicago Blackhawks (42-25-7)
Total points: 72
Last week: No. 5
Hit: Rookie Artemi Panarin has assists in back-to-back games, giving him 39 for the season. Johnny Gaudreau led rookies with 40 assists last season. It was the first time any rookie had as many as 40 assists since Nicklas Backstrom (55) and Patrick Kane (51) in 2007-08.
Miss: Chicago has lost five straight games when allowing the first goal and are 5-19-3 when it happens.

7. San Jose Sharks (41-26-6)
Total points:63
Last week: No. 7
Hit:They've allowed two goals in the past three games, all without Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who is their best all-around defenseman.
Miss: Vlasic, who was injured March 17, hasn't resumed skating and is likely out for the remainder of the Sharks' homestand, which includes games against the Edmonton Oilers, Stars and Kings.
8. Pittsburgh Penguins (40-24-8)
Total points:61
Last week: No. 13
Hit: Since losing Evgeni Malkin to a shoulder injury, the Penguins are 5-0-0 with 23 goals and wins against four teams in position to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
Miss:Nothing here right now. They've won six in a row and are coming off a 6-2 win against the No. 1 Capitals.
9. Tampa Bay Lightning (42-26-5)
Total points: 60
Last week:No. 8
Hit: Steven Stamkos has five goals and eight points in the past five games.
Miss:Tampa Bay scored a 5-on-3 power-play goal against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, but the Lightning are 2-for-28 in the past 11 games.

10. Nashville Predators (37-23-13)
Total points:51
Last week:No. 11
Hit: They are 8-2-3 against teams in a playoff position and 13-3-5 overall since Feb. 6.
Miss:Despite picking up 31 of a possible 42 points in their past 21 games, they are four points out of third place in the Central Division.
11. New York Rangers (42-24-8)
Total points:45
Last week:No. 14
Hit:They're getting quality minutes in all three zones as well as some goals from their fourth line of Dominic Moore, Viktor Stalberg and Tanner Glass. It has at times been their most consistent line, which is also alarming.
Miss: Rick Nash is playing, but he's still dealing with soreness related to the injured left leg that kept him out for 20 games, so he hasn't been able to practice much and it's affecting his timing and hands.
12. Florida Panthers (40-24-9)
Total points:36
Last week:No. 10
Hit:Juri Hudler has a point in four straight games and a plus-5 rating in those games.
Miss:Their past two games haven't been good largely because they haven't gotten anything out of their top line of Aleksander Barkov, Jaromir Jagr and Jonathan Huberdeau. They're a combined minus-10 with no points.

13. Boston Bruins (39-27-8)
Total points:33
Last week: No. 9
Hit:A lineup that had been in flux most of the season appears to finally have a distinct top-six forward group with Patrice Bergeron centering Brad Marchand and Lee Stempniak, and David Krejci centering Loui Eriksson and David Pastrnak.
Miss: It's unclear where Brett Connolly fits into the forward group. He has three points in his past 13 games and has been a healthy scratch in the past two. Connolly was playing with Bergeron and Marchand before Stempniak arrived before the 2016 NHL Trade Deadline.
14. Philadelphia Flyers (35-24-13)
Total points:19
Last week:No. 16
Hit: Despite allowing two goals in the final 64 seconds and losing a point in a 3-2 shootout loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, goalie Steve Mason has played exceptionally well with no safety net because of Michal Neuvirth's injury. Mason made 51 saves against Columbus and 23 in a 4-1 win against the New York Islanders the night before.
Miss:The Flyers allowed two goals in the final 64 seconds of regulation and lost the point in the game against the Blue Jackets.
15. New York Islanders (39-24-9)
Total points:13
Last week: No. 12
Hit:They have killed 11 of 12 power plays in their past five games. The problem is they are 1-3-1 in those games.
Miss:They have one power-play goal in their past eight games. The problem is they've had 13 opportunities. They are 2-4-2 in those games.

16. Minnesota Wild (35-28-11)
Total points: 9
Last week: NR
Hit:They've won three in a row to get back into playoff position, and forward Jason Pominville could return against the Calgary Flames on Thursday. Pominville has missed seven games with a lower-body injury. He practiced on a line with Erik Haula and Nino Niederreiter on Wednesday.
Miss: It's reached the point in Minnesota where Thomas Vanek is a healthy scratch. He has been for the past three games, and the Wild have won them all.
Out:Detroit Red Wings
Other receiving votes: Detroit Red Wings (2 points), Colorado Avalanche (1 point)
HERE'S HOW WE VOTED:
ARPON BASU
1. Capitals
2. Kings
3. Stars
4. Ducks
5. Blues
6. Penguins
7. Sharks
8. Blackhawks
9. Predators
10. Lightning
11. Rangers
12. Panthers
13. Bruins
14. Flyers
15. Wild
16. Islanders
BRIAN COMPTON
1. Capitals
2. Stars
3. Blues
4. Kings
5. Ducks
6. Blackhawks
7. Lightning
8. Penguins
9. Rangers
10. Panthers
11. Sharks
12. Predators
13. Bruins
14. Flyers
15. Islanders
16. Red Wings
ADAM KIMELMAN
1. Capitals
2. Stars
3. Kings
4. Ducks
5. Blues
6. Rangers
7. Blackhawks
8. Lightning
9. Penguins
10. Panthers
11. Sharks
12. Predators
13. Bruins
14. Flyers
15. Islanders
16. Avalanche
ROBERT LAFLAMME
1. Capitals
2. Blues
3. Stars
4. Kings
5. Ducks
6. Penguins
7. Blackhawks
8. Sharks
9. Lightning
10. Predators
11. Bruins
12. Rangers
13. Panthers
14. Wild
15. Flyers
16. Islanders
MIKE G. MORREALE
1. Capitals
2. Blues
3. Ducks
4. Kings
5. Stars
6. Blackhawks
7. Lightning
8. Sharks
9. Penguins
10. Predators
11. Rangers
12. Panthers
13. Bruins
14. Flyers
15. Islanders
16. Red Wings
SHAWN ROARKE
1. Capitals
2. Kings
3. Ducks
4. Blues
5. Sharks
6. Blackhawks
7. Predators
8. Stars
9. Lightning
10. Penguins
11. Bruins
12. Panthers
13. Islanders
14. Rangers
15. Wild
16. Flyers
DAN ROSEN
1. Capitals
2. Kings
3. Ducks
4. Stars
5. Blues
6. Sharks
7. Blackhawks
8. Predators
9. Lightning
10. Penguins
11. Rangers
12. Bruins
13. Flyers
14. Panthers
15. Wild
16. Islanders