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 official draft lottery odds
| Pos | Team | Record | Last night’s result | GR | Points | Yesterday’s odds | Today’s odds | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffalo Sabres | 24-40-12 | – | 6 | 60 | 18.5% | 18.5% | – |
| 2 | Ottawa Senators | 26-39-11 | – | 6 | 63 | 13.5% | 13.5% | – |
| 3 | Arizona Coyotes | 27-39-11 | W | 5 | 65 | 11.5% | 11.5% | – |
| 4 | Vancouver Canucks | 28-40-9 | – | 5 | 65 | 9.5% | 9.5% | – |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 28-38-11 | – | 5 | 67 | 8.5% | 8.5% | – |
| 6 | Montreal Canadiens | 28-37-12 | – | 5 | 68 | 7.5% | 7.5% | – |
| 7 | Chicago Blackhawks | 31-36-10 | – | 5 | 72 | 6.5% | 6.5% | – |
| 8 | New York Islanders | 32-35-10 | – | 5 | 74 | 6.0% | 6.0% | – |
| 9 | Edmonton Oilers | 34-37-6 | – | 5 | 74 | 5.0% | 5.0% | – |
| 10 | New York Rangers | 33-35-9 | OTL | 5 | 75 | 3.5% | 3.5% | – |
| 11 | Carolina Hurricanes | 34-32-11 | – | 5 | 79 | 3.0% | 3.0% | – |
| 12 | Calgary Flames (NYI) | 35-32-10 | – | 5 | 80 | 2.5% | 2.5% | – |
| 13 | Florida Panthers | 39-29-7 | L | 7 | 85 | 2.0% | 2.0% | – |
| 14 | Dallas Stars | 39-30-8 | – | 5 | 86 | 1.5% | 1.5% | – |
| 15 | Colorado Avalanche | 41-28-8 | L | 5 | 90 | 1.0% | 1.0% | – |
The official odds were released by the NHL yesterday, and have been added to the table. (I thought the ones I came up with were more logical — why is there a 0.5% drop from seventh to eighth, but 1.5% from ninth to 10th? — but whatever.)
The Arizona Coyotes are 15-7-2 in their last 24 games. Clayton Keller has a 10-game point streak. It seems they’d grown bored with the whole tank thing.
Lars Eller saved the New York Rangers from themselves by getting the game to overtime with just over a minute remaining.
The Florida Panthers fought back, but couldn’t overcome an early 3-0 deficit to move closer to a playoff spot.
And the Colorado Avalanche are now in danger of missing the post-season. They’ve lost three of their last four games in regulation, and have just five remaining to stop an extemely ill-timed slide.
Lowlight of the night
The quality of play was to a high standard, so there was no lowlight. How about a highlight instead?
That one deserves a closer look. 👀 pic.twitter.com/r0oBRM2fTH
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) March 28, 2018
Today’s schedule: After no movement in the rankings on Wednesday, a 10-game schedule tonight offers plenty of chances for positional shifts. All-lottery matchups include the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres, Panthers and Ottawa Senators, and Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks. Arizona can continue its run and play the role of spoiler in what is a key contest for the Los Angeles Kings.
