Capitals remain atop NHL.com's Super 16

The Washington Capitals lost to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday without Alex Ovechkin or Braden Holtby in the lineup and despite a 38-19 advantage in shots on goal. It was enough for the panel of NHL.com staff members to take mercy on them this week.
The Capitals were one point shy of being a unanimous No. 1 this week in the Super 16, a point-based rankings system based on submissions from seven NHL.com staff members. Each staff member submitted his version of the Super 16 and a point total was assigned to each ranking:

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 Capitals were No. 1 in rankings submitted by Adam Kimelman, Arpon Basu, Robert Laflamme, Shawn Roarke, Brian Compton and Dan Rosen. Mike G. Morreale had the Chicago Blackhawks as his top-ranked team this week and the Capitals at No. 2.
The Los Angeles Kings were ranked No. 3 by five of the seven staff members. Laflamme had them at No. 7 and Rosen had them at No. 4.
Two points separated the Florida Panthers (83), Dallas Stars (82) and St. Louis Blues (81) in the final rankings. Similarly, the Pittsburgh Penguins moved up to No. 8 by edging the Detroit Red Wings by one point (51-50).
The Penguins finished No. 8 despite being ranked as high as eighth by only two staff members. They took a hit because Morreale had them at No. 15.
Laflamme was the only staff member to have the Carolina Hurricanes in his rankings (No. 16).
The Super 16 rankings will come out weekly, every Thursday, and continue to be a point-based ranking system with NHL.com staff members contributing through the end of the regular season.
Here are the rankings, with pertinent information and a Hit and Miss for each team:
1. Washington Capitals (35-9-4)
Total points: 111
Last week: No. 1
Hit: All-Star center Evgeny Kuznetsov has assists in four straight games and 14 points, including 12 assists, in his past seven.
Miss: Their power play was 0-for-8 without Ovechkin in the loss to the Panthers. Fortunately, Ovechkin should be back Thursday against the New York Islanders.

2. Chicago Blackhawks (34-16-4)
Total points: 106
Last week: No. 2
Hit: Richard Panik seems to have fit in well as a depth/bottom-six forward. He has four points, including three goals, and 11 shots on goal in nine games.
Miss:They've scored five goals in their past five games (2-3-0) and have been shut out in 11 of 15 periods.
3. Los Angeles Kings (31-16-3)
Total points: 93
Last week: No. 4
Hit: They've scored 27 goals and are 9-for-29 on the power play in their past nine games.
Miss:They've allowed 25 goals in those nine games, a big reason why they're 5-4-0 in that stretch despite scoring three goals per game, including one per on the power play.
4. Florida Panthers (30-15-5)
Total points: 83
Last week: No. 3
Hit:Jonathan Huberdeau has scored at least two points in eight of his past 22 games. He has six points in the past four games.
Miss:Though they defeated Washington 5-2 on Tuesday, the Panthers were outshot 38-19 and they put the Capitals on the power play eight times.
Video: FLA@WSH: Huberdeau beats Grubauer again
5. Dallas Stars (32-14-5)
Total points: 82
Last week: No. 5
Hit: Tyler Seguin broke out of a scoring slump with two goals, or as many he scored in the previous 11 games, in a 5-3 road win against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.
Miss: Patrick Sharp hasn't scored a goal in 10 straight games after scoring six in his previous 10 games.
6. St. Louis Blues (29-16-8)
Total points: 81
Last week: No. 7
Hit: Of Alex Pietrangelo's 22 points, 15 have come on the road (3-12-15). The Blues are 9-0-3 when he gets a point in a road game.
Miss:Vladimir Tarasenko didn't have a shot on goal in the Blues' 1-0 win at the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. It was the first time he was held without a shot on goal in the regular season since Dec. 11, 2013, breaking a streak of 98 consecutive games with at least one.
7. Tampa Bay Lightning (28-18-4)
Total points: 78
Last week: No. 6
Hit: They have won seven in a row at Amalie Arena, where they play five of their next seven games.
Miss: They have three sets of back-to-backs this month, the most in any month this season.
8. Pittsburgh Penguins (25-17-7)
Total points: 51
Last week: No. 11
Hit:Sidney Crosby has 14 points, including eight goals, in the past eight games. It took him until his 22nd game this season to get his 14th point and his 35th game to get his eighth goal.
Miss:They're winning now, but they have allowed four or more goals in four of their past seven games, including five in three of them.
Video: Take a look at the 3 goals scored by Sidney Crosby
9. Detroit Red Wings (25-17-8)
Total points: 50
Last week: No. 12
Hit: Rookie forward Dylan Larkin was impressive during All-Star Weekend and should come away from the experience with even more confidence in himself, which only bodes well for the Red Wings.
Miss:They have lost five in a row at home (0-4-1). They start a five-game homestand on Saturday.
10. New York Islanders (26-16-6)
Total points: 46
Last week: No. 8
Hit: Center Brock Nelson has 20 goals through 48 games. He had 20 goals in 82 games last season.
Miss:They've allowed the first goal in eight of the past 10 games (3-4-1), a trend that won't lead to sustained success. They are 10-13-4 when allowing the first goal.
11. New York Rangers (27-18-5)
Total points: 43
Last week: No. 9
Hit: Forward J.T. Miller has been red-hot of late with seven goals in the past seven games. He is third on the team for the season with 15 goals.
Miss:Defenseman Kevin Klein is out indefinitely with a fractured thumb, an injury he sustained in a 3-2 loss at the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.
12. San Jose Sharks (26-19-4)
Total points: 34
Last week: No. 10
Hit: Rookie forward Joonas Donskoi has been a nice addition for depth scoring purposes. He has seven points in the past seven games and nine points in the past 11.
Miss:Their 3-2 loss at the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday started a stretch in which they play 13 of 18 games on the road from Feb. 2-March 8.

13. Anaheim Ducks (23-18-7)
Total points: 30
Last week: NR
Hit:They've won four in a row, six of their past seven, and are 11-3-1 since Dec. 27. They've scored at least three goals in nine of the 11 wins.
Miss:The challenge to their playoff hopes is coming with a seven-game road trip from Feb. 8-18. The Ducks are 8-10-3 on the road.
14. Nashville Predators (24-19-8)
Total points: 18
Last week: No. 15
Hit: Pekka Rinne has allowed one goal in four consecutive starts.
Miss: Shot quantity has been an issue of late; the Predators have 84 shots on goal in their past four games (21 per game). They had 16 in a 1-0 home loss to the Blues on Tuesday.
15. Colorado Avalanche (27-23-3)
Total points: 16
Last week: No. 13
Hit:Gabriel Landeskog has four goals in his past four games after scoring three in his previous 24 games.
Miss:They've been outshot 147-79 in the past four games.
16. Boston Bruins (26-18-6)
Total points: 15
Last week: No. 14
Hit: Brad Marchand has seven goals in the past seven games, with at least one goal in six of the seven games, after going 11 games without a goal from Dec. 16-Jan. 15.
Miss: They've lost five home games this season in which they have led by at least two goals and are 11-13-3 at TD Garden this season.
Other receiving votes:New Jersey Devils (14 points),Carolina Hurricanes (1 point)
Out from last week:Arizona Coyotes
THE SUBMISSIONS
DAN ROSEN
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Panthers
4. Kings
5. Stars
6. Lightning
7. Islanders
8. Blues
9. Penguins
10. Rangers
11. Sharks
12. Ducks
13. Red Wings
14. Avalanche
15. Devils
16. Bruins
SHAWN ROARKE
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Kings
4. Lightning
5. Blues
6. Penguins
7. Panthers
8. Stars
9. Red Wings
10. Sharks
11. Ducks
12. Islanders
13. Bruins
14. Devils
15. Rangers
16. Predators
BRIAN COMPTON
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Kings
4. Stars
5. Blues
6. Panthers
7. Lightning
8. Islanders
9. Red Wings
10. Penguins
11. Devils
12. Rangers
13. Bruins
14. Sharks
15. Predators
16. Avalanche
ADAM KIMELMAN
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Kings
4. Stars
5. Blues
6. Panthers
7. Lightning
8. Red Wings
9. Ducks
10. Rangers
11. Penguins
12. Avalanche
13. Predators
14. Sharks
15. Bruins
16. Islanders
ARPON BASU
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Kings
4. Blues
5. Stars
6. Lightning
7. Panthers
8. Penguins
9. Islanders
10. Rangers
11. Red Wings
12. Sharks
13. Bruins
14. Ducks
15. Predators
16. Avalanche
ROBERT LAFLAMME
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Panthers
4. Blues
5. Stars
6. Lightning
7. Kings
8. Rangers
9. Penguins
10. Red Wings
11. Islanders
12. Sharks
13. Ducks
14. Avalanche
15. Devils
16. Hurricanes
MIKE G. MORREALE
1. Blackhawks
2. Capitals
3. Kings
4. Panthers
5. Lightning
6. Stars
7. Blues
8. Predators
9. Red Wings
10. Islanders
11. Rangers
12. Sharks
13. Ducks
14. Avalanche
15. Penguins
16. Devils