Super 16: Blue Jackets stay No. 1

The Columbus Blue Jackets are the first unanimous No. 1 of the season in NHL.com's Super 16 power rankings. The Blue Jackets received a No. 1 vote from all 13 staff members who participate in ranking the top 16 teams in the League on a weekly basis.
The Blue Jackets, who are on a 16-game winning streak, didn't debut in the Super 16
until they were ranked 15th
on Nov. 17. They moved up
to No. 9 the following week
and have been in the top 10 since. This is their
second straight week at No. 1
.

The Pittsburgh Penguins were a unanimous No. 2 based on the votes by the 13 staff members. They have been in the top two of the Super 16 for the past five weeks, including No. 1 for three weeks before the Blue Jackets took over last week.

The rankings are calculated by a points-based system based on the votes by the 13 participating 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.
Where it got interesting this week was at No. 3. The 13 staff members had five different teams ranked third. The Minnesota Wild picked up five No. 3 votes, enough for them to finish third in the poll, one spot up from where they were last week.
The Chicago Blackhawks had three No. 3 votes but dropped from third to fourth. The Montreal Canadiens and Capitals each had two, and the New York Rangers had one.
Check out where they all landed once the math was finished, and be sure to stay for the information:

1. Columbus Blue Jackets (27-5-4)

Total points:208
Last week:No. 1
Hit: The Blue Jackets are one win shy of tying the NHL record for the longest winning streak entering their game at the Washington Capitals on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; CSN-DC, FS-O, NHL.TV). They haven't lost since Nov. 26.
Miss: Did we mention the 16-game winning streak?

2. Pittsburgh Penguins (25-8-5)

Total points:195
Last week:No. 2
Hit: The Penguins, who are on their bye week and don't play again until Sunday, have won four in a row with 16 goals scored since a 7-1 loss at Columbus on Dec. 22.
Miss: Defenseman Brian Dumoulin likely will be out for the rest of the month with a broken jaw.

3. Minnesota Wild (23-9-4)

Total points:167
Last week:No. 4
Hit: Forward Mikael Granlund has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in the past 12 games, including four points (two goals, two assists) in the past two.
Miss: The Wild have allowed four goals in three of their past four games.

4. Chicago Blackhawks (23-12-5)

Total points:153
Last week:No. 3
Hit: Defenseman Michal Kempny has played back-to-back strong games and has scored in each. He played 16:57, the most since Nov. 21, in a 3-2 loss at the Carolina Hurricanes last Friday and then 16:55 in a 4-1 loss against the St. Louis Blues at Busch Stadium on Monday.
Miss: The Blackhawks have scored 11 goals in going 1-4-1 in their past six games.

5. Washington Capitals (23-9-5)

Total points:152
Last week:No. 7
Hit: The Capitals have won three in a row and have scored 14 goals in the process, including a 6-2 win against the New Jersey Devils and a 6-5 overtime win against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Miss: Their power play is 1-for-19 in the past seven games, but it did produce a goal in the win against Toronto on Tuesday. However, the Maple Leafs scored two power-play goals in the game.

6. Montreal Canadiens (24-9-6)

Total points:150
Last week:No. 6
Hit: Shea Weber and Alexander Radulov have been productive of late after going quiet for most of December.
Miss: Key players are still missing from the lineup because of injuries, including Alex Galchenyuk (knee), Andrew Shaw (concussion), David Desharnais (knee) and Andrei Markov (lower body).

7. New York Rangers (27-13-1)

Total points:147
Last week:No. 5
Hit: Rookie forward Pavel Buchnevich is making progress in his recovery from a back injury. Conditioning is the key issue for him now. He has been skating.
Miss: Forward Matt Puempel is out with concussion-like symptoms.

8. San Jose Sharks (23-13-2)

Total points:121
Last week:No. 8
Hit: Forward Logan Couture ended a nine-game goal drought by scoring in the Sharks' 2-1 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.
Miss: Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic has missed two straight games since being hit in the face by a shot from Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere last Friday. Vlasic is on injured reserve.

9. St. Louis Blues (20-13-5)

Total points:103
Last week:No. 10
Hit: Vladimir Tarasenko scored two goals in the 2017 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on Monday, giving him four goals and five points in four games against the Blackhawks this season. He has 14 goals and 20 points in his past 19 games against Chicago.
Miss: Paul Stastny has no goals and two assists in his past 11 games.

10. Anaheim Ducks (20-12-8)

Total points:89
Last week:No. 12
Hit: The Ducks have four road games this month after playing 11 road games in December.
Miss: Defenseman Simon Despres has missed 39 consecutive games with a concussion, and there hasn't been any real update on his condition. He remains on long-term injured reserve.

11. Edmonton Oilers (19-13-7)

Total points:67
Last week:No. 13
Hit: Forward Leon Draisaitl has 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 23 games since Nov. 15 after getting eight points in his first 16 games.
Miss: The Oilers have scored more than two goals in regulation in three of their past 10 games, though they are 5-2-3 in that span.

12. Ottawa Senators (20-13-4)

Total points:55
Last week:No. 11
Hit:Mike Hoffman has four points (one goal, three assists) in five games since serving a two-game suspension.
Miss:The Senators haven't scored a goal in the third period in their past five games.

13. Philadelphia Flyers (20-15-5)

Total points:53
Last week:No. 9
Hit: Goaltender Michal Neuvirth was activated from injured reserve on Tuesday. It's good news because Steve Mason has started 22 of the past 24 games.
Miss: The schedule gets tight for Philadelphia starting Saturday, when they begin a stretch of six games in nine days before they get their five-day bye week. Four of their next six games are on the road, where the Flyers are 8-9-2.

14. Los Angeles Kings (19-15-4)

Total points:39
Last week:No. 16
Hit:The Kings are 7-1 in games decided in overtime.
Miss:They are 11-15 in games decided in regulation.

15. Calgary Flames (21-17-2)

Total points:24
Last week:No. 15
Hit: After a slow start to the season, forward Mikael Backlund has picked up his scoring, yet another reason why the Flames have picked up their overall scoring since mid-November.
Miss: Forward Troy Brouwer remains out with a broken finger. He has missed four straight games.

16. Boston Bruins (20-16-4)

Total points:21
Last week:No. 14
Hit: Forward David Backes returned to practice Wednesday after missing the past two games with a concussion. It's possible he could return against the Oilers on Thursday.
Miss: Forward Brad Marchand has one goal in his past nine games.
Others receiving points: Toronto Maple Leafs 18, Nashville Predators 5, Tampa Bay Lightning 1
Dropped out from last week: None
HERE'S HOW WE RANKED 'EM
ARPON BASU
1. Columbus Blue Jackets; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Minnesota Wild; 4. Montreal Canadiens; 5. Washington Capitals; 6. Chicago Blackhawks; 7. New York Rangers; 8. San Jose Sharks 9. Ottawa Senators; 10. St. Louis Blues; 11. Los Angeles Kings; 12. Anaheim Ducks; 13. Edmonton Oilers; 14. Philadelphia Flyers; 15. Boston Bruins; 16. Toronto Maple Leafs
AMALIE BENJAMIN
1. Columbus Blue Jackets; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. New York Rangers; 4. Minnesota Wild; 5. Washington Capitals; 6. Montreal Canadiens; 7. Chicago Blackhawks; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Philadelphia Flyers; 10. Anaheim Ducks; 11. St. Louis Blues; 12. Edmonton Oilers; 13. Calgary Flames; 14. Ottawa Senators; 15. Toronto Maple Leafs; 16. Boston Bruins
TIM CAMPBELL
1. Columbus Blue Jackets; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Montreal Canadiens; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Chicago Blackhawks; 6. New York Rangers; 7. Minnesota Wild; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Anaheim Ducks; 10. St. Louis Blues; 11. Edmonton Oilers; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Philadelphia Flyers; 14. Los Angeles Kings; 15. Boston Bruins; 16. Tampa Bay Lightning
BRIAN COMPTON
1. Columbus Blue Jackets; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Montreal Canadiens; 4. New York Rangers; 5. Washington Capitals; 6. Chicago Blackhawks; 7. Minnesota Wild; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. St. Louis Blues; 10. Anaheim Ducks; 11. Edmonton Oilers; 12. Toronto Maple Leafs; 13. Philadelphia Flyers; 14. Ottawa Senators; 15. Boston Bruins; 16. Los Angeles Kings
NICK COTSONIKA
1. Columbus Blue Jackets; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Minnesota Wild; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Montreal Canadiens; 6. New York Rangers; 7. Chicago Blackhawks; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Ottawa Senators; 10. St. Louis Blues; 11. Anaheim Ducks; 12. Edmonton Oilers; 13. Philadelphia Flyers; 14. Toronto Maple Leafs; 15. Los Angeles Kings; 16. Boston Bruins
LISA DILLMAN
1. Columbus Blue Jackets; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Minnesota Wild; 4. Washington Capitals. 5. New York Rangers; 6. Montreal Canadiens; 7. Chicago Blackhawks; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. St. Louis Blues; 10. Anaheim Ducks; 11. Edmonton Oilers; 12. Calgary Flames; 13. Boston Bruins; 14. Los Angeles Kings; 15. Philadelphia Flyers; 16. Toronto Maple Leafs
TOM GULITTI
1. Columbus Blue Jackets; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Minnesota Wild; 4. Chicago Blackhawks; 5. Montreal Canadiens; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. New York Rangers; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. St. Louis Blues; 10. Anaheim Ducks; 11. Philadelphia Flyers; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Edmonton Oilers; 14. Los Angeles Kings. 15. Calgary Flames; 16. Boston Bruins
ADAM KIMELMAN
1. Columbus Blue Jackets; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Chicago Blackhawks; 4. New York Rangers; 5. Minnesota Wild; 6. St. Louis Blues; 7. San Jose Sharks; 8. Montreal Canadiens; 9. Washington Capitals; 10. Edmonton Oilers; 11. Philadelphia Flyers; 12. Anaheim Ducks; 13. Los Angeles Kings; 14. Ottawa Senators; 15. Boston Bruins; 16. Nashville Predators
ROBERT LAFLAMME
1. Columbus Blue Jackets; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Chicago Blackhawks; 4. Minnesota Wild; 5. Montreal Canadiens; 6. New York Rangers; 7. San Jose Sharks; 8. Washington Capitals; 9. Anaheim Ducks; 10. Edmonton Oilers; 11. St. Louis Blues; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Philadelphia Flyers; 14. Los Angeles Kings; 15. Boston Bruins; 16. Toronto Maple Leafs
MIKE G. MORREALE
1. Columbus Blue Jackets; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Minnesota Wild; 4. Chicago Blackhawks; 5. New York Rangers; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. Montreal Canadiens; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. St. Louis Blues; 10. Anaheim Ducks; 11. Philadelphia Flyers; 12. Edmonton Oilers; 13. Ottawa Senators; 14. Los Angeles Kings; 15. Boston Bruins; 16. Calgary Flames
BILL PRICE
1. Columbus Blue Jackets; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Chicago Blackhawks; 4. Minnesota Wild; 5. Montreal Canadiens; 6. New York Rangers; 7. Washington Capitals; 8. St. Louis Blues; 9. San Jose Sharks; 10. Anaheim Ducks; 11. Calgary Flames; 12. Philadelphia Flyers; 13. Ottawa Senators; 14. Edmonton Oilers; 15. Nashville Predators; 16. Toronto Maple Leafs
SHAWN ROARKE
1. Columbus Blue Jackets; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Minnesota Wild; 5 San Jose Sharks; 6. St. Louis Blues; 7. Montreal Canadiens; 8. Chicago Blackhawks; 9. New York Rangers; 10. Anaheim Ducks; 11. Calgary Flames 12. Los Angeles Kings; 13. Edmonton Oilers; 14. Ottawa Senators, 15. Nashville Predators; 16. Toronto Maple Leafs
DAN ROSEN
1. Columbus Blue Jackets; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Minnesota Wild; 5. Chicago Blackhawks; 6. New York Rangers; 7. Montreal Canadiens; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Anaheim Ducks; 10. St. Louis Blues; 11. Los Angeles Kings; 12. Edmonton Oilers; 13. Ottawa Senators; 14. Toronto Maple Leafs; 15. Boston Bruins; 16. Philadelphia Flyers