Super 16: Gustavsson, Wild surge in power rankings with fast start

The Minnesota Wild have not yet trailed in a game, having scored first in all six they've played, winning four and losing once in a shootout and once in overtime.

How is it happening for them? Who is getting it done? Who is making the biggest impact?

The challenge presented to the writers and editors who contribute weekly to the NHL.com Super 16 presented by Enterprise is to find the person or persons making the biggest impact for the team they are writing about, and detail what he or she has done, why and how.

It could be a player or, in the Wild's case, multiple players. It could be a coach. It could be the owner.

Whoever it is, that person or persons is a big reason why that team is ranked in this week's Super 16.

Who are they? Read on to find out more.

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. New York Rangers (5-0-1)

Total points: 226
Last week: No. 2

"Artemi Panarin is off to a blazing start with 13 points (six goals, seven assists), but what else is new? Well, Reilly Smith is new to the Rangers this season and they appear to finally have found someone to excel on the top line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. Smith has six points (two goals, four assists) in six games, while Kreider has five goals and Zibanejad has six points (two goals, four assists). Perhaps most importantly, both of Zibanejad's goals this season were scored at even-strength. He's had 12 even-strength goals in each of the past two seasons." -- Bill Price, VP, Editor-in-Chief

2. Winnipeg Jets (6-0-0)

Total points: 223
Last week: No. 4

"The Jets lost coach Rick Bowness, who took his retirement after 40 seasons in the NHL. But there are some things that aren't changing in Winnipeg. The Jets are still a good hockey team with new coach Scott Arniel. They have started the season with six wins in a row. Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers and Josh Morrissey are on fire, but it's goalie Connor Hellebuyck who is making the biggest difference. He won the Vezina Trophy last season and he's going after it again this season with a 5-0-0 record, a .948 save percentage and a 1.40 goals-against average. The difference is he's not playing like the goalie we saw in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, when Hellebuyck had a 5.23 GAA and .870 save percentage in a five-game loss to the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference First Round." -- Jean-Francois Chaumont, journaliste principal LNH.com

3. Dallas Stars (5-2-0)

Total points: 201
Last week: No. 1

"There are a few candidates for this week's theme, but I'm going with Roope Hintz. Once again, the speedy center just continues to quietly go about his business of being productive. The 27-year-old has seven points (three goals, four assists), tied for the Stars lead with forward Logan Stankoven, who has seven assists. He has also won 53.1 percent of his face-offs (34-for-64). Hintz has had 65 or more points in each of his past three seasons, and I would expect him to be around that again. Just a steady player, and he's making a big, positive impact for the Stars in the early going." -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

4. Minnesota Wild (4-0-2)

Total points: 160
Last week: No. 12

"The Wild are getting impactful scoring from forward Kirill Kaprizov and world-class goaltending from Filip Gustavsson, who himself has done a little bit of scoring too. Kaprizov leads the Wild with 10 points (two goals, eight assists), including assists on three of their six game-opening goals. He also scored in a 3-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 10. Gustavsson has allowed seven goals in five games, good for a 4-0-1 record with a 1.40 GAA and .952 save percentage. The Wild have not yet trailed in a game this season." -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

5. Calgary Flames (5-0-1)

Total points: 156
Last week: No. 7

"The Flames have defied the skeptics early on this season, winning five of their first six games, and a defenseman, Rasmus Andersson, has been a large part of their success. Andersson had a goal and assist for Calgary in a 4-3 shootout win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. He has eight points (three goals, five assists) and is plus-7 in six games. The 27-year-old is in his seventh full season with Calgary and has developed into a solid top-four defenseman who is effective at both ends of the ice. He is developing a partnership with Kevin Bahl and has helped the Flames maintain the fewest goals against (15) in the Pacific Division so far this season." -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer

6. Florida Panthers (4-3-1)

Total points: 137
Last week: No. 3

"The Panthers have been without stars Aleksander Barkov (lower-body injury) and Matthew Tkachuk (illness) for multiple games, yet they have been able to tread water. A huge part of that reason has been the play of defenseman Gustav Forsling, which should come as no surprise after the way he played last season. Forsling is playing 23:32 per game, tied with Aaron Ekblad for the team lead. He has two goals and two assists, including an overtime goal. Most importantly, he is a defensive bedrock on a team that has looked lost defending at times. He is plus-7 on a team that has five skaters with a plus-rating and has a 54.5 percent SAT percentage." -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial

7. Vegas Golden Knights (4-2-1)

Total points: 126
Last week: No. 5

"It's hard to pick one player from the Golden Knights when it's really been one line driving their success; Mark Stone (12 points), Jack Eichel (11 points) and Ivan Barbashev (nine points). Stone has been on the ice for 16 goals for and seven against, including 11-5 at even strength. Eichel has been on for 17 for and seven against, including 10-4 at even strength. Barbashev, who isn't a regular on the first power-play unit, has been on for 10 for and five against at even-strength. They have accounted for 32 points; Vegas' remaining nine skaters have accounted for 28." – Rosen

8. New Jersey Devils (5-3-1)

Total points: 125
Last week: No. 6

"The message Sheldon Keefe continues to instill nine games into his first season as Devils coach has, at times, gotten through to establish a foundational identity, particularly for those players tasked as secondary scorers. Paul Cotter, acquired in a trade with the Golden Knights on June 29, is tied with Nico Hischier for the team lead in goals (five) and Stefan Noesen, who signed a three-year contract July 1, is tied with Timo Meier for the lead in points (nine). Keefe stresses puck possession and how vital it is to wearing down opponents. He wants his players to have a 'pack mentality' as a forechecking group of five, making certain the opposition is under constant duress. It's been a work in progress." -- Mike G. Morreale, senior draft writer

9. Tampa Bay Lightning (4-2-0)

Total points: 114
Last week: No. 9

"How big has Ryan McDonagh's return been for the Lightning? The 35-year-old has alleviated some of the workload from Victor Hedman and is still playing more than 20 minutes per game. He leads Tampa Bay with 16 blocked shots and short-handed time on ice per game (3:41). He remains a warrior and a huge reason why the Lightning have won four of their first six." -- Brian Compton, managing editor

10. Washington Capitals (4-1-0)

Total points: 100
Last week: NR

"There are several players who have had positive impacts during Washington's strong start, but I'll go with Tom Wilson as my pick for having the biggest impact. The right wing tied the Capitals record shared by Alex Ovechkin, Mike Gartner and Dennis Maruk with a season-opening four-game goal streak. Wilson had five goals in the first four games after not scoring until the seventh game last season and not reaching five goals until the 20th game. Wilson has also teamed with Connor McMichael and center Pierre-Luc Dubois on a strong second line that has been used to help hold opponent's top lines in check." -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

11. Toronto Maple Leafs (4-3-0)

Total points: 94
Last week: No. 8

"When the Maple Leafs signed Anthony Stolarz in free agency, a number of general managers around the NHL predicted the 30-year-old had the potential to bust out and be a No. 1 goalie. It may be a small body of work, but he's shown exactly that, at least through five games. When Joseph Woll was scratched prior to Toronto’s season opener against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 9 with a lower-body injury, Stolarz had his opportunity and hasn't looked back; he has three wins, a 1.83 GAA and .938 save percentage. Despite Woll being back on the ice and nearing a return, Stolarz should remain the go-to guy for now. He's earned it." -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

12. Vancouver Canucks (3-1-2)

Total points: 93
Last week: NR

"Vancouver has won three straight, outscoring opponents 12-5 after beginning the season with three straight losses. The key to the turnaround has been backup goalie Kevin Lankinen, who is 3-0-1 with a 1.70 GAA and .941 save percentage in four games. With starter Thatcher Demko still out and Arturs Silovs having struggled in his two starts, Lankinen has been the very early season MVP for the Canucks." -- David Satriano, staff writer

13. Utah Hockey Club (4-2-1)

Total points: 70
Last week: No. 10

"No one has made a more positive impact this season than Utah owner Ryan Smith. He and his wife, Ashley, helped the NHL out of a predicament in Arizona and established a new franchise in Utah in a matter of months. So much has been done in so little time, and there is so much more to come. You can sense the enthusiasm around Salt Lake City, and it's palpable in the locker room and on the ice. Utah is in a wild-card spot in the West. Can the coaches and players ride the momentum into the Stanley Cup Playoffs?" -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

14. Ottawa Senators (4-2-0)

Total points: 57
Last week: No. 15

"Jake Sanderson has been a difference-maker in a positive way for the Senators through six games. Sanderson, the defenseman, has seven points (one goal, six assists), including a goal and five assists in Ottawa's four wins. He leads Ottawa with 20 blocked shots, including seven in a season-opening 3-1 win against the Panthers on Oct. 10. He's averaging a team-high 25:28 of ice time per game, more than three minutes more than anyone else (Thomas Chabot, 22:42). He's playing 3:28 on the power play and 2:58 on the penalty kill. Sanderson is involved in every aspect of Ottawa's game and is a big reason why the Senators have four wins in six games." – Rosen

15. Carolina Hurricanes (3-2-0)

Total points: 56
Last week: No. 13

“There might not be a more important player to his team than Sebastian Aho is to the Hurricanes. The forward plays in all situations, takes all the important face-offs and always seems to come up big in the biggest moments. Take, for example, Carolina's game against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. With the Hurricanes down 2-0 entering the third period, he made a great play to hold a puck in at the blue line and got an assist on Shayne Gostisbehere's power-play goal 44 seconds in to make it 2-1. Then he scores with seven seconds left in overtime, the last of his nine shots on goal. It was his first game-winner of the season, and 29th in the past four seasons, tied for the second-most in the NHL. Aho is in his usual spot atop Carolina’s scoring list with six points (two goals, four assists) through five games, but that's nothing new; in his first eight NHL seasons, he's led the Hurricanes in scoring six times.” -- Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor

16. Boston Bruins (3-3-1)

Total points: 42
Last week: No. 11

"I never thought I'd be writing this at the start of the season, but it's the Bruins’ fourth line. In what has been a rocky start for Boston, its fourth line has been keeping it afloat. That starts with the team's leading scorer -- you read that right -- in Cole Koepke, who has six points (three goals, three assists), one more than fellow fourth liners John Beecher and Mark Kastelic, each of whom have two goals and three assists, and more traditional scorers David Pastrnak (five points) and Elias Lindholm (five). The fourth line has been defensively solid, offensively minded, and even entrusted to play late in close games. As coach Jim Montgomery said recently, they might need an upgrade from that fourth-line label at some point." -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

Others receiving points: Los Angeles Kings 23, Colorado Avalanche 13, St. Louis Blues 8, Edmonton Oilers 5, Anaheim Ducks 3

Dropped out from last week: Kings (No. 14), Oilers (No. 16)

Enterprise Team of the Week: The Wild won both of their games in the past week, 5-1 at Florida on Tuesday and 3-1 at Columbus on Saturday. They have not allowed more than one goal in four straight games, allowing four in the past four after giving up four in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Seattle Kraken on Oct. 12. Moreover, the Wild, who climbed eight spots in the Super 16, landing at No. 4 this week after being No. 12 last week, have not yet trailed in a game.

HERE'S HOW WE RANKED ’EM

AMALIE BENJAMIN

1. Dallas Stars; 2. New York Rangers; 3. Florida Panthers; 4. New Jersey Devils; 5. Winnipeg Jets; 6. Vegas Golden Knights; 7. Vancouver Canucks; 8. Utah Hockey Club; 9. Boston Bruins; 10. Toronto Maple Leafs; 11. Carolina Hurricanes; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Tampa Bay Lightning; 14. Calgary Flames; 15. Los Angeles Kings; 16. Edmonton Oilers

JEAN-FRANCOIS CHAUMONT

1. Dallas Stars; 2. New York Rangers; 3. Toronto Maple Leafs; 4. Florida Panthers; 5. Winnipeg Jets; 6. New Jersey Devils; 7. Boston Bruins; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Utah Hockey Club; 10. Carolina Hurricanes; 11. Calgary Flames; 12. Vancouver Canucks; 13. Los Angeles Kings; 14. Edmonton Oilers; 15. Minnesota Wild; 16. Seattle Kraken

BRIAN COMPTON

1. Winnipeg Jets; 2. New York Rangers; 3. Calgary Flames; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Minnesota Wild; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. Tampa Bay Lightning; 8. Ottawa Senators; 9. Vegas Golden Knights; 10. Vancouver Canucks; 11. New Jersey Devils; 12. Utah Hockey Club; 13. Toronto Maple Leafs; 14. Carolina Hurricanes; 15. Seattle Kraken; 16. Florida Panthers

NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA

1. Winnipeg Jets; 2. New York Rangers; 3. Calgary Flames; 4. Minnesota Wild; 5. Washington Capitals; 6. Dallas Stars; 7. Ottawa Senators; 8. Tampa Bay Lightning; 9. Vancouver Canucks; 10. Vegas Golden Knights; 11. Utah Hockey Club; 12. New Jersey Devils; 13. Carolina Hurricanes; 14. Anaheim Ducks; 15. Toronto Maple Leafs; 16. St. Louis Blues

TOM GULITTI

1. New York Rangers; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Dallas Stars; 4. Minnesota Wild; 5. Florida Panthers; 6. Calgary Flames; 7. Washington Capitals; 8. Tampa Bay Lightning; 9. Vegas Golden Knights; 10. Toronto Maple Leafs; 11. Vancouver Canucks; 12. Carolina Hurricanes; 13. New Jersey Devils; 14. Ottawa Senators; 15. Utah Hockey Club; 16. Boston Bruins

ADAM KIMELMAN

1. Winnipeg Jets; 2. New York Rangers; 3. Dallas Stars; 4. Minnesota Wild; 5. Tampa Bay Lightning; 6. New Jersey Devils; 7. Vegas Golden Knights; 8. Florida Panthers; 9. Calgary Flames; 10. Toronto Maple Leafs; 11. Washington Capitals; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Vancouver Canucks; 14. Carolina Hurricanes; 15. Utah Hockey Club; 16. Los Angeles Kings

MIKE G. MORREALE

1. Florida Panthers; 2. Dallas Stars; 3. New York Rangers; 4. Vegas Golden Knights; 5. Winnipeg Jets; 6. Toronto Maple Leafs; 7. Tampa Bay Lightning; 8. Carolina Hurricanes; 9. Calgary Flames; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. New Jersey Devils; 12. Boston Bruins; 13. Washington Capitals; 14. St. Louis Blues; 15. Los Angeles Kings; 16. Colorado Avalanche

TRACEY MYERS

1. Winnipeg Jets; 2. New Jersey Devils; 3. New York Rangers; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Minnesota Wild; 6. Florida Panthers; 7. Tampa Bay Lightning; 8. Calgary Flames; 9. Vegas Golden Knights; 10. Los Angeles Kings; 11. Toronto Maple Leafs; 12. Boston Bruins; 13. Vancouver Canucks; 14. Utah Hockey Club; 15. Washington Capitals; 16. Carolina Hurricanes

BILL PRICE

1. New York Rangers; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Minnesota Wild; 4. Tampa Bay Lightning; 5. Florida Panthers; 6. Dallas Stars; 7. New Jersey Devils; 8. Calgary Flames; 9. Colorado Avalanche; 10. Washington Capitals; 11. Carolina Hurricanes; 12. Toronto Maple Leafs; 13. Utah Hockey Club; 14. Vancouver Canucks; 15. Vegas Golden Knights; 16. Ottawa Senators

SHAWN P. ROARKE

1. Dallas Stars; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. New York Rangers; 4. Florida Panthers; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Vancouver Canucks; 7. Vegas Golden Knights; 8. Minnesota Wild; 9. Calgary Flames; 10. Toronto Maple Leafs; 11. Tampa Bay Lightning; 12. Washington Capitals; 13. Boston Bruins; 14. Colorado Avalanche; 15. Carolina Hurricanes; 16. Edmonton Oilers

DAN ROSEN

1. New York Rangers; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Minnesota Wild; 4. Calgary Flames; 5. Dallas Stars; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. Florida Panthers; 8. Vancouver Canucks; 9. Vegas Golden Knights; 10. Ottawa Senators; 11. Toronto Maple Leafs; 12. Tampa Bay Lightning; 13. Carolina Hurricanes; 14. New Jersey Devils; 15. Utah Hockey Club; 16. Boston Bruins

DAVID SATRIANO

1. Winnipeg Jets; 2. New York Rangers; 3. Calgary Flames; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Minnesota Wild; 6. Vegas Golden Knights; 7. New Jersey Devils; 8. Washington Capitals; 9. Utah Hockey Club; 10. Tampa Bay Lightning; 11. Florida Panthers; 12. Los Angeles Kings; 13. Vancouver Canucks; 14. Boston Bruins; 15. Toronto Maple Leafs; 16. Ottawa Senators

PAUL STRIZHEVSKY

1. Winnipeg Jets; 2. New York Rangers; 3. Calgary Flames; 4. Minnesota Wild; 5. Dallas Stars; 6. Tampa Bay Lightning; 7. Washington Capitals; 8. Ottawa Senators; 9. Vancouver Canucks; 10. Vegas Golden Knights; 11. New Jersey Devils; 12. Florida Panthers; 13. Utah Hockey Club; 14. Carolina Hurricanes; 15. Toronto Maple Leafs; 16. Los Angeles Kings

DEREK VAN DIEST

1. Winnipeg Jets; 2. New York Rangers; 3. Calgary Flames; 4. New Jersey Devils; 5. Dallas Stars; 6. Minnesota Wild; 7. Florida Panthers; 8. Washington Capitals; 9. Utah Hockey Club; 10. Toronto Maple Leafs; 11. Ottawa Senators; 12. Seattle Kraken; 13. St. Louis Blues; 14. Boston Bruins; 15. Vegas Golden Knights; 16. Los Angeles Kings

MIKE ZEISBERGER

1. New York Rangers; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Vancouver Canucks; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Vegas Golden Knights; 6. Calgary Flames; 7. Minnesota Wild; 8. Utah Hockey Club; 9. Tampa Bay Lightning; 10. Toronto Maple Leafs; 11. Ottawa Senators; 12. Florida Panthers; 13. Washington Capitals; 14. Carolina Hurricanes; 15. Boston Bruins; 16. Colorado Avalanche