Super 16: Lightning end season unanimous No. 1

The voting point races for the final NHL.com Super 16 power rankings of the regular season were exceptionally close. Well, except for the top spot.

The Tampa Bay Lightning were the unanimous No. 1 for a 17th consecutive week.
The Calgary Flames jumped one spot to No. 2, edging the Boston Bruins by one voting point. The Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, New York Islanders, St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs finished sixth through 11th, separated by eight voting points.
The Columbus Blue Jackets moved up two spots to No. 14 because they got one more voting point than the Dallas Stars, who fell one spot to No. 15. The Colorado Avalanche moved into the Super 16 at No. 16, knocking out the Montreal Canadiens by one point.
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 final Super 16 of the regular season:

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (60-16-4)

Total points: 208
Last week: No. 1
Hit:With wins in their final two games, the Lightning would tie the NHL record for most in a season (62) held by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings.
Miss: Victor Hedman didn't play in a 4-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. The defenseman is day to day with an upper-body injury, and it's unlikely he will play in the last two games.

2. Calgary Flames (50-24-7)

Total points: 186
Last week: No. 3
Hit:The Flames reached 50 wins for the second time in their history. They had 54 in 1988-89, when they won the Stanley Cup.
Miss:After going 0-for-5 in a 3-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, Calgary is 3-for-46 on the power play (6.5 percent) in 17 games since March 2.

3. Boston Bruins (48-23-9)

Total points: 185
Last week: No. 2
Hit:Forward Brad Marchand (36 goals, 64 assists) is the first Bruins player to reach 100 points in a season since Joe Thornton had 101 (36 goals, 65 assists) in 2002-03.
Miss:The Bruins have allowed six power-play goals in their past four games (8-for-14 on the penalty kill), including four in their past two games (5-for-9).

4. Washington Capitals (47-25-8)

Total points: 171
Last week: No. 4
Hit:The Capitals will clinch first place in the Metropolitan Division if they defeat the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday or if the New York Islanders lose to the Florida Panthers, among other scenarios.
Miss:Michal Kempny had surgery to repair a torn hamstring and the defenseman will miss the remainder of the season, including the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He is expected to need 4-6 months to recover.

5. Pittsburgh Penguins (43-26-11)

Total points: 125
Last week: No. 6
Hit: Phil Kessel ended an eight-game goal drought when the right wing scored in a 4-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
Miss: Kris Letang has missed four games with an upper-body injury. It's unclear if the injury is related to the upper-body injury that kept the defenseman out for 11 games from Feb. 26-March 17.

6. Winnipeg Jets (46-30-4)

Total points: 111
Last week: No. 5
Hit: Blake Wheeler set a Jets/Atlanta Thrashers record for most assists in a season with 70, one more than Marc Savard had with the Thrashers in 2005-06. Wheeler is the third player in Jets/Thrashers history to have 90 points in a season (Ilya Kovalchuk, 2005-06, 2008-09; Marian Hossa, 2005-06).
Miss:The Jets have allowed 21 goals in their past five games, including losses to the Stars (5-2), Islanders (5-4) and Minnesota Wild (5-1).

7. Nashville Predators (45-29-6)

Total points: 109
Last week: No. 10
Hit: Viktor Arvidsson has scored 33 goals, one shy of setting a Predators record for most in a season. The forward missed 24 games because of injury.
Miss:Wayne Simmonds has two points (one goal, one assist) in 15 games since Nashville acquired the forward in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 25.

8. New York Islanders (46-27-7)

Total points: 108
Last week: No. 11
Hit: By allowing three goals or fewer in their last two games, the Islanders will become the sixth team in NHL history to allow at least 100 fewer than they did in the prior season. They allowed an NHL-high 293 goals last season and have allowed an NHL-low 190 this season.
Miss:Islanders center Mathew Barzal has scored one goal in 22 games since Feb. 20.

9. St. Louis Blues (43-28-9)

Total points: 106
Last week: No. 12
Hit:The Blues have trailed entering the second period in an NHL-low 19 games (tied with the Islanders). They are 3-11-5 in those games. They led entering the second period in 31 games, tied for fourth in the NHL with the Islanders. St. Louis is 23-5-3 in those games.
Miss:The Blues drew one power-play opportunity in each of their previous four games before going 1-for-3 Wednesday in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. They had eight power-play chances in the six games prior to that.

10. San Jose Sharks (44-27-9)

Total points: 105
Last week: No. 7
Hit: The Sharks have three players with at least 30 goals: Joe Pavelski (38), Tomas Hertl (35) and Timo Meier (30). Evander Kane (29) and Logan Couture (27) are close. The last time an NHL team had as many as four players score at least 30 goals in the same season was 2008-09, when the Flyers and Red Wings had four each.
Miss: San Jose has lost two in a row and is 1-8-1 with 43 goals against in its past 10 games.

11. Toronto Maple Leafs (46-27-7)

Total points: 103
Last week: No. 8
Hit:Center John Tavares needs three goals to become the first Maple Leafs player with 50 in one season since Dave Andreychuk scored 53 in 1993-94.
Miss: The Maple Leafs are 4-6-2 with 48 goals against in 12 games since March 11.

12. Vegas Golden Knights (43-30-7)

Total points: 98
Last week: No. 9
Hit:The Golden Knights are the only NHL team with two players, forwards Mark Stone and William Karlsson, who have at least 20 goals, 50 blocks and 70 takeaways. Stone has 32 goals, 69 blocks and 122 takeaways (28-53-88 with the Ottawa Senators) and Karlsson has 24-54-72. Three other players in the NHL have those statistics: Jets center Mark Scheifele (36-54-73), Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (34-59-99), and Sharks center Logan Couture (27-51-70).
Miss:Vegas is 1-for-15 on the power play in its past seven games.

13. Carolina Hurricanes (44-29-7)

Total points: 55
Last week: No. 13
Hit:The Hurricanes have a chance to clinch a playoff berth Thursday; it would be their first trip in 10 years. They will get in if they defeat the New Jersey Devils and the Canadiens lose to the Capitals, among other scenarios.
Miss:Calvin de Haan is not expected to play for at least the remainder of the regular season because of an upper-body injury the defenseman sustained against the Penguins on Sunday.

14. Columbus Blue Jackets (45-31-4)

Total points: 38
Last week: No. 16
Hit:The Blue Jackets are a combined 4-0-1 against the New York Rangers and Senators, their final two opponents this season.
Miss: Defenseman Adam McQuaid has missed three games with an upper-body injury.

15. Dallas Stars (42-31-7)

Total points: 37
Last week: No. 14
Hit:The Stars are 4-0-1 in their past five games, going 7-for-17 on the power play. They clinched a playoff berth with a 6-2 win against the Flyers on Tuesday.
Miss:Jamie Benn has one assist in his past seven games. The Stars captain has no points in the past four.

16. Colorado Avalanche (37-29-14)

Total points: 12
Last week: NR
Hit:The Avalanche are 7-0-2 since March 17, the best record in the NHL. They can clinch a playoff berth Thursday by getting one point against the Jets or if the Arizona Coyotes lose to the Golden Knights.
Miss: Mikko Rantanen has missed six games with an upper-body injury. The forward has 87 points (31 goals, 56 assists) in 74 games.
Others receiving points:Montreal Canadiens 11
Dropped out:Montreal Canadiens (No. 15)

HERE'S HOW WE RANKED 'EM

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