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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 28-41-11 | W | 2 | 67 | 13.5% | 13.5% | - |
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 28-39-13 | - | 2 | 69 | 11.5% | 11.5% | - |
| 4 | Arizona Coyotes | 29-40-11 | - | 2 | 69 | 9.5% | 9.5% | - |
| 5 | Vancouver Canucks | 30-40-10 | - | 2 | 70 | 8.5% | 8.5% | - |
| 6 | Detroit Red Wings | 30-38-12 | - | 2 | 72 | 7.5% | 7.5% | - |
| 7 | Edmonton Oilers | 34-40-6 | - | 2 | 74 | 6.5% | 6.5% | - |
| 8↑ | New York Islanders | 33-37-10 | - | 2 | 76 | 5.0% | 6.0% | +1.0% |
| 9↓ | Chicago Blackhawks | 34-37-10 | W | 2 | 76 | 6.0% | 5.0% | -1.0% |
| 10 | New York Rangers | 34-37-9 | - | 2 | 77 | 3.5% | 3.5% | - |
| 11 | Carolina Hurricanes | 35-34-11 | - | 2 | 81 | 3.0% | 3.0% | - |
| 12 | Calgary Flames (NYI) | 36-34-10 | - | 2 | 82 | 2.5% | 2.5% | - |
| 13 | Dallas Stars | 41-31-8 | - | 2 | 90 | 2.0% | 2.0% | - |
| 14 | Florida Panthers | 41-30-8 | - | 3 | 90 | 1.5% | 1.5% | - |
| 15 | St. Louis Blues | 43-31-6 | L | 2 | 92 | 1.0% | 1.0% | - |
In a four-point game, the Buffalo Sabres’ loss to the Ottawa Senators secured them the #1 spot, giving them the most tickets for the draft lottery. The Senators now sit just two points back of the Montreal Canadiens.
The St. Louis Blues were tied and just about to head to overtime with a critical point when Duncan Keith scored the game-winning goal with seconds remaining. The Blues stay outside of a playoff spot and will need to hope the Colorado Avalanche don’t earn all four points from their final two games.
Lowlight of the night
Game-winner with 8.5 seconds left. pic.twitter.com/UhTfCGDT41
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) April 5, 2018
Today’s schedule: The Rangers and Islanders do battle one final time with lottery positioning at stake. The Carolina Hurricanes can throw a wrench in the Philadelphia Flyers’ post-season aspirations. The Canadiens put a season sweep of the Detroit Red Wings on the line. The Panthers and Bruins have one of their two meetings this week, with Florida likely needing to win both to have even a chance at a playoff spot. The Flames take on the high-powered Jets. The Edmonton Oilers play hockey once again. The Coyotes and Canucks play out the battle for fourth. And the Colorado Avalanche can edge closer to clinching a post-season berth and climb from the clutches of the Blues by claiming a win over the San Jose Sharks.