The draft lottery positioning is changing on a daily basis, with teams dropping in and out of playoff spots, and the league’s bottom teams jockeying for position over the final few weeks. Here are the the odds for the teams in contention for the first overall pick after last night’s action.
Today’s draft lottery odds
| Pos | Team | Record | Last night’s result | GR | Points | Yesterday’s odds | Today’s odds | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffalo Sabres | 25-41-12 | W | 4 | 62 | 18.5% | 18.5% | – |
| 2↑ | Ottawa Senators | 27-40-11 | L | 4 | 65 | 11.5% | 13.5% | +2.0% |
| 3↓ | Arizona Coyotes | 28-40-11 | W | 3 | 67 | 13.5% | 11.5% | -2.0% |
| 4↑ | Montreal Canadiens | 28-38-12 | L | 4 | 68 | 8.5% | 9.5% | +1.0% |
| 5↓ | Vancouver Canucks | 30-40-9 | OTW | 3 | 69 | 9.5% | 8.5% | -1.0% |
| 6 | Detroit Red Wings | 30-38-11 | W | 3 | 71 | 7.5% | 7.5% | – |
| 7↑ | New York Islanders | 32-37-10 | L | 3 | 74 | 6.0% | 6.5% | +0.5% |
| 8↑ | Edmonton Oilers | 34-39-6 | L | 3 | 74 | 5.0% | 6.0% | +1.0% |
| 9↓↓ | Chicago Blackhawks | 32-37-10 | – | 3 | 74 | 6.5% | 5.0% | -1.5% |
| 10 | New York Rangers | 34-36-9 | W | 3 | 77 | 3.5% | 3.5% | – |
| 11↑ | Carolina Hurricanes | 35-33-11 | L | 3 | 81 | 2.5% | 3.0% | +0.5% |
| 12↓ | Calgary Flames (NYI) | 36-33-10 | W | 3 | 82 | 3.0% | 2.5% | -0.5% |
| 13↑ | Florida Panthers | 39-30-8 | L | 5 | 86 | 1.5% | 2.0% | +0.5% |
| 14↓ | Dallas Stars | 40-31-8 | W | 3 | 88 | 2.0% | 1.5% | -0.5% |
| 15 | Colorado Avalanche | 42-28-8 | – | 4 | 92 | 1.0% | 1.0% | – |
The Detroit Red Wings won again to further solidfy a place at #6. The Senators are sailing smoothly to the finish line.
The Vancouver Canucks saw the Columbus Blue Jackets erase their three-goal lead in the final four minutes of regulation, but added another mark to the ROW column with an overtime win.
The New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers lost, continuing the dance with the Blackhawks that saw Chicago gain two places without even participating last night.
The New York Rangers won, sticking it to the GM who publicly outlined his plan to set the team up for the future.
The worst team in the NHL embarrassed the league’s top squad, with the Buffalo Sabres pulling off a 7-4 victory in Nashville.
The Dallas Stars won a game, but it’s too little, too late.
Perhaps even more embarrassing — and potentially much more devastating — than the Sabres game was a 6-0 loss at the hands of the Arizona Coyotes for a St. Louis Blues team fighting for a playoff spot.
The Battle of Alberta went to the Calgary Flames, who held on after posting three goals in the first period to achieve a 3-2 win over Edmonton.
Lowlight of the night
Butt ➡️ skate ➡️ goal. pic.twitter.com/IssZIrrfQp
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) April 1, 2018
Today’s schedule: The Canadiens can hang onto their new spot at #4 with a loss to the New Jersey Devils. The Colorado Avalanche can leapfrog two teams, including the one they will be playing, with a victory of any kind over the Anaheim Ducks.
