Surging Ducks keeping moving up

The two hottest teams in the Western Conference made the biggest moves up the rankings in the Super 16 this week.
The Anaheim Ducks moved up three spots to No. 3. The Nashville Predators also moved up three spots, from No. 13 to No. 10.
The Ducks are 9-0-1 in their past 10 games. The Predators are 7-0-3 in their past 10.

The Super 16 rankings come out every Thursday and are based on submissions by a panel of seven NHL.com staff members. Each submits his version of the Super 16 and a point value is assigned to each ranking to come up with the final power rankings:
No. 1 = 16 points
No. 2 = 15
No. 3 = 14
No. 4 = 13
No. 5 = 12
No. 6 = 11
No. 7 = 10
No. 8 = 9
No. 9 = 8
No. 10 = 7
No. 11 = 6
No. 12 = 5
No. 13 = 4
No. 14 = 3
No. 15 = 2
No. 16 = 1
The Ducks were ranked as high as No. 2 by LNH.com senior writer Robert Laflamme. Three other staff members had the Ducks at No. 3 and another had them at No. 4.
Deputy managing editor Brian Compton wasn't as high on the Ducks; he had them at No. 8, up two spots from No. 10 last week.
Staff writer Mike G. Morreale has been on the Predators' bandwagon for several weeks. He ranked them fourth in his Super 16 this week; they were No. 8 in his Super 16 the past four weeks.
Every other staff member had the Predators at No. 10 or lower. Editorial director Shawn Roarke put the Predators at No. 13 in his Super 16. He also had them at No. 13 last week.
The Washington Capitals are the unanimous No. 1 for the fourth straight week. This is their 12th straight atop the Super 16.
The Chicago Blackhawks fell one point shy of being a unanimous No. 2. Laflamme had the Blackhawks third, behind the Ducks.
Here are the rankings for this week, with pertinent information and a Hit and Miss for each team.

1. Washington Capitals (47-12-4)Total points:112
Last week: No. 1
Hit: Braden Holtby won his 40th game of the season Tuesday. He is the fastest to reach 40 wins in a season (52 games played), according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Miss: Couldn't help but feel for Brooks Laich on Wednesday when he returned to Verizon Center as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs after being traded on Sunday. Laich was the longest tenured player in Washington and this was going to be his best shot to win the Stanley Cup.
2. Chicago Blackhawks (40-20-5)Total points:104
Last week:No. 2
Hit: Dale Weise's work visa issues appear to be cleared up and Andrew Ladd has points in his first two games since being acquired in a trade.
Miss: Marian Hossa missed his sixth consecutive game on Wednesday, but coach Joel Quenneville hopes he can play soon, perhaps as early as Sunday against the Red Wings.
3. Anaheim Ducks (35-19-8)Total points: 93
Last week:No. 6
Hit: They extended their win streak to nine games with a 3-2 shootout victory against the Montreal Canadiens at Honda Center on Wednesday. Anaheim has an 11-game point streak (10-0-1) and is 18-2-1 in its past 21 games.
Miss:Still nothing.

4. St. Louis Blues (37-20-9)Total points: 80
Last week: No. 5
Hit: Jaden Schwartz has nine points in 10 games since returning from his injury on Feb. 12. The Blues are 26-20-10 without him and 62-24-6 with him in the lineup since the start of the 2014-15 season.
Miss:They've allowed three or more goals in four of their past six games. They had allowed three or more in two of their previous 12 games from Jan. 18-Feb. 18.
5. Los Angeles Kings (37-21-4)Total points:77
Last week:No. 4
Hit:The four goals they allowed in a 4-2 loss to the Ducks on Sunday stopped a streak of five consecutive games in which they allowed two or fewer goals, including four in a row in which they allowed one or fewer.
Miss:They haven't scored more than two goals in eight straight games.
6. Dallas Stars (38-20-7)Total points: 75
Last week:No. 3
Hit: They're 6-for-21 on the power play (28.6 percent) in the past seven games.
Miss:They've allowed seven power play goals on 26 chances in the same seven games and are 1-5-1 in those games, including 0-3-1 in the past four.

7. Florida Panthers (36-19-8)Total points: 71
Last week: No. 7
Hit: Vincent Trocheck has four points in the past four games and is regularly playing more than or at least approaching 20 minutes per game. He has exceeded that amount eight times in the past 12 games. He played 20 minutes or more three times in his first 51 games.
Miss:They've been outshot 59-40 in the past two games and needed a third-period rally to defeat the Winnipeg Jets, a team with 24 fewer points.
8. Tampa Bay Lightning (37-22-4)Total points: 70
Last week: No. 8
Hit:They've won seven in a row and are two points behind the Panthers for first place in the Atlantic Division.
Miss:Valtteri Filppula hasn't had a point in nine straight games. He has 27 points in 63 games this season.
9. New York Rangers (37-20-6)Total points: 69
Last week: No. 9
Hit: Keith Yandle is the first Rangers defenseman since Brian Leetch in 2000-01 to have at least 30 assists in a season, including at least 20 even-strength assists. He has 31 assists and 35 points.
Miss: Important two-way right wing Jesper Fast will miss his second straight game because of an illness when the Rangers visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

10. Nashville Predators (32-21-11)Total points: 49
Last week:No. 13
Hit:Shea Weber had three points Tuesday after missing three games in a row and the Predators have won five straight. They have a seven-point cushion on a wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Miss: Ryan Johansen has no goals in the past 12 games. He has five assists in that stretch.
11. San Jose Sharks (34-22-6)Total points: 37
Last week:No. 10
Hit: Joe Thornton has six goals in his past 13 games after scoring eight in his first 49. He has 19 points in the past 13 games.
Miss: Patrick Marleau has three points (one goal, two assists) in the past nine games. It hasn't hurt the Sharks, who are 6-2-1 in that span.
12. New York Islanders (34-20-7)Total points:29
Last week: No. 11
Hit:The Islanders have been one of the strongest third-period teams in the League; they're seventh with 66 goals for and second with 48 goals against.
Miss: The above hit didn't factor into their game against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, when they allowed three goals in the third period in a 3-1 loss.

13. Pittsburgh Penguins (32-22-8)Total points:28
Last week: No. 12
Hit: Evgeni Malkin has points (one goal, one assist) in his past two games. He has played three games since returning from his 10-game absence because of a lower-body injury.
Miss:They've lost three straight games against teams in a playoff position and are 1-4-1 in their past five. They play the Rangers on Thursday.
14. Detroit Red Wings (32-21-11)Total points:27
Last week: No. 14
Hit:Forward Andreas Athanasiou is becoming a must-have in coach Jeff Blashill's lineup. His speed has made a difference and he has three goals in the past six games, including two in a 3-2 overtime win against Dallas on Monday.
Miss: Forward Dylan Larkin has no points in the past five games and one point, a goal, in his past 10.
15. Boston Bruins (35-23-6)Total points: 23
Last week: No. 15
Hit: Coach Claude Julien needs one win to tie Art Ross for the most regular season wins in Bruins history (387). Julien could be a Jack Adams Award finalist this season for the job he's done in Boston.
Miss: Defenseman Torey Krug has no goals since Dec. 5, a span of 38 games for him.

16. Minnesota Wild (29-25-10)Total points: 11
Last week: NR
Hit:The three players on the third line -- Nino Niederreiter, Erik Haula and Jason Pominville -- have combined for 31 points on 14 goals and 17 assists in the nine games since John Torchetti took over as interim coach.
Miss:They've been struggling on the penalty kill, going 5-for-11 in the past five games.
Out:New Jersey Devils
Other receiving votes:Philadelphia Flyers (1 point)
Arpon Basu
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Ducks
4. Stars
5. Panthers
6. Blues
7. Rangers
8. Lightning
9. Kings
10. Predators
11. Islanders
12. Sharks
13. Penguins
14. Bruins
15. Red Wings
16. Wild
Brian Compton
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Blues
4. Rangers
5. Stars
6. Panthers
7. Lightning
8. Ducks
9. Kings
10. Red Wings
11. Predators
12. Bruins
13. Sharks
14. Islanders
15. Wild
16. Penguins
Adam Kimelman
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Stars
4. Ducks
5. Blues
6. Kings
7. Panthers
8. Lightning
9. Rangers
10. Penguins
11. Predators
12. Red Wings
13. Sharks
14. Islanders
15. Wild
16. Flyers
Robert Laflamme
1. Capitals
2. Ducks
3. Blackhawks
4. Panthers
5. Kings
6. Blues
7. Rangers
8. Stars
9. Lightning
10. Predators
11. Bruins
12. Penguins
13. Sharks
14. Islanders
15. Red Wings
16. Wild
Mike G. Morreale
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Ducks
4. Predators
5. Blues
6. Kings
7. Lightning
8. Rangers
9. Islanders
10. Stars
11. Panthers
12. Sharks
13. Penguins
14. Red Wings
15. Wild
16. Bruins
Shawn P. Roarke
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Kings
4. Blues
5. Lightning
6. Stars
7. Ducks
8. Rangers
9. Panthers
10. Sharks
11. Penguins
12. Red Wings
13. Predators
14. Bruins
15. Islanders
16. Wild
Dan Rosen
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Ducks
4. Kings
5. Lightning
6. Panthers
7. Rangers
8. Stars
9. Sharks
10. Blues
11. Predators
12. Bruins
13. Islanders
14. Red Wings
15. Wild
16. Penguins