Super 16: Capitals, Sabres make big jump; Lightning drop six spots

More than three weeks into the season, the Tampa Bay Lightning seem to be the most difficult team for the NHL.com Super 16 voters to agree on.

The Lightning were ranked as high as No. 1 this week. They were also unranked by one voter. In between, they were ranked No. 5 by three voters, No. 6 by one, No. 8 by three, and one voter each had them at Nos. 10, 14, 15 and 16.
As a result, Tampa Bay fell to No. 10 from No. 4 last week.
The Boston Bruins are No. 1 for the third straight week, and the Colorado Avalanche are No. 2 for the second week in a row. The Washington Capitals moved up nine spots to No. 3, and the Buffalo Sabres moved up five spots to No. 4.
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. Boston Bruins (6-1-2)

Total points:196
Last week:No. 1
Hit: David Pastrnak has 17 points (10 goals, seven assists) during a seven-game point streak, and the forward has eight goals in a four-game goal streak. He leads the NHL in goals.
Miss:Depth scoring may become a concern again for the Bruins. Pastrnak and forward Brad Marchand have scored 15 of Boston's 26 goals. Second-line center David Krejci is on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.

2. Colorado Avalanche (7-1-1)

Total points:194
Last week:No. 2
Hit:The Avalanche have outscored the opposition 13-5 in the third period and overtime. Nathan MacKinnon can set an Avalanche record for longest point streak to start a season (10 games) if he gets a point against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Friday.
Miss: Forward Mikko Rantanen is week to week with a lower-body injury sustained in a 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Monday.

3. Washington Capitals (7-2-2)

Total points: 169
Last week: No. 12
Hit:The Capitals have won four in a row, and they are 5-1-0 on the road this season. Defenseman John Carlson leads the NHL with 20 points (five goals, 15 assists).
Miss:Richard Panik has missed three straight games with an upper-body injury. The forward will be out at least seven more because he is on long-term injured reserve.

4. Buffalo Sabres (8-1-1)

Total points:157
Last week: No. 9
Hit:The Sabres are 5-0-0 at home and can match their best home record to begin a season (6-0-0 in 1975-76) when they play the Arizona Coyotes at KeyBank Center on Monday.
Miss: They have been outshot 124-74 in the third period, but part of that has to do with the fact that they have had the lead entering the third in seven of their 10 games (7-0-0).

5. Vegas Golden Knights (7-4-0)

Total points:142
Last week:No. 8
Hit: Mark Stone leads the Golden Knights with 14 points (six goals, eight assists), including at least one in 10 of their 11 games. The forward has four goals and four assists during a seven-game point streak.
Miss: Vegas hasn't scored more than three goals in five straight games. It has scored two or fewer in regulation in four of them.

6. Carolina Hurricanes (6-3-0)

Total points:120
Last week: No. 3

Hit: Erik Haula has a five-game point streak (four goals, one assist). The forward leads the Hurricanes with seven goals, scoring one in seven of their nine games.
Miss:The Hurricanes have lost two in a row and haven't scored more than two goals in four straight games.

7. St. Louis Blues (4-2-3)

Total points: 117
Last week:No. 7
Hit:Forward Vladimir Tarasenko has three goals and five assists during a five-game point streak.
Miss:The Blues are 1-for-12 on the power play in their past three games.

8. Nashville Predators (5-3-1)

Total points:114
Last week:No. 6
Hit: The Predators lead the NHL with 21 goals in the third period, nine more than any other team.
Miss:They are tied for 22nd in the League with six goals in the first period.

9. Edmonton Oilers (7-2-1)

Total points:111
Last week:No. 10
Hit:The Oilers have allowed three goals or fewer in eight straight games and in nine of the 10 they have played this season.
Miss:They have been shut out in back-to-back games, a 1-0 shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday and a 3-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

10. Tampa Bay Lightning (5-3-1)

Total points:103
Last week:No. 4
Hit:Defenseman Victor Hedman has a point in eight of nine games (two goals, six assists), including the game-winning goal with 57 seconds left in a 3-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday.
Miss:The Lightning allowed the first goal in six of their first nine games. They also are getting outscored 13-7 and outshot 112-97 in the second period.

11. Toronto Maple Leafs (5-4-2)

Total points:89
Last week:No. 5
Hit:Forward Kasperi Kapanen has six points (three goals, three assists) in the past four games.
Miss: In their past two games, the Maple Leafs were outscored 4-0 after the second period, and they're minus-5 in third-period goal differential this season (10-15).

12. Pittsburgh Penguins (6-5-0)

Total points:71
Last week:No. 11
Hit:The Penguins have allowed six goals in the first period this season, tied for fourth fewest in the NHL behind the Anaheim Ducks (five in 10 games), Chicago Blackhawks (four in seven) and Arizona Coyotes (four in eight).
Miss:They are tied with the Philadelphia Flyers and Calgary Flames for last in the League in first-period goals (four).

13. Arizona Coyotes (5-2-1)

Total points: 52
Last week:NR
Hit:The Coyotes have won four in a row and are on a six-game point streak (5-0-1). They have allowed eight goals in the first and second periods this season.
Miss:They have allowed five power-play goals in the past five games (12-for-17 on the penalty kill, 70.6 percent).

14. Vancouver Canucks (6-3-0)

Total points: 48
Last week: No. 16
Hit: The Canucks have won six of their past seven games. They are 3-for-8 on the power play in the past two games, each a regulation win, after going 4-for-30 in their first seven games.
Miss:Loui Eriksson has been a healthy scratch for the past eight games. The forward is in the fourth season of a six-year, $36 million contract he signed July 1, 2016.

15. Florida Panthers (4-2-3)

Total points:26
Last week:NR
Hit:Bottom-six forwards Denis Malgin (three), Noel Acciari (two) and Frank Vatrano (two) have scored seven goals during the Panthers' six-game point streak (3-0-3).
Miss:Top-six forwards Mike Hoffman, Aleksander Barkov and Vincent Trocheck have combined for one goal during the point streak, none in the past five games.

16. Anaheim Ducks (6-4-0)

Total points: 25
Last week:No. 13
Hit:Cam Fowler's next goal will give him 61 in the NHL, the most by a defenseman in Ducks history. He's tied with Hockey Hall of Famer Scott Niedermayer, who scored 60 in 371 games with Anaheim. Fowler has played in 630.
Miss: Their power play continues to be a problem; it is 1-for-25 (4.0 percent).

Others receiving points:New York Islanders 24, Calgary Flames 9, Columbus Blue Jackets 1
Dropped out:Flames (No. 14), Winnipeg Jets (No. 15)
HERE'S HOW WE RANKED 'EM
AMALIE BENJAMIN
1. Colorado Avalanche; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. Vegas Golden Knights; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Buffalo Sabres; 6. Edmonton Oilers; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Carolina Hurricanes; 9. Anaheim Ducks; 10. Tampa Bay Lightning; 11. Nashville Predators; 12. St. Louis Blues; 13. Vancouver Canucks; 14. Pittsburgh Penguins; 15. Calgary Flames; 16. Florida Panthers
TIM CAMPBELL
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. Colorado Avalanche; 4. Vegas Golden Knights; 5. Toronto Maple Leafs; 6. St. Louis Blues; 7. Washington Capitals; 8. Buffalo Sabres; 9. Nashville Predators; 10. Carolina Hurricanes; 11. Pittsburgh Penguins; 12. Edmonton Oilers; 13. Anaheim Ducks; 14. Arizona Coyotes; 15. Vancouver Canucks; 16. Calgary Flames
BRIAN COMPTON
1. Colorado Avalanche; 2. Buffalo Sabres; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Boston Bruins; 5. Edmonton Oilers; 6. Vancouver Canucks; 7. Vegas Golden Knights; 8. Arizona Coyotes; 9. Toronto Maple Leafs; 10. St. Louis Blues; 11. Carolina Hurricanes; 12. Nashville Predators; 13. Pittsburgh Penguins; 14. New York Islanders; 15. Tampa Bay Lightning; 16. Anaheim Ducks
NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA
1. Buffalo Sabres; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. Edmonton Oilers; 5. Washington Capitals; 6. Vegas Golden Knights; 7. Carolina Hurricanes; 8. Arizona Coyotes; 9. Vancouver Canucks; 10. New York Islanders; 11. St. Louis Blues; 12. Nashville Predators; 13. Florida Panthers; 14. Pittsburgh Penguins; 15. Anaheim Ducks; 16. Tampa Bay Lightning
TOM GULITTI
1. Boston Bruins; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Vegas Golden Knights; 5. Buffalo Sabres; 6. St. Louis Blues; 7. Carolina Hurricanes; 8. Edmonton Oilers; 9. Arizona Coyotes; 10. Nashville Predators; 11. Pittsburgh Penguins; 12. Toronto Maple Leafs; 13. New York Islanders; 14. Tampa Bay Lightning; 15. Florida Panthers; 16. Vancouver Canucks
ADAM KIMELMAN
1. Colorado Avalanche; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Nashville Predators; 5. Tampa Bay Lightning; 6. Carolina Hurricanes; 7. St. Louis Blues; 8. Pittsburgh Penguins; 9. Edmonton Oilers; 10. Buffalo Sabres; 11. Vegas Golden Knights; 12. Toronto Maple Leafs; 13. Arizona Coyotes; 14. Florida Panthers; 15. Vancouver Canucks; 16. Anaheim Ducks
ROBERT LAFLAMME
1. Boston Bruins; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Colorado Avalanche; 4. Carolina Hurricanes; 5. Buffalo Sabres; 6. Toronto Maple Leafs; 7. Vegas Golden Knights; 8. Tampa Bay Lightning; 9. Edmonton Oilers; 10. Nashville Predators; 11. Pittsburgh Penguins; 12. St. Louis Blues; 13. Anaheim Ducks; 14. Florida Panthers; 15. Vancouver Canucks; 16. New York Islanders
MIKE G. MORREALE
1. St. Louis Blues; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Vegas Golden Knights; 5. Colorado Avalanche; 6. Tampa Bay Lightning; 7. Carolina Hurricanes; 8. Nashville Predators; 9. Buffalo Sabres; 10. Pittsburgh Penguins; 11. Toronto Maple Leafs; 12. Calgary Flames; 13. Edmonton Oilers; 14. New York Islanders; 15. Anaheim Ducks; 16. Columbus Blue Jackets
TRACEY MYERS
1. Buffalo Sabres; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. Colorado Avalanche; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Edmonton Oilers; 6. Carolina Hurricanes; 7. Nashville Predators; 8. St. Louis Blues; 9. Vegas Golden Knights; 10. Toronto Maple Leafs; 11. Pittsburgh Penguins; 12. Vancouver Canucks; 13. Arizona Coyotes; 14. Florida Panthers; 15. Anaheim Ducks; 16. New York Islanders
BILL PRICE
1. Boston Bruins; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Nashville Predators; 4. St. Louis Blues; 5. Tampa Bay Lightning; 6. Buffalo Sabres; 7. Carolina Hurricanes; 8. Washington Capitals; 9. Vegas Golden Knights; 10. Toronto Maple Leafs; 11. Pittsburgh Penguins; 12. Edmonton Oilers; 13. Florida Panthers; 14. Vancouver Canucks; 15. Arizona Coyotes; 16. Calgary Flames
SHAWN P. ROARKE
1. Colorado Avalanche; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Vegas Golden Knights; 5. Buffalo Sabres; 6. Nashville Predators; 7. Carolina Hurricanes; 8. Tampa Bay Lightning; 9. Pittsburgh Penguins; 10. Edmonton Oilers; 11. Toronto Maple Leafs; 12. St. Louis Blues; 13. Arizona Coyotes; 14. Vancouver Canucks; 15. Florida Panthers; 16. New York Islanders
DAN ROSEN
1. Boston Bruins; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Buffalo Sabres; 5. Vegas Golden Knights; 6. St. Louis Blues; 7. Nashville Predators; 8. Tampa Bay Lightning; 9. Carolina Hurricanes; 10. Edmonton Oilers; 11. Arizona Coyotes; 12. Toronto Maple Leafs; 13. New York Islanders; 14. Vancouver Canucks; 15. Florida Panthers; 16. Pittsburgh Penguins
MIKE ZEISBERGER
1. Colorado Avalanche; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. Buffalo Sabres; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Tampa Bay Lightning; 6. Vegas Golden Knights; 7. Edmonton Oilers; 8. Nashville Predators; 9. St. Louis Blues; 10. Toronto Maple Leafs; 11. Pittsburgh Penguins; 12. Carolina Hurricanes; 13. Vancouver Canucks; 14. Arizona Coyotes; 15. Florida Panthers; 16. Anaheim Ducks
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