Super 16: Blue Jackets continue climb

The top five teams in the Metropolitan Division are among the top nine in NHL.com's Super 16 rankings this week.
The Pittsburgh Penguins retain their spot atop the Super 16 for the second straight week. They received eight first-place votes, two second-place votes and three third-place votes from the panel of 13 staff members who participate in the weekly rankings.
The rankings are calculated through a points-based system based on the votes by the 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.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are up from No. 6 to No. 4 in large part because they were ranked No. 1 by columnist Nick Cotsonika, who referenced their NHL-leading point percentage (.741) and the fact they're second in the League in goals-against per game (2.07).

Hard to argue, considering the Blue Jackets have won seven straight games.
The New York Rangers, Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers are the other Metropolitan teams in the top nine.
There are four teams from the Central Division and from the Pacific Division in the Super 16, and three from the Atlantic Division.
Here's where they all landed once the math was finished:

1. Pittsburgh Penguins (20-7-3)

Total points: 200
Last week: No. 1
Hit: The Penguins have scored 39 goals during a seven-game winning streak. Sidney Crosby is on pace to score 67 goals in 76 games this season.
Miss: Nothing to see here.

2. Chicago Blackhawks (19-8-4)

Total points: 190
Last week: No. 2
Hit: Artem Anisimov has 13 goals in 30 games. He is nine shy of his NHL career high of 22 goals, which he scored in 81 games with Columbus during the 2013-14 season. Anisimov has the game-winning goal in each of Chicago's past three victories.
Miss: Patrick Kane has gone eight games without a goal and has two in his past 15 games.

3. Montreal Canadiens (19-6-4)

Total points: 184
Last week: No. 3
Hit: The Canadiens are 3-0-2 in their past five games. They haven't allowed more than two goals in regulation in their past four.
Miss: They are 1-for-14 on the power play in their past four games.

4. Columbus Blue Jackets (18-5-4)

Total points: 168
Last week: No. 6
Hit: The Blue Jackets have won seven straight games and have earned 40 of a possible 54 points this season.
Miss: Can't find any for the second straight week.

5. New York Rangers (20-10-1)

Total points: 165
Last week: No. 4
Hit: Antti Raanta earned his four consecutive starts by allowing three goals on 87 shots in going 3-1-0. His shutout streak ended at 176:22 in a 2-1 home loss to Chicago on Tuesday.
Miss: Raanta's four straight starts came at the expense of Henrik Lundqvist, who likely will start at the Dallas Stars on Thursday. It's up to Lundqvist to step up after he's been subpar over his past 11 appearances (5-5-1, 2.90 goals-against average, .910 save percentage).

6. Washington Capitals (18-7-3)

Total points: 146
Last week: No. 8
Hit: The Capitals have won five in a row despite getting just one goal on 17 shots from Alex Ovechkin.
Miss: Ovechkin has one goal on 31 shots in nine games since his hat trick against the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 23. All this likely means he's due for a hot streak, in which case he would move up to the Hit category.

7. San Jose Sharks (18-11-1)

Total points: 116
Last week: No. 7
Hit: Brent Burns has at least a point in six consecutive games and 10 of his past 12 dating to Nov. 21, the day before he signed an eight-year, $64 million contract. He has seven goals and seven assists in that span, including a goal and an assist Wednesday in a 4-3 shootout win at the Ottawa Senators.
Miss: Mikkel Boedker, who signed a four-year, $16 million contract with the Sharks on July 1, has not scored in 20 straight games. He has two goals in 30 games this season.

8. St. Louis Blues (16-10-4)

Total points: 113
Last week: No. 5
Hit: Vladimir Tarasenko has at least a point in an NHL career-high eight consecutive road games. He has 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in that span.
Miss: The Blues went 1-3-0 on their four-game road trip that ended with a 6-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. They are 4-9-1 on the road.

9. Philadelphia Flyers (19-10-3)

Total points: 110
Last week: No. 10
Hit: They have won 10 straight games. Enough said.
Miss: Defenseman Mark Streit is expected to miss two weeks with a shoulder injury.

10. Minnesota Wild (16-8-4)

Total points: 106
Last week: NR
Hit: Ten players have combined for 15 goals in the Wild's five-game winning streak. Jason Zucker (three goals), Eric Staal (two), Mikko Koivu (two) and Matt Dumba (two) are the players with more than one.
Miss: The Wild haven't scored a power-play goal in eight straight games (0-for-18).

11. Anaheim Ducks (15-10-5)

Total points: 77
Last week: No. 13
Hit: The Ducks lead the NHL in faceoff winning percentage at 56.4 percent. Center Antoine Vermette is No. 1 in the League at 65.8 percent (326-173).
Miss: They started a season-high six-game road trip with a 6-2 loss at the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. The Ducks play seven of their final eight games this month on the road. They are 5-6-4 away from Honda Center.

12. Boston Bruins (16-12-3)

Total points: 58
Last week: No. 11
Hit: The Bruins were perfect on the penalty kill in their previous six games (17-for-17) before allowing two goals in four times shorthanded in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Penguins on Wednesday.
Miss: They have scored one power-play goal on 16 opportunities in their past seven games.

13. Ottawa Senators (16-11-3)

Total points: 42
Last week: No. 9
Hit: The Senators are 3-1 in the shootout, their first loss coming Wednesday to the Sharks. Erik Karlsson, Kyle Turris and Bobby Ryan are a combined 5-for-11 with three deciding goals; each failed to score against San Jose. Craig Anderson and Mike Condon have allowed three goals on 16 attempts.
Miss: They went 2-for-8 on the penalty kill in back-to-back losses at the Los Angeles Kings and Ducks over the weekend.

14. Nashville Predators (13-11-4)

Total points: 28
Last week: No. 14
Hit: Filip Forsberg ended an eight-game goal drought by scoring in a 6-3 win against the Blues on Tuesday. You wonder if that will help him snap out of a season-long scoring funk. Forsberg has three goals on 71 shots (4.2 percent shooting) after scoring 33 goals last season.
Miss: Pekka Rinne has allowed three or more goals in six consecutive starts after doing it once in his previous 11.

15. Calgary Flames (16-14-2)

Total points: 26
Last week: NR
Hit: Johnny Gaudreau has a five-game point streak (two goals, seven assists) since returning from a broken finger.
Miss: Goalie Brian Elliott hasn't won a game since Oct. 28.

16. Edmonton Oilers (15-12-5)

Total points: 25
Last week: No. 12
Hit: Despite going 0-for-4 on the power play in a 3-1 loss to the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, the Oilers are 10-for-27 (37.0 percent) in their past eight games.
Miss: The Oilers are 2-5 in games decided in overtime or the shootout, including 0-3 last week.
Others receiving points:Los Angeles Kings 13, Dallas Stars 6, Tampa Bay Lightning 5
Dropped out from last week:Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings
HERE'S HOW WE RANKED 'EM
ARPON BASU
1. Pittsburgh Penguins; 2. Montreal Canadiens; 3. Chicago Blackhawks; 4. Columbus Blue Jackets; 5. New York Rangers; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. San Jose Sharks; 8. Philadelphia Flyers; 9. Minnesota Wild; 10. St. Louis Blues; 11. Anaheim Ducks; 12. Nashville Predators; 13. Ottawa Senators; 14. Los Angeles Kings; 15. Boston Bruins; 16. Calgary Flames
AMALIE BENJAMIN
1. Pittsburgh Penguins; 2. New York Rangers; 3. Chicago Blackhawks; 4. Montreal Canadiens; 5. Columbus Blue Jackets; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. St. Louis Blues; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Philadelphia Flyers; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. Boston Bruins; 12. Anaheim Ducks; 13. Edmonton Oilers; 14. Ottawa Senators; 15. Nashville Predators; 16. Calgary Flames
TIM CAMPBELL
1. Chicago Blackhawks; 2. Montreal Canadiens; 3. Pittsburgh Penguins; 4. New York Rangers; 5. Washington Capitals; 6. Columbus Blue Jackets; 7. Minnesota Wild; 8. St. Louis Blues; 9. Philadelphia Flyers; 10. San Jose Sharks; 11. Anaheim Ducks; 12. Boston Bruins; 13. Edmonton Oilers; 14. Nashville Predators; 15. Ottawa Senators; 16. Calgary Flames
BRIAN COMPTON
1. Montreal Canadiens; 2. Chicago Blackhawks; 3. Pittsburgh Penguins; 4. Columbus Blue Jackets; 5. New York Rangers; 6. Philadelphia Flyers; 7. Washington Capitals; 8. Minnesota Wild; 9. San Jose Sharks; 10. St. Louis Blues; 11. Anaheim Ducks; 12. Boston Bruins; 13. Calgary Flames; 14. Edmonton Oilers; 15. Ottawa Senators; 16. Nashville Predators
NICK COTSONIKA
1. Columbus Blue Jackets; 2. Montreal Canadiens; 3. Pittsburgh Penguins; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Chicago Blackhawks; 6. New York Rangers; 7. Minnesota Wild; 8. Philadelphia Flyers; 9. San Jose Sharks; 10. St. Louis Blues; 11. Anaheim Ducks; 12. Boston Bruins; 13. Ottawa Senators; 14. Calgary Flames; 15. Edmonton Oilers; 16. Nashville Predators
LISA DILLMAN
1. Pittsburgh Penguins; 2. Montreal Canadiens; 3. New York Rangers; 4. Chicago Blackhawks; 5. Columbus Blue Jackets; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. Philadelphia Flyers; 8. St. Louis Blues; 9. San Jose Sharks; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. Boston Bruins; 12. Anaheim Ducks; 13. Nashville Predators; 14. Calgary Flames; 15. Edmonton Oilers; 16. Los Angeles Kings
TOM GULITTI
1. Pittsburgh Penguins; 2. Montreal Canadiens; 3. Chicago Blackhawks; 4. Columbus Blue Jackets; 5. Washington Capitals; 6. New York Rangers; 7. St. Louis Blues; 8. Minnesota Wild; 9. Philadelphia Flyers; 10. San Jose Sharks; 11. Anaheim Ducks; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Calgary Flames; 14. Edmonton Oilers; 15. Boston Bruins; 16. Nashville Predators
ADAM KIMELMAN
1. Chicago Blackhawks; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. New York Rangers; 4. Montreal Canadiens; 5. San Jose Sharks; 6. Columbus Blue Jackets; 7. St. Louis Blues; 8. Washington Capitals; 9. Minnesota Wild; 10. Ottawa Senators; 11. Boston Bruins; 12. Anaheim Ducks; 13. Philadelphia Flyers; 14. Nashville Predators; 15. Edmonton Oilers; 16. Los Angeles Kings
ROBERT LAFLAMME
1. Pittsburgh Penguins; 2. Chicago Blackhawks; 3. Montreal Canadiens; 4. New York Rangers; 5. Columbus Blue Jackets; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. Minnesota Wild; 8. St. Louis Blues; 9. Philadelphia Flyers; 10. San Jose Sharks; 11. Anaheim Ducks; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Calgary Flames; 14. Edmonton Oilers; 15. Boston Bruins; 16. Los Angeles Kings
MIKE G. MORREALE
1. Chicago Blackhawks; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. New York Rangers; 4. Columbus Blue Jackets; 5. Montreal Canadiens; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. Philadelphia Flyers; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. St. Louis Blues; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. Anaheim Ducks; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Boston Bruins; 14. Calgary Flames; 15. Edmonton Oilers; 16. Los Angeles Kings
BILL PRICE
1. Pittsburgh Penguins; 2. Chicago Blackhawks; 3. Montreal Canadiens; 4 New York Rangers; 5. Washington Capitals; 6. Columbus Blue Jackets; 7. San Jose Sharks; 8. Philadelphia Flyers; 9. Minnesota Wild; 10. Anaheim Ducks; 11. Dallas Stars; 12. Boston Bruins; 13. St. Louis Blues; 14. Nashville Predators; 15. Calgary Flames; 16. Ottawa Senators
SHAWN ROARKE
1. Pittsburgh Penguins; 2. Chicago Blackhawks; 3. St. Louis Blues; 4. Montreal Canadiens; 5. Washington Capitals; 6. San Jose Sharks; 7. New York Rangers; 8. Columbus Blue Jackets; 9. Philadelphia Flyers; 10. Anaheim Ducks; 11. Minnesota Wild; 12. Boston Bruins; 13. Los Angeles Kings; 14. Ottawa Senators; 15. Tampa Bay Lightning; 16. Nashville Predators
DAN ROSEN
1. Pittsburgh Penguins; 2. Chicago Blackhawks; 3. Montreal Canadiens; 4. New York Rangers; 5. Columbus Blue Jackets; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. San Jose Sharks; 8. St. Louis Blues; 9. Philadelphia Flyers; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. Anaheim Ducks; 12. Boston Bruins; 13. Nashville Predators; 14. Tampa Bay Lightning; 15. Los Angeles Kings; 16. Ottawa Senators