Super 16: Maple Leafs continue surge

The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to climb the weekly Super 16 power rankings, moving up three spots to No. 9 this week.

Toronto, 7-0-1 in its past eight games, was No. 12 last week after being out of the Super 16 for five straight weeks.
The Tampa Bay Lightning (No. 12), Vancouver Canucks (No. 15) and Florida Panthers (No. 16) moved into the Super 16 this week, replacing the Nashville Predators, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, who were Nos. 14-16, respectively, last week.
The Washington Capitals retained the top spot, edging the St. Louis Blues by one voting point.
To create the power rankings, each of the 13 participating staff members puts together his or her version of what 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 latest Super 16:

1. Washington Capitals (27-9-5)

Total points:198
Last week:No. 1
Hit:The Capitals are 3-for-12 on the power play (25.0 percent) in their past three games after going 0-for-15 in the five games prior. Center Evgeny Kuznetsov has four points (three goals, one assist) in his past three games.
Miss:Forward Jakub Vrana has no goals in his past 10 games after he scored 15 in the first 31 games.

2. St. Louis Blues (26-9-6)

Total points:197
Last week:No. 2
Hit:The Blues 56 regular-season wins in 2019 were the most in the NHL. Goalie Jordan Binnington's 59 total wins (regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs combined) tied for the second most in a calendar year in League history. Bernie Parent also had 59 wins in 1974 with the Philadelphia Flyers. Marc-Andre Fleury had 62 in 2009 with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Miss: Forward Alexander Steen's assist in a 3-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday was his first point in eight games since returning from an injury.

3. Boston Bruins (24-7-10)

Total points:189
Last week: No. 3
Hit:The Bruins have points in eight straight games (4-0-4), including at least one power-play goal in each game (10-for-34).
Miss: They have been playing without defensemen Charlie McAvoy (lower body), Torey Krug (upper body) and Connor Clifton (upper body), and forward David Krejci (lower body). Krug and McAvoy are on injured reserve.

4. New York Islanders (25-10-3)

Total points:159
Last week: No. 5
Hit:The Islanders are tied for second with the Penguins for fewest goals against in the third period (32). The Columbus Blue Jackets have allowed the fewest (27).
Miss:They're 0-for-8 on the power play in their past four games.

5. Colorado Avalanche (23-13-4)

Total points:148
Last week:No. 4
Hit: Nathan MacKinnon, who has five points (three goals, two assists) in his past four games, is second in the League with 185 shots on goal, 11 behind Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin. MacKinnon had nine shots in a 7-4 loss against the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday, the fourth time this season he's had nine or more shots on goal in a game.
Miss: They are 0-2-1 in their past three games, including allowing 13 combined goals in regulation losses against the Minnesota Wild (6-4) and Winnipeg Jets (7-4). Colorado is 1-4-1 in its past six games.

6. Pittsburgh Penguins (24-11-4)

Total points:144
Last week:No. 6
Hit:Evgeni Malkin has 32 points (nine goals, 23 assists) in the 20 games center Sidney Crosby has missed because of core muscle surgery. Malkin has 192 points (75 goals, 117 assists) in 140 career games played without Crosby, an average of 1.37 points per game. He averages 1.15 points per game with Crosby in the lineup (848 points in 738 games).
Miss: Jake Guentzel will miss the rest of the season after having surgery to repair a shoulder injury he sustained in a 5-2 win against the Ottawa Senators on Monday. The forward leads the Penguins with 20 goals and 43 points in 39 games.

7. Carolina Hurricanes (24-14-2)

Total points: 119
Last week:No. 8
Hit:The Hurricanes finished 2019 with 54 regular-season wins, a Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers record for most wins in a calendar year. Forward Lucas Wallmark has points in seven straight games (four goals, five assists).
Miss:They ended a streak of allowing at least one power-play goal in six straight games, including four in a row in which they allowed two, by going 3-for-3 on the penalty kill in a 3-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. They were 58.3 percent on the PK (14-for-24) in the previous six games.

8. Vegas Golden Knights (22-15-6)

Total points:113
Last week: No. 9
Hit: Mark Stone has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 11 games since Dec. 10 after the forward had six points (three goals, three assists) in 17 games from Nov. 5-Dec. 8.
Miss: William Karlsson has no goals in eight straight games and two in 21 games since Nov. 19. The forward had eight goals in the first 22 games.

9. Toronto Maple Leafs (22-14-5)

Total points:108
Last week: No. 12
Hit:Forward William Nylander has scored a goal in four straight games (four goals, four assists). He has the game-winning goal in each of Toronto's past three road games.
Miss: Defenseman Jake Muzzin is week to week with a broken foot. He has already missed two games.

10. Philadelphia Flyers (22-13-5)

Total points:80
Last week: No. 7
Hit:Forward Jakub Voracek has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past seven games.
Miss:The Flyers are 1-2-0 so far on a season-long six-game road trip, including allowing a combined 11 goals in regulation losses against the San Jose Sharks (6-1) and Los Angeles Kings (5-3).

11. Dallas Stars (23-14-4)

Total points:78
Last week:No. 13
Hit:The Stars have won three games in a row, all with third-period comebacks. They lead the League with seven third-period comeback wins this season.
Miss:Dallas has allowed nine power play goals in the past seven games (20-for-29 on the penalty kill, 69.0 percent).

12. Tampa Bay Lightning (21-13-4)

Total points:77
Last week:NR
Hit:The Lightning have won four games in a row, scoring 19 goals during the streak. Forward Alex Killorn has five of the goals.
Miss:Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has allowed eight goals on 71 shots in his past two starts.

13. Arizona Coyotes (22-16-4)

Total points:59
Last week:No. 10
Hit: Carl Soderberg is tied for third on the team with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists). The Coyotes are 16-3-1 in games when he gets a point and 6-13-3 when he doesn't.
Miss:Derek Stepan has five points (two goals, three assists) in 20 games since the center scored goals in back-to-back games (Nov. 16-18).

14. Winnipeg Jets (22-15-3)

Total points:47
Last week:No. 11
Hit:Kyle Connor has six goals in his past four games, including a hat trick the forward had in a 7-4 win against the Avalanche on Wednesday.
Miss: The Jets are 3-5-1 with 37 goals against, 4.11 per game, in nine games since Dec. 12. They were allowing 2.65 goals per game, fifth in the League, through their first 31 games. They are now 14th, giving up an average of 2.98 goals against per game.

15. Vancouver Canucks (21-15-4)

Total points:22
Last week:NR
Hit:The Canucks have won five games in a row with 12 different players combining for 21 goals, including four for forward Elias Pettersson.
Miss:Forward Josh Leivo is out with a fractured kneecap. He already has an NHL career-high 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 36 games.

16. Florida Panthers (20-14-5)

Total points:11
Last week:NR
Hit:Jonathan Huberdeau is tied for first in the NHL with 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) since Dec. 1 (New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin also has 22). The Panthers forward is first with 1.69 points per game since Dec. 1.
Miss:The Panthers have allowed four or more goals in four straight games, five of the past six and six of the past eight. They're 28th in the League in goals against per game (3.36).
Others receiving points: Edmonton Oilers 8, Columbus Blue Jackets 7, Calgary Flames 4
Dropped out: Nashville Predators (No. 14), Oilers (No. 15), Flames (No. 16)
HERE'S HOW WE RANKED 'EM
AMALIE BENJAMIN
1. Washington Capitals; 2. St. Louis Blues; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. New York Islanders; 5. Pittsburgh Penguins; 6. Colorado Avalanche; 7. Carolina Hurricanes; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Toronto Maple Leafs; 10. Arizona Coyotes; 11. Philadelphia Flyers; 12. Winnipeg Jets; 13. Dallas Stars; 14. Tampa Bay Lightning; 15. Vancouver Canucks; 16. Florida Panthers
TIM CAMPBELL
1. Boston Bruins; 2. St. Louis Blues; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Colorado Avalanche; 5. Pittsburgh Penguins; 6. Carolina Hurricanes; 7. New York Islanders; 8. Tampa Bay Lightning; 9. Toronto Maple Leafs; 10. Vegas Golden Knights; 11. Winnipeg Jets; 12. Arizona Coyotes; 13. Dallas Stars; 14. Philadelphia Flyers; 15. Florida Panthers; 16. Vancouver Canucks
BRIAN COMPTON
1. St. Louis Blues; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. New York Islanders; 5. Pittsburgh Penguins; 6. Colorado Avalanche; 7. Carolina Hurricanes; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. Vegas Golden Knights; 10. Dallas Stars; 11. Tampa Bay Lightning; 12. Philadelphia Flyers; 13. Vancouver Canucks; 14. Columbus Blue Jackets; 15. Florida Panthers; 16. Arizona Coyotes
NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA
1. Washington Capitals; 2. St. Louis Blues; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. New York Islanders; 5. Pittsburgh Penguins; 6. Colorado Avalanche; 7. Carolina Hurricanes; 8. Philadelphia Flyers; 9. Dallas Stars; 10. Tampa Bay Lightning; 11. Toronto Maple Leafs; 12. Vegas Golden Knights; 13. Winnipeg Jets; 14. Florida Panthers; 15. Vancouver Canucks; 16. Arizona Coyotes
TOM GULITTI
1. St. Louis Blues; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. New York Islanders; 5. Pittsburgh Penguins; 6. Colorado Avalanche; 7. Carolina Hurricanes; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. Philadelphia Flyers; 10. Dallas Stars; 11. Vegas Golden Knights; 12. Tampa Bay Lightning; 13. Arizona Coyotes; 14. Winnipeg Jets; 15. Florida Panthers; 16. Vancouver Canucks
ADAM KIMELMAN
1. St. Louis Blues; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. New York Islanders; 5. Vegas Golden Knights; 6. Tampa Bay Lightning; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Colorado Avalanche; 9. Arizona Coyotes; 10. Dallas Stars; 11. Pittsburgh Penguins; 12. Winnipeg Jets; 13. Carolina Hurricanes; 14. Philadelphia Flyers; 15. Edmonton Oilers; 16. Vancouver Canucks
ROBERT LAFLAMME
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. St. Louis Blues; 4. Colorado Avalanche; 5. New York Islanders; 6. Carolina Hurricanes; 7. Arizona Coyotes; 8. Pittsburgh Penguins; 9. Vegas Golden Knights; 10. Winnipeg Jets; 11. Philadelphia Flyers; 12. Toronto Maple Leafs; 13. Dallas Stars; 14. Tampa Bay Lightning; 15. Edmonton Oilers; 16. Florida Panthers
MIKE G. MORREALE
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. St. Louis Blues; 4. Pittsburgh Penguins; 5. New York Islanders; 6. Colorado Avalanche; 7. Carolina Hurricanes; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Toronto Maple Leafs; 10. Philadelphia Flyers; 11. Dallas Stars; 12. Arizona Coyotes; 13. Tampa Bay Lightning; 14. Winnipeg Jets; 15. Vancouver Canucks; 16. Edmonton Oilers
TRACEY MYERS
1. St. Louis Blues; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. New York Islanders; 4. Boston Bruins; 5. Pittsburgh Penguins; 6. Toronto Maple Leafs; 7. Vegas Golden Knights; 8. Colorado Avalanche; 9. Carolina Hurricanes; 10. Dallas Stars; 11. Philadelphia Flyers; 12. Arizona Coyotes; 13. Winnipeg Jets; 14. Tampa Bay Lightning; 15. Vancouver Canucks; 16. Edmonton Oilers
BILL PRICE
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. St. Louis Blues; 4. Colorado Avalanche; 5. New York Islanders; 6. Carolina Hurricanes; 7. Vegas Golden Knights; 8. Pittsburgh Penguins; 9. Philadelphia Flyers; 10. Dallas Stars; 11. Toronto Maple Leafs; 12. Tampa Bay Lightning; 13. Arizona Coyotes; 14. Vancouver Canucks; 15. Winnipeg Jets; 16. Edmonton Oilers
SHAWN P. ROARKE
1. St. Louis Blues; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Pittsburgh Penguins; 5. Vegas Golden Knights; 6. Colorado Avalanche; 7. Carolina Hurricanes; 8. New York Islanders; 9. Toronto Maple Leafs; 10. Tampa Bay Lightning; 11. Dallas Stars; 12. Philadelphia Flyers; 13. Calgary Flames; 14. Winnipeg Jets; 15. Arizona Coyotes; 16. Columbus Blue Jackets
DAN ROSEN
1. St. Louis Blues; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. Colorado Avalanche; 5. New York Islanders; 6. Pittsburgh Penguins; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Philadelphia Flyers; 10. Carolina Hurricanes; 11. Dallas Stars; 12. Tampa Bay Lightning; 13. Arizona Coyotes; 14. Columbus Blue Jackets; 15. Vancouver Canucks; 16. Winnipeg Jets
MIKE ZEISBERGER
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. St. Louis Blues; 4. New York Islanders; 5. Colorado Avalanche; 6. Pittsburgh Penguins; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Tampa Bay Lightning; 9. Vegas Golden Knights; 10. Carolina Hurricanes; 11. Philadelphia Flyers; 12. Dallas Stars; 13. Winnipeg Jets; 14. Arizona Coyotes; 15. Vancouver Canucks; 16. Edmonton Oilers