2026 Calder Cup Playoffs – North Division SFs
Game 4: Laval Rocket @ Toronto Marlies
TOR leads 2-1
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: RDS (French)
Streaming: FloHockey, RDS
For the first (and only) time in the AHL division semifinals, the Laval Rocket play a game that doesn’t overlap with one from the parent Montreal Canadiens. The Rocket had done well despite the divided attention of their fanbase to win the opening game 3-1, but have suffered back-to-back 6-2 losses since in this best-of-five series, seeing the Marlies score 11 consecutive goals in the series at one stage, and now the North Division-winner faces elimination in the fourth game of the post-season.
Noah Dobson’s return to the NHL club is good news for the Rocket because it means the Habs no longer need to have Adam Engström on the roster as injury insurance, and is back with the team for this critical game. The defenceman only played 45 games in the regular season for Laval with multiple NHL recalls, but still ranked sixth with 34 points and was a +14. His two-way play will be vital as the Rocket try to stay alive and push the series to a fifth game on Friday evening.
2026 NHL Draft Lottery
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the USA: ESPN
Streaming: Sportsnet+
The Montreal Canadiens’ days of being in the draft lottery may be over for a long time, but it’s still interesting to see which team will win the top pick. The projected first overall selection in 2026 is Gavin McKenna, a player who played on a line with Habs prospect Michael Hage at the World Juniors, contributing 14 points to Hage’s 15. McKenna completed what might be his only NCAA season with 51 points, leading a Penn State club that had several players already drafted into the NHL.
Two lotteries will be conducted tonight, one for the top pick, and a subsequent one to determine second overall. Teams have been assigned four-number combinations for a 14-ball lottery machine, and the winner will be determined after drawing balls one at a time. The draw will be conducted live, so the winner will be known in real time as the fourth and final ball is drawn.
Winning a lottery doesn’t jump a team right to the top, but instead moves it a maximum of 10 places up the order. That means only 11 clubs have a shot at winning the first pick; if one of the teams with the 12th- to 16th-best odds wins the 1st Draft Lottery, it moves up 10 spots, but the first pick goes to the worst team from the regular season, which was the Vancouver Canucks. So while the Canucks have an 18.5% chance of having one of their combinations come out of the lottery, their chances of getting the first overall pick are actually 25.5% (their assigned 18.5% plus the total of 7.0% held by the five teams with the lowest odds).
| Pick | Team | Odds of winning lottery | Odds of claiming 1st overall pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver Canucks | 18.5% | 25.5% |
| 2 | Chicago Blackhawks | 13.5% | 13.5% |
| 3 | New York Rangers | 11.5% | 11.5% |
| 4 | Calgary Flames | 9.5% | 9.5% |
| 5 | Toronto Maple Leafs* | 8.5% | 8.5% |
| 6 | Seattle Kraken | 7.5% | 7.5% |
| 7 | Winnipeg Jets | 6.5% | 6.5% |
| 8 | Florida Panthers | 6.0% | 6.0% |
| 9 | San Jose Sharks | 5.0% | 5.0% |
| 10 | Nashville Predators | 3.5% | 3.5% |
| 11 | St. Louis Blues | 3.0% | 3.0% |
| 12 | New Jersey Devils | 2.5% | 0.0% |
| 13 | New York Islanders | 2.0% | 0.0% |
| 14 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 1.5% | 0.0% |
| 15 | St. Louis Blues (via DET) | 0.5% | 0.0% |
| 16 | Washington Capitals | 0.5% | 0.0% |
* Toronto’s top-five-protected pick will go to the Boston Bruins if a team with lower odds wins a lottery and bumps the Maple Leafs lower than fifth
