Super 16: Golden Knights unanimous No. 1

Overreactions at the beginning of the season can be infuriating. They can also be fun.

We're choosing to have some fun.

The first Super 16 of the regular season is in, and to no one's surprise the Vegas Golden Knights are the unanimous No. 1 team with a perfect start after a near perfect finish to last season.

So, clearly, they'll never lose, right?

Well …

The Carolina Hurricanes are in at No. 3 even though they've allowed 17 goals in three games. That has to be a growing problem for them, right?

Well …

Checking in at No. 4 are the Boston Bruins, who are off to a 2-0-0 start, so obviously they've got their center depth figured out and do not miss Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci at all, right?

Well …

It's overreaction week in the Super 16, though these rankings look right for what we have seen at the start of the season.

Read on for more, but as a reminder, to come up with the Super 16 each week, the voters put together their own version of what they think the rankings should look like and a point total is assigned to each, with the team selected first given 16 points, second 15, third 14, and so on.

Here is the Super 16.

1. Vegas Golden Knights (4-0-0)

Total points: 208
Preseason: No. 1

"Eighty-two straight wins to start the season. And finish it too, I guess. Yep, it's happening. The Golden Knights can't lose. They won't lose. Nobody can defeat them. All right, let's slow down on the ridiculous. But it is a fact that they have won their first four games, the first defending Stanley Cup champions to do that since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997-98. The Golden Knights look good, really good. They've outscored their opponents 14-5 with 12 different goal-scorers. Adin Hill has allowed four goals on 82 shots (.951 save percentage) in three games. Logan Thompson made 22 saves on 23 shots in his one start. The Golden Knights are a real threat to go the distance as the top team in the Pacific Division, Western Conference and even the NHL, but they will lose at some point." -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

2. Colorado Avalanche (3-0-0)

Total points: 190
Preseason: No. 6

"Ryan Johansen is a bust! The Avalanche acquired Johansen in a trade with the Nashville Predators on June 24 to fill a hole at second-line center, and the 31-year-old has zero points in his first three games! We know Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen are elite, but if guys like Johansen don't get going, the Avalanche won't go anywhere! Wait. The Avalanche are 3-0-0. They have had 57.8 percent of the shot attempts when Johansen has been on the ice 5-on-5. Johansen has won 58 percent of his face-offs. He's averaging 4:29 of power-play time, Colorado is 1-for-10 on the power play, and odds are that the Avalanche, and by extension Johansen, are going to start putting up numbers with the man-advantage. Maybe it's a little early to panic." -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

3. Carolina Hurricanes (3-1-0)

Total points: 176
Preseason: No. 2

"We all know the type of coach Rod Brind'Amour is, so folks should step off the ledge if they're worried about the excessive (at least for them) amount of goals the Hurricanes have allowed in the early going. Or maybe they shouldn't worry about it, not if they can continue to score at the rate we've seen, averaging 4.75 goals per game. And if Brady Skjei is going to continue to produce offense from the blue line like this (six points in four games), the Hurricanes have absolutely nothing to worry about. OK, so maybe he won't, but even so, there's no reason to overreact about how things have gone for Carolina in its own end." -- Brian Compton, managing editor

4. Dallas Stars (1-0-1)

Total points: 155
Preseason: No. 3

"Miro Heiskanen is overrated. All that talk about the defenseman being a front-runner for the Norris Trophy -- forget it! He has zero points after two games and has an even rating. Heck, Thomas Harley, his 22-year-old teammate who had 40 games of NHL experience before this season, has more points and is plus-3. Oh yeah, did I mention that Heiskanen has played an average of 26:19 through the first two games? There is one defenseman in the League with a heavier workload so far: Drew Doughty is playing 26:53 per game for the Los Angeles Kings. Heiskanen and the Stars, who have three goals in two games, will each be fine." -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial

5. Boston Bruins (2-0-0)

Total points: 152
Preseason: No. 8

"I was in a scrum with rookie Matthew Poitras the other day, and a reporter noted the similarities between him and Bergeron: the fact that they made the team as surprises as teenage rookie centers, and that they were second-round picks, with Poitras taken at No. 54 in the 2022 NHL Draft and Bergeron selected at No. 45 in 2003. I could only shake my head. Though the 19-year-old might go on to a storied and lengthy NHL career, and might even make the Hall of Fame, it might have been a wee bit early to make the comparison before Poitras had even taken the ice in his first NHL game. Welcome to Boston. No pressure, kid." -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

6. Toronto Maple Leafs (2-1-0)

Total points: 140
Preseason: No. 4

"Opening week of the NHL season in Toronto has its own unique, cool vibe. The buzz in town is palpable: Morning talk shows on TV & radio focus on the "Stanley Cup hope springs eternal" narrative around the Maple Leafs rather than promoting past postseason failures (at least for a week or two until cynical heads prevail). Then you add back-to-back hat tricks by Auston Matthews into the mix, and logic is usurped by giddiness. Suddenly you have fans jokingly calculating what three goals per game multiplied by 82 games comes out to. For the record, it comes to 246 goals. I'll take the under, thanks." -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

7. New Jersey Devils (1-1-1)

Total points: 121
Preseason: No. 5

"The fans are restless in the Garden State. My goodness, the Devils not only have forgotten how to establish offense in the first period but also the benefit of hard work. Sure, New Jersey is in a bit of an early-season funk, but let's not forget the team began 2022-23 with consecutive 5-2 losses before winning six of its next seven in October. New Jersey has been outshot (39-22) and outscored (3-0) in the opening period through three games, but that doesn’t mean the players and coaches don't care. They have gotten three of a possible six points to open the season and need to show a little more discipline (17 penalties taken) as well as realize playing with more pace and confidence will go a long way. It's just a matter of time before Timo Meier, Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer, who each is without a point, find their game in what remains a potent offensive lineup. "The sun came up again this morning," Meier said Tuesday. "It's a new day. You go out and work as hard as you can. What's in the past is in the past. You look forward." -- Mike G. Morreale, staff writer

8. New York Rangers (2-1-0)

Total points: 99
Preseason: No. 9

"Blake Wheeler is too slow to play with the Rangers and will be a bust, out of the lineup by next month. Sure, I've heard fans wondering about Wheeler, the 37-year-old right wing who signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with New York on July 1 after the Winnipeg Jets made him an unrestricted free agent by buying out the final year of his five-year contract. Watch Wheeler's shifts in the Rangers' most recent game, a 2-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Monday. He was involved in the play. He had multiple scoring chances. He was around the net, finishing with four shots on goal. Wheeler can be a good fit as a third-line right wing and a power-play option for the Rangers. Give him time, and he should be able to prove it. Speed is not his best attribute. It never has been, and he's carved out quite a strong NHL career anyway." -- Rosen

9. Pittsburgh Penguins (2-2-0)

Total points: 88
Preseason: No. 13

"A repeat of last season. That was the reaction from some after the Penguins let a 2-0 second-period lead slip away in their 4-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in their season opener Oct. 10. Sure, there was some déjà vu because Pittsburgh lost 5-2 to Chicago in its penultimate game of last season, which led to the end of its 16-season streak of qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And the power play with defenseman Erik Karlsson, who was acquired from the San Jose Sharks in an offseason trade, at the point went 0-for-2. But things looked a lot better in Pittsburgh's 4-0 win against the Washington Capitals in its second game on Friday, with the power play scoring two goals, and in a 5-2 victory against the Calgary Flames on Saturday. It certainly helped that Evgeni Malkin had six points (two goals, four assists) in those two games and Sidney Crosby had three (two goals, one assist)." -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

10. New York Islanders (2-0-0)

Total points: 66
Preseason: Unranked

"Why worry about scoring when you can defend and stop the puck as well as the Islanders do? Two goals a game should be enough. Three will be a guaranteed win. Uh, no. Sorry, that's not how this works. The Islanders look good early in the season, but they gave away a 2-0 first-period lead against the Buffalo Sabres only to win 3-2 on Saturday, and they got by the Coyotes 1-0 on Tuesday. Arizona was playing the second of a back-to-back and its third game in five nights on a season-opening four-game road trip that concludes at St. Louis on Thursday. The Islanders were playing their second game of the season with two days between games. They should have been fresher and better. And they were. But they're going to have to score more to continue to win. Two goals probably won't cut it against the Devils on Friday or against the Avalanche on Tuesday." -- Rosen

11. Minnesota Wild (2-1-0)

Total points: 65
Preseason: No. 15

"Joel Eriksson Ek will only score on the power play this season. Nope, forget about 5-on-5 goals, the Wild forward is all special-teams-scoring all the time. OK, obviously I'm getting ahead of myself here, but Eriksson Ek is certainly the Wild's bread and butter on the power play, where he has scored all three of his goals in as many games this season. Eriksson Ek's NHL career high in power-play goals is 12, a total he's reached twice, in 78 games last season and 77 the previous season. But he’s been a reliable scorer even strength as well. In 2021-22 he had 14 even-strength goals, and in 2020-21 he and Kirill Kaprizov led the Wild with 19 even-strength goals. Minnesota missed Eriksson Ek dearly in the playoffs last season; he fractured his fibula on April 6 against the Penguins and was limited to one 19-second shift the postseason, in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round, which the Wild lost to the Dallas Stars in six games. Minnesota is a better team with Eriksson Ek in the mix, no matter how he’s scoring." -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

12. Edmonton Oilers (1-2-0)

Total points: 63
Preseason: No. 7

"Cancel the Stanley Cup parade plans in Edmonton. The Oilers lost their first two games to the Vancouver Canucks, including the season opener 8-1! Teams that lose the first two games of an 82-game schedule simply do not go on to win the Stanley Cup, and the Oilers can no longer be considered championship contenders. They are simply not good enough defensively, their goaltending has not improved from last season, and they rely too much on their power play. Hold on, though -- they defeated the Nashville Predators 6-1 in their third game Tuesday, with Jack Campbell making 15 saves in the first period and finishing with 43. OK, maybe keep those parade plans for now." -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer

13. Vancouver Canucks (2-1-0)

Total points: 52
Preseason: Unranked

"The Canucks penalty kill looks just like it did last season and will again be a major problem. They’ve allowed three power-play goals in three games, so they’re clearly on their way to a last-place finish in this category like last season (71.6 percent), right? Wrong. Vancouver allowed those power-play goals to Edmonton across two games, and let’s not forget that the Oilers had an NHL-record 32.4 percent success rate on the man-advantage last season. Also, in the offseason the Canucks brought in forwards Teddy Blueger and Pius Suter, and defenseman Ian Cole, all of whom have been excellent penalty-killers in their careers. It may take a little while to get settled, but the Canucks penalty kill should be just fine. " -- David Satriano, staff writer

14. Ottawa Senators (3-1-0)

Total points: 50
Preseason: Unranked

"The Senators have missed the playoffs in six straight seasons and have no hope of making it again. Forward Dominik Kubalik, acquired in a trade with Detroit in the offseason, was supposed to boost Ottawa's middle-of-the-road offense but has no points on just five shots in the first four games. The Senators can't have their big trio of Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk and Claude Giroux score all the goals again and expect to do better. But wait, haven't the Senators won three of those four games while also scoring 19 goals? Hasn't Vladimir Tarasenko, another big-name forward acquired in the offseason with similar intentions, scored six points (two goals, four assists) in those three wins? Please, breathe. Ottawa is doing quite well." -- Paul Strizhevsky, staff writer

15. Los Angeles Kings (1-1-1)

Total points: 42
Preseason: No. 10

"Starts are a huge problem for the Kings! Well, maybe they will be, but three games is too small of a sample size to know for sure. The Kings have scored one goal in the first period through three games. Not good. They've allowed four, including three in the first 13:28 against the Hurricanes on Saturday. They were down 3-0 to the Avalanche by the 3:47 mark of the second period in their season opener, and 3-0 to the Hurricanes too. But Los Angeles rallied against Carolina before losing 6-5 in the shootout, and then on Tuesday built a 2-0 lead on the Winnipeg Jets in the second period before scoring three straight goals in the third period on the way to a 5-1 win. Do the Kings need to be better at the start of games? Yes. But it's not a concern. They opened the season against Colorado and Carolina, ranked second and third, respectively, in this Super 16. It wasn't pretty, but it was maybe the shot in the arm the Kings needed." -- Rosen

16. Detroit Red Wings (3-1-0)

Total points: 33
Preseason: Unranked

"Alex DeBrincat will score 70 goals and win the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL leader this season. He has five goals in four games this season and is on pace for 102. Well, even so, 70 looks like a stretch. Nobody has scored that many in a season since Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny each had 76 in 1992-93, and DeBrincat’s NHL career high is 41, achieved twice (2018-19, 2021-22). Whatever number DeBrincat eventually ends up with, he's certainly playing like the high-end finisher the Red Wings were hoping for when they acquired him in a trade with the Senators during the offseason. With DeBrincat leading the way, the Red Wings have scored 19 goals in their first four games and look to be on the path toward returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2016." -- Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor

Others receiving points: Florida Panthers 19, St. Louis Blues 14, Tampa Bay Lightning 10, Winnipeg Jets 8, Chicago Blackhawks 6, Calgary Flames 5, Buffalo Sabres 4, Nashville Predators 1, Philadelphia Flyers 1

Dropped out from preseason Super 16: Panthers (No. 11), Seattle Kraken (No. 12), Lightning (No. 14), Sabres (No. 16)

HERE'S HOW WE RANKED ’EM 

AMALIE BENJAMIN

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Carolina Hurricanes; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Dallas Stars; 7. Boston Bruins; 8. Los Angeles Kings; 9. Pittsburgh Penguins; 10. New York Rangers; 11. Edmonton Oilers; 12. Calgary Flames; 13. Vancouver Canucks; 14. Tampa Bay Lightning; 15. Detroit Red Wings; 16. Ottawa Senators

BRIAN COMPTON

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Carolina Hurricanes; 4. New Jersey Devils; 5. Dallas Stars; 6. Boston Bruins; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. New York Rangers; 9. Vancouver Canucks; 10. Pittsburgh Penguins; 11. Minnesota Wild; 12. New York Islanders; 13. St. Louis Blues; 14. Edmonton Oilers; 15. Ottawa Senators; 16. Detroit Red Wings

NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. New York Islanders; 5. Carolina Hurricanes; 6. Dallas Stars; 7. St. Louis Blues; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. Los Angeles Kings; 10. Pittsburgh Penguins; 11. New York Rangers; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Detroit Red Wings; 14. Minnesota Wild; 15. Vancouver Canucks; 16. Philadelphia Flyers

TOM GULITTI 

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Carolina Hurricanes; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Boston Bruins; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Edmonton Oilers; 9. New York Rangers; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. New York Islanders; 12. Los Angeles Kings; 13. Ottawa Senators; 14. Detroit Red Wings; 15. Pittsburgh Penguins; 16. Florida Panthers

ADAM KIMELMAN

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Dallas Stars; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. New York Rangers; 6. Carolina Hurricanes; 7. Boston Bruins; 8. New Jersey Devils; 9. Minnesota Wild; 10. Edmonton Oilers; 11. Ottawa Senators; 12. Pittsburgh Penguins; 13. Vancouver Canucks; 14. New York Islanders; 15. Los Angeles Kings; 16. Detroit Red Wings

MIKE G. MORREALE

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Carolina Hurricanes; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. Dallas Stars; 6. Boston Bruins; 7. Florida Panthers; 8. New Jersey Devils; 9. New York Rangers; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. Edmonton Oilers; 12. Los Angeles Kings; 13. New York Islanders; 14. Pittsburgh Penguins; 15. Buffalo Sabres; 16. Winnipeg Jets

TRACEY MYERS 

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. Colorado Avalanche; 4. New York Islanders; 5. Dallas Stars; 6. Carolina Hurricanes; 7. New Jersey Devils; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. Vancouver Canucks; 10. Detroit Red Wings; 11. Pittsburgh Penguins; 12. New York Rangers; 13. Minnesota Wild; 14. Tampa Bay Lightning; 15. Edmonton Oilers; 16. Ottawa Senators

SHAWN P. ROARKE 

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Carolina Hurricanes; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Boston Bruins; 6. New Jersey Devils; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Pittsburgh Penguins; 9. Edmonton Oilers; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. Los Angeles Kings; 12. Vancouver Canucks; 13. Florida Panthers; 14. Tampa Bay Lightning; 15. Buffalo Sabres; 16. Nashville Predators

DAN ROSEN 

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Carolina Hurricanes; 4. Boston Bruins; 5. Dallas Stars; 6. Ottawa Senators; 7. New York Islanders; 8. New York Rangers; 9. Toronto Maple Leafs; 10. Los Angeles Kings; 11. Pittsburgh Penguins; 12. New Jersey Devils; 13. Vancouver Canucks; 14. Minnesota Wild; 15. Edmonton Oilers; 16. Detroit Red Wings

DAVID SATRIANO
                                                         
1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Carolina Hurricanes; 3. Colorado Avalanche; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. Dallas Stars; 6. Pittsburgh Penguins; 7. Boston Bruins; 8. New Jersey Devils; 9. New York Rangers; 10. New York Islanders; 11. Vancouver Canucks; 12. Detroit Red Wings; 13. Ottawa Senators; 14. Minnesota Wild; 15. Chicago Blackhawks; 16. Edmonton Oilers

PAUL STRIZHEVSKY

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Carolina Hurricanes; 3. Colorado Avalanche; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. Boston Bruins; 6. New York Rangers; 7. Dallas Stars; 8. Pittsburgh Penguins; 9. New Jersey Devils; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. Ottawa Senators; 12. Detroit Red Wings; 13. Florida Panthers; 14. Vancouver Canucks; 15. Edmonton Oilers; 16. Tampa Bay Lightning

DEREK VAN DIEST

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. Carolina Hurricanes; 4. Colorado Avalanche; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Edmonton Oilers; 7. Dallas Stars; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. Pittsburgh Penguins; 10. Winnipeg Jets; 11. Minnesota Wild; 12. Vancouver Canucks; 13. New York Rangers; 14. Chicago Blackhawks; 15. Detroit Red Wings; 16. Ottawa Senators

MIKE ZEISBERGER 

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Carolina Hurricanes; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. New York Rangers; 6. New Jersey Devils; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Ottawa Senators; 9. Boston Bruins; 10. Pittsburgh Penguins; 11. Edmonton Oilers; 12. New York Islanders; 13. Minnesota Wild; 14. Vancouver Canucks; 15. Detroit Red Wings; 16. Chicago Blackhawks