Super 16: Capitals remain No. 1

The Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks remain the top two teams in the final NHL.com Super 16 weekly power rankings of the regular season, but it's clear the panel of 13 staff members has been impressed with the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins too.

The Capitals have been at the top of the rankings 10 of the past 12 weeks, and the Blackhawks have been No. 2 for three straight weeks after a one-week stay at No. 1.
The Bruins made the biggest jump this week, moving up four spots to No. 12. The Blues climbed three spots to No. 11. The Bruins were ranked as high as No. 10 by Brian Compton, and the Blues were ranked as high as No. 9 by Bill Price.
The Pittsburgh Penguins moved up to No. 3, swapping spots with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Penguins defeated the Blue Jackets 4-1 on Tuesday.
The Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks also swapped spots in the rankings. They play each other Thursday in what could be a preview of a Western Conference First Round series.

The Ottawa Senators and Nashville Predators each dropped three spots.
This is the first week of the season the same 16 teams were ranked by all 13 staff members.
The rankings, as always, are calculated by a points-based system based on the votes of 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.
Check out where the Super 16 landed once the math was finished, and be sure to stay for the information:

1. Washington Capitals (54-18-8)

Total points: 206
Last week: No. 1
Hit: The Capitals have 32 wins at home, the most in their history.
Miss:The fact defenseman John Carlson has missed two straight games with an lower-body injury might not be anything serious, as coach Barry Trotz said, but it's always alarming when a top defenseman is sitting out games a week before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin.

2. Chicago Blackhawks (50-22-8)

Total points: 191
Last week: No. 2
Hit: Artemi Panarin has 30 goals, including the first goal in each of the past five games. He is the first player in Blackhawks history to begin his NHL career with consecutive 30-goal seasons.
Miss:Chicago is 2-2-2 in its past six games.

3. Pittsburgh Penguins (49-19-11)

Total points: 188
Last week: No. 4
Hit:The Penguins finished their home schedule with 31 wins and 66 points. It's the third time in their history they won at least 30 games at home, first since 1995-96. They finished two points shy of tying their record for home points (68, 1992-93).
Miss:Defenseman Kris Letang is out for the playoffs and will need 4-6 months to recover from surgery for a herniated disk in his neck. Letang hasn't played since Feb. 21. The Penguins are 12-5-3 without him, but 2-4 without him in the past two postseasons.

4. Columbus Blue Jackets (49-22-8)

Total points: 165
Last week: No. 3
Hit: Sam Gagner has four assists in the past four games.
Miss:The Blue Jackets haven't scored a power-play goal in 10 straight games (0-for-17). They've lost four in a row, including the past three in regulation. Rookie defenseman Zach Werenski missed the game against the Penguins with an upper-body injury.

5. Anaheim Ducks (44-23-13)

Total points: 152
Last week: No. 5
Hit: The five-day break Feb. 26-March 2 obviously did captain Ryan Getzlaf some good. He has 23 points (four goals, 19 assists) in 16 games since the Ducks returned. Anaheim is 11-2-3 in those games.
Miss: Defenseman Hampus Lindholm is expected to miss his third straight game Thursday with an upper-body injury. Defenseman Cam Fowler had tests Wednesday to determine the extent of a lower-body injury. He is day to day after a knee-on-knee collision with Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano in a 3-1 win Tuesday.

6. Montreal Canadiens (46-25-9)

Total points: 143
Last week: No. 6
Hit: The Canadiens have cut their goals-against by approximately half a goal per game and their penalty kill is nearly 10 percent better since Claude Julien took over as coach Feb. 14.
Miss: Defenseman Shea Weber has missed the past two games with a lower-body injury. It is not serious, Julien said.

7. New York Rangers (47-27-6)

Total points: 118
Last week: No. 7
Hit:The Rangers are 12-for-35 (34.3 percent) on the power play in the past 13 games. They were 1-for-40 in 15 games from Feb. 7-March 7.
Miss:Defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forwards Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello and Jesper Fast each won't play until the playoffs because of a nagging injury, coach Alain Vigneault said.

8. Minnesota Wild (47-25-8)

Total points: 115
Last week: No. 8
Hit:The Wild slowly are starting to turn around things after what was mostly a rough March. They have won two games in a row and three out of four. They have at least a point in five of their past six (3-1-2) and have secured second place in the Central Division.
Miss: Center Mikko Koivu has not scored a goal in 16 straight games and has two in his past 29

9. Edmonton Oilers (44-26-9)

Total points: 114
Last week: No. 10
Hit:Goaltender Cam Talbot needs one win to break Grant Fuhr's Oilers record for most in a season (40, 1987-88). Talbot also needs one shutout to tie Tommy Salo's Edmonton record for most in a season (8, 2000-01).
Miss:The Oilers had a tough game in their 6-4 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, but they are 9-2-0 in their past 11 games and relatively healthy, so it's tough to find anything missing right now.

10. San Jose Sharks (45-28-7)

Total points: 90
Last week: No. 9
Hit: The Sharks have won two games in a row, each against the Vancouver Canucks, and can pass the Oilers for second place in the Pacific Division with a win against them Thursday.
Miss:They are playing without centers Logan Couture (face) and Joe Thornton (left knee).

11. St. Louis Blues (43-29-7)

Total points: 67
Last week: No. 14
Hit:Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 18 games (0.78 points per game) since the Blues traded defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to the Capitals on Feb. 27. Pietrangelo had 30 points in 60 games (0.50 per game) before the trade. He's averaging 26:33 of ice time per game since the trade; he was averaging 24:50 before.
Miss:The Blues are 18.6 percent on the power play since trading Shattenkirk, including 1-for-20 (5.0 percent) in the past eight games. They were 21.7 percent on the power play before the trade.

12. Boston Bruins (44-30-6)

Total points: 58
Last week: No. 16
Hit: Since Bruce Cassidy took over as coach Feb. 7, the Bruins are tied for first in the NHL in wins (18), second in goals-for (89) and third in goals-against (58). They clinched a playoff berth Tuesday.
Miss: They're far from perfect, but they have won six in a row, so we're not going to try to gnaw away at a little problem now.

13. Calgary Flames (44-32-4)

Total points: 47
Last week: No. 11
Hit: Forward Mikael Backlund ended his 11-game goal drought by scoring in a 3-1 loss to the Ducks on Tuesday. Backlund has had a fantastic season for the Flames, with an NHL career-high 22 goals, and it could be big for them if he heats up before the playoffs.
Miss:The Flames have been outscored 20-14 after the first period in their past eight games. They are 3-5-0 in those games.

14. Toronto Maple Leafs (39-25-15)

Total points: 43
Last week: No. 15
Hit:The Maple Leafs are 5-for-11 on the power play in the past four games, scoring at least once in each. They are second in the NHL on the power play (24.4 percent) and have scored at least one goal with the man-advantage in 47 of their 79 games.
Miss: Forward Brian Boyle, acquired for his playoff experience and to be a veteran presence in the lineup, has an upper-body injury. The severity is not yet known.

15. Ottawa Senators (42-27-10)

Total points: 39
Last week: No. 12
Hit: The emotional impact of forward Clarke MacArthur's return to the lineup should not be underrated. The Senators had lost five in a row (0-3-2) heading into the game and had allowed 19 goals in those games. They defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-0 with MacArthur in the lineup and playing 9:44.
Miss: The Senators haven't gone back-to-back games without allowing a power-play goal since doing it in four straight from Feb. 9-16. They are 69.5 percent on the penalty kill (48-for-69) in their 24 games since.

16. Nashville Predators (40-28-12)

Total points: 32
Last week: No. 13
Hit: Pekka Rinne is 5-2-1 with a .943 save percentage in his past eight starts.
Miss:The Predators have scored one goal in four of their past five games

Others receiving points:None
Dropped out from last week:None
HERE'S HOW WE RANKED 'EM
ARPON BASU
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Chicago Blackhawks; 3. Pittsburgh Penguins; 4. Anaheim Ducks; 5. Montreal Canadiens; 6. Columbus Blue Jackets; 7. Edmonton Oilers; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. New York Rangers; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. St. Louis Blues; 12. Toronto Maple Leafs; 13. Boston Bruins; 14. Ottawa Senators; 15. Calgary Flames; 16. Nashville Predators
AMALIE BENJAMIN
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Chicago Blackhawks; 3. Pittsburgh Penguins; 4. Columbus Blue Jackets; 5. Montreal Canadiens; 6. Anaheim Ducks; 7. New York Rangers; 8. Minnesota Wild; 9. Edmonton Oilers; 10. San Jose Sharks; 11. St. Louis Blues; 12. Boston Bruins; 13. Toronto Maple Leafs; 14. Calgary Flames; 15. Nashville Predators; 16. Ottawa Senators
TIM CAMPBELL
1. Chicago Blackhawks; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Pittsburgh Penguins; 4. Columbus Blue Jackets; 5. Minnesota Wild; 6. Anaheim Ducks; 7. New York Rangers; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Edmonton Oilers; 10. Montreal Canadiens; 11. Ottawa Senators; 12. Calgary Flames; 13. St. Louis Blues; 14. Nashville Predators; 15. Boston Bruins; 16. Toronto Maple Leafs
BRIAN COMPTON
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Chicago Blackhawks; 4. Columbus Blue Jackets; 5. Montreal Canadiens; 6. Anaheim Ducks; 7. Minnesota Wild; 8. New York Rangers; 9. Edmonton Oilers; 10. Boston Bruins; 11. San Jose Sharks; 12. St. Louis Blues; 13. Calgary Flames; 14. Ottawa Senators; 15. Toronto Maple Leafs; 16. Nashville Predators
NICK COTSONIKA
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Chicago Blackhawks; 3. Pittsburgh Penguins; 4. Columbus Blue Jackets; 5. Montreal Canadiens; 6. Anaheim Ducks; 7. New York Rangers; 8. Minnesota Wild; 9. Edmonton Oilers; 10. St. Louis Blues; 11. San Jose Sharks; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Toronto Maple Leafs; 14. Boston Bruins; 15. Nashville Predators; 16. Calgary Flames
LISA DILLMAN
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Chicago Blackhawks; 4. Columbus Blue Jackets; 5. Anaheim Ducks; 6. Montreal Canadiens; 7. New York Rangers; 8. Edmonton Oilers; 9. Calgary Flames; 10. St. Louis Blues; 11. Nashville Predators; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Ottawa Senators; 14. San Jose Sharks; 15. Toronto Maple Leafs; 16. Boston Bruins
TOM GULITTI
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Chicago Blackhawks; 4. Columbus Blue Jackets; 5. Anaheim Ducks; 6 Montreal Canadiens; 7. New York Rangers; 8. Minnesota Wild; 9. Edmonton Oilers; 10. San Jose Sharks; 11. Boston Bruins; 12. St. Louis Blues; 13. Calgary Flames; 14. Toronto Maple Leafs; 15. Nashville Predators; 16. Ottawa Senators
ADAM KIMELMAN
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Chicago Blackhawks; 4. Columbus Blue Jackets; 5. Anaheim Ducks; 6. New York Rangers; 7. Edmonton Oilers; 8. Montreal Canadiens; 9. San Jose Sharks; 10. Toronto Maple Leafs; 11. Minnesota Wild; 12. St. Louis Blues; 13. Calgary Flames; 14. Boston Bruins; 15. Ottawa Senators; 16. Nashville Predators
ROBERT LAFLAMME
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Chicago Blackhawks; 4. Columbus Blue Jackets; 5. Anaheim Ducks; 6. Montreal Canadiens; 7. New York Rangers; 8. Minnesota Wild; 9. Edmonton Oilers; 10. San Jose Sharks; 11. Toronto Maple Leafs; 12. Boston Bruins; 13. St. Louis Blues; 14. Calgary Flames; 15. Nashville Predators; 16. Ottawa Senators
MIKE G. MORREALE
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Chicago Blackhawks; 4. Columbus Blue Jackets; 5. Montreal Canadiens; 6. Minnesota Wild; 7. Anaheim Ducks; 8. Edmonton Oilers; 9. San Jose Sharks; 10. New York Rangers; 11. Boston Bruins; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Toronto Maple Leafs; 14. Calgary Flames; 15. Nashville Predators; 16. St. Louis Blues
BILL PRICE
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Chicago Blackhawks; 3. Pittsburgh Penguins; 4. Columbus Blue Jackets; 5. Anaheim Ducks; 6. Montreal Canadiens; 7. Edmonton Oilers; 8. Minnesota Wild; 9. St. Louis Blues; 10. New York Rangers; 11. San Jose Sharks; 12. Boston Bruins; 13. Calgary Flames; 14. Nashville Predators; 15. Ottawa Senators; 16. Toronto Maple Leafs
SHAWN ROARKE
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Chicago Blackhawks; 3. Pittsburgh Penguins; 4. Anaheim Ducks; 5. Montreal Canadiens; 6. Columbus Blue Jackets; 7. Edmonton Oilers; 8. Minnesota Wild; 9. San Jose Sharks; 10. New York Rangers; 11. Boston Bruins; 12. Calgary Flames; 13. Ottawa Senators; 14. Nashville Predators; 15. St. Louis Blues; 16. Toronto Maple Leafs
DAN ROSEN
1. Chicago Blackhawks; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Pittsburgh Penguins; 4. Columbus Blue Jackets; 5. Anaheim Ducks; 6. Montreal Canadiens; 7. Minnesota Wild; 8. New York Rangers; 9. Edmonton Oilers; 10. St. Louis Blues; 11. San Jose Sharks; 12. Boston Bruins; 13. Nashville Predators; 14. Toronto Maple Leafs; 15. Ottawa Senators; 16. Calgary Flames