Capitals have new company at top of Super 16

For the first time since Jan. 1, there is a new No. 2 in NHL.com's Super 16 power rankings. Notice how there still isn't a new No. 1.
The Washington Capitals' run atop the rankings is at 13 consecutive weeks, including five in a row as the unanimous No. 1. But the Chicago Blackhawks' run as the No. 2 team is over at nine straight weeks.
The Blackhawks were overtaken by the Anaheim Ducks, the hottest team in the NHL with a 12-1-2 recordsince Feb. 9, including an 11-game winning streak that was stopped by the Capitals in a shootout Monday. The Ducks are 25-5-3 since Dec. 27.

The Super 16 rankings come out every Thursday and are based on submissions by a panel of seven NHL.com staff members. Each staff member 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 the No. 2 team in four of the seven rankings from the staff members. They were also No. 3 in two. Brian Compton had them ranked fourth, behind the Capitals, St. Louis Blues and Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks dropped to No. 3 in part because Arpon Basu had them ranked fifth behind the Capitals, Ducks, Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning, who had a nine-game winning streak end Monday at the Philadelphia Flyers.
Philadelphia, by the way, was ranked by five of the seven staff members and got into the Super 16 for the first time since Oct. 23. Mike G. Morreale and Shawn Roarke did not have the Flyers ranked; Basu had them the highest, at No. 14.
Here are the rankings for this week, with pertinent information and a Hit and Miss for each team.

1. Washington Capitals (49-13-5)
Total points: 112
Last week: No. 1
Hit: They haveplayed in 12 straight one-goal games; they went 8-3-1 in those games.
Miss: The problem is they've been playing from behind. The Capitals have allowed the first goal in 12 of their past 14 games.
2. Anaheim Ducks (37-20-9)
Total points: 101
Last week: No. 3
Hit:They're 17-4-4 against divisional opponents, including 6-2-0 with four straight wins against the Kings and San Jose Sharks.
Miss: Yes, they're 12-1-2 in their past 15 games, with their only regulation loss coming Wednesday at the Colorado Avalanche, but they allowed 13 power-play goals in those 15 games to go 79.3 percent on the penalty kill (50-for-63). They were first on the PK (89.1 percent) on Feb. 9, when this 15-game stretch started.
3. Chicago Blackhawks (41-21-6)
Total points: 98
Last week: No. 2
Hit: Right wing Marian Hossa is close to returning to the lineup, and center Marcus Kruger could be back by the end of the month. Hossa has missed nine straight games with a leg injury. Kruger has missed 35 consecutive games after having wrist surgery Dec. 18.
Miss:The Blackhawks' .545 points percentage (11-9-2) in games against Central Division opponents is fourth in the division behind the Blues (.666, 15-7-3), Dallas Stars (.652, 14-7-2) and Colorado Avalanche (.619, 12-7-2).

4. St. Louis Blues (39-20-9)
Total points: 90
Last week: No. 4
Hit:The Blues are 89.4 percent on the penalty kill (59-for-66) since returning from the All-Star break Feb. 2, second in the NHL to the Tampa Bay Lightning (90.7 percent) over that span.
Miss: Paul Statsny's assist on Troy Brouwer's goal Wednesday ended a four-game point drought for the center. He has eight points in 19 games since his four-point performance in a 5-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 18.
5. Tampa Bay Lightning (39-23-5)
Total points: 77
Last week: No. 8
Hit: Linemates Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat have combined for 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in the past five games. They had nine shots on goal in a 1-0 overtime loss against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
Miss: Defenseman Braydon Coburn has missed the past two games with a lower-body injury. He might also miss the game against the Flyers on Friday.
6. Los Angeles Kings (40-22-4)
Total points: 76
Last week: No. 5
Hit:Drew Doughty has nine power-play goals, fourth among NHL defensemen. Doughty had one power-play goal last season, when he was runner-up to the Ottawa Senators' Erik Karlsson for the Norris Trophy.
Miss: Tyler Toffoli has two goals in his past 22 games. He scored 22 goals in his first 44 games.

7. Dallas Stars (40-20-8)
Total points: 75
Last week: No. 6
Hit:Jason Spezza has a goal in four straight games and is on a 30-goal pace. He has 25 goals in 62 games. Dallas has 14 games remaining.
Miss: Defenseman Jason Demers could be out for the rest of the regular season with an upper-body injury he sustained in a 4-3 overtime loss against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
8. New York Rangers (39-22-6)
Total points: 56
Last week: No. 9
Hit: The three key injured Rangers -- goalie Henrik Lundqvist (neck spasms), left wing Rick Nash (bone bruise) and defenseman Marc Staal (back spasms) - could be back in the lineup by next week. Lundqvist could play against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
Miss: Injured defenseman Dylan McIlrath (knee) is expected to miss a couple of weeks.
9. New York Islanders (37-20-8)
Total points: 49
Last week: No. 12
Hit: They trail the Rangers by two points for second place in the Metropolitan Division, but the best thing they have going for them is their two games in hand. They used one up with a 3-2 shootout loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
Miss: They were dealt a significant blow Wednesday, when coach Jack Capuano said that goalie Jaroslav Halak would be out a minimum of six weeks with a lower-body injury.

10. Nashville Predators (34-21-13)
Total points: 47
Last week: No. 10
Hit:Filip Forsberg has 28 goals, five shy of matching Jason Arnott's single-season Nashville record of 33. Forsberg's 18 goals since Jan. 1 are fourth in the NHL, trailing Alex Ovechkin (20), Sidney Crosby (19) and Brad Marchand (19).
Miss: They might be challenging for first place in the Central Division if they could figure out how to win in overtime. The Predators are 1-12 in games decided in the extra period.
11. Boston Bruins (38-23-7)
Total points: 45
Last week: No. 15
Hit: Lee Stempniak has six points (one goal, five assists) in five games since coming to the Bruins in a trade from the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 29. Stempniak has been playing with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. The Bruins are 4-0-1 with him.
Miss: The days of the Bruins having the best power play in the NHL are long gone. They're 9-for-82 (10.9 percent) in their past 27 games and have fallen to ninth in the League at 20.9 percent. Boston was first through 41 games at 28.1 percent (32-for-114).
12. Florida Panthers (36-21-9)
Total points: 42
Last week: No. 7
Hit: Their last 16 games are against teams from the Eastern Conference; that's good news for the Panthers, who are 24-8-6 against East teams. Five of those 16 games are against teams that currently hold a playoff position, and they play the last-place Toronto Maple Leafs three times.
Miss:They've allowed 21 goals in going 1-3-2 in their past six games.

13. San Jose Sharks (37-23-6)
Total points: 32
Last week: No. 11
Hit: Logan Couture's value to the Sharks can be measured by this statistic: San Jose is 23-8-5 with him in the lineup this season and 14-15-1 without him. Couture has 17 points, including seven goals, in his past 16 games.
Miss:The Sharks play 12of their final 16 games at home, where they are 12-14-3. Their opponents include the Capitals, Bruins, Rangers, Blues, Stars and Kings.
14. Pittsburgh Penguins (34-24-8)
Total points: 28
Last week: No. 13
Hit: Sidney Crosby has 10 points on his current six-game point streak and is now better than a point-per-game player this season (66 points in 65 games). He has 47 points in 37 games since Mike Sullivan took over as coach Dec. 12.
Miss: * Phil Kessel, who has one goal in his past eight games, is averaging 0.97 goals per 60 minutes since the start of last season. He was averaging 1.25 goals per 60 minutes in his first eight seasons. This is a problematic trend for Kessel and the Penguins.
15. Detroit Red Wings (32-23-11)
Total points: 11
Last week: No. 14
Hit:* Mike Green had three assists in a 5-3 loss at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, giving him five assists in the past four games. He had no points in his previous eight games and no assists in his previous 12.
Miss: They've allowed 14 goals, including one empty-net goal, in a three-game losing streak. Petr Mrazek allowed the first seven goals, Jimmy Howard gave up the next six, and Columbus scored into the empty net.

16. Philadelphia Flyers (31-23-11)
Total points: 8
Last week: NR
Hit:They went 5-1-0 with 22 goals in the wins during a recently completed six-game homestand despite playing the last five without injured forward Jakub Voracek (lower body), whose 48 points are second on Philadelphia.
Miss: They're going to need to find some road success in order to make the playoffs because 10of the Flyers last 17 games are away from Wells Fargo Center. They are 13-14-4 on the road, including 6-7-1 since Christmas.
Out: Minnesota Wild
Other receiving votes: Wild (5 points)
BRIAN COMPTON
1. Capitals
2. Blues
3. Blackhawks
4. Ducks
5. Lightning
6. Stars
7. Bruins
8. Kings
9. Rangers
10. Islanders
11. Sharks
12. Panthers
13. Predators
14. Penguins
15. Red Wings
16. Flyers
ARPON BASU
1. Capitals
2. Ducks
3. Blues
4. Lightning
5. Blackhawks
6. Stars
7. Rangers
8. Islanders
9. Kings
10. Predators
11. Panthers
12. Bruins
13. Sharks
14. Flyers
15. Wild
16. Penguins
ADAM KIMELMAN
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Ducks
4. Kings
5. Stars
6. Blues
7. Lightning
8. Rangers
9. Penguins
10. Panthers
11. Bruins
12. Predators
13. Islanders
14. Sharks
15. Red Wings
16. Flyers
ROBERT LAFLAMME
1. Capitals
2. Ducks
3. Blackhawks
4. Blues
5. Panthers
6. Stars
7. Lightning
8. Kings
9. Rangers
10. Predators
11. Sharks
12. Islanders
13. Penguins
14. Bruins
15. Red Wings
16. Flyers
MIKE G. MORREALE
1. Capitals
2. Blackhawks
3. Ducks
4. Blues
5. Stars
6. Kings
7. Lightning
8. Islanders
9. Rangers
10. Predators
11. Bruins
12. Panthers
13. Sharks
14. Red Wings
15. Penguins
16. Wild
SHAWN ROARKE
1. Capitals
2. Ducks
3. Blackhawks
4. Kings
5. Blues
6. Lightning
7. Predators
8. Bruins
9. Stars
10. Penguins
11. Islanders
12. Rangers
13. Sharks
14. Panthers
15. Red Wings
16. Wild
DAN ROSEN
1. Capitals
2. Ducks
3. Blackhawks
4. Kings
5. Blues
6. Lightning
7. Stars
8. Islanders
9. Rangers
10. Predators
11. Bruins
12. Sharks
13. Panthers
14. Penguins
15. Flyers
16. Wild