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 | 25-42-12 | L | 3 | 62 | 18.5% | 18.5% | – |
| 2 | Ottawa Senators | 27-41-11 | L | 3 | 65 | 13.5% | 13.5% | – |
| 3 | Arizona Coyotes | 28-40-11 | – | 3 | 67 | 11.5% | 11.5% | – |
| 4 | Montreal Canadiens | 28-39-12 | – | 3 | 68 | 9.5% | 9.5% | – |
| 5 | Vancouver Canucks | 30-40-9 | – | 3 | 69 | 8.5% | 8.5% | – |
| 6 | Detroit Red Wings | 30-38-11 | – | 3 | 71 | 7.5% | 7.5% | – |
| 7↑ | Edmonton Oilers | 34-40-6 | L | 2 | 74 | 6.0% | 6.5% | +0.5% |
| 8↓ | New York Islanders | 32-37-10 | – | 3 | 74 | 6.5% | 6.0% | -0.5% |
| 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | 32-37-10 | – | 3 | 74 | 5.0% | 5.0% | – |
| 10 | New York Rangers | 34-36-9 | – | 3 | 77 | 3.5% | 3.5% | – |
| 11 | Carolina Hurricanes | 35-34-11 | L | 2 | 81 | 3.0% | 3.0% | – |
| 12 | Calgary Flames (NYI) | 36-33-10 | – | 3 | 82 | 2.5% | 2.5% | – |
| 13↑ | Dallas Stars | 40-31-8 | – | 3 | 88 | 1.5% | 2.0% | +0.5% |
| 14↓ | Florida Panthers | 40-30-8 | W | 4 | 88 | 2.0% | 1.5% | -0.5% |
| 15 | St. Louis Blues | 43-30-6 | L | 3 | 92 | 1.0% | 1.0% | – |
The Buffalo Sabres did not defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs for the second time in eight days.
The Ottawa Senators mounted a comeback after falling behind 3-0 in their home finale, but still hung on for the loss.
A 3-2 win keeps the Florida Panthers close to a wild-card spot, and also left the Carolina Hurricanes in 11th place.
Alex Ovechkin’s 46th goal of the season put the game out of reach late in the third period for the St. Louis Blues. A two-game losing streak comes as a bad time for the Western Conference club, with just three games to get things back on track.
The Edmonton Oilers played a game of hockey indeed.
Lowlight of the night
Parise steals and scores. pic.twitter.com/YRBoct979E
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) April 3, 2018
Today’s schedule: Nine of tonight’s 18 participants are currently in a lottery position, with a chance to help their draft status. The New York Rangers can make the Eastern playoff race slightly more interesting by defeating the New Jersey Devils. Red Wings fans may not mind hearing the cannon fire in Columbus a few times tonight. The Montreal Canadiens will attempt to do what the Senators couldn’t in last night’s game versus the Jets. The Panthers have a critical matchup with the league-best Nashville Predators. The Arizona Coyotes can continue their hot streak and beat their former starting goalie in the process. The Canucks will have to beat the Vegas Golden Knights to extend their winning streak to five games. And the Dallas Stars can hand the San Jose Sharks a third straight loss to help set up a hotly-contested Battle of California for playoff seeding in the final week.
