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With most of the teams secured in their positions after Saturday’s action, Sunday evening provided one more chance for a team to change the rankings, as the season was extended for one more day for the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers. Here are the final odds for the teams in contention for the first overall pick at the conclusion of the regular season.
Final draft lottery odds
| Pos | Team | Record | Last night's result | Points | Yesterday's odds | Today's odds | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Record | Last night's result | Points | Yesterday's odds | Today's odds | Change |
| 1 | Buffalo Sabres | 25-45-12 | - | 62 | 18.5% | 18.5% | - |
| 2 | Ottawa Senators | 28-43-11 | - | 67 | 13.5% | 13.5% | - |
| 3 | Arizona Coyotes | 29-41-12 | - | 70 | 11.5% | 11.5% | - |
| 4 | Montreal Canadiens | 29-40-13 | - | 71 | 9.5% | 9.5% | - |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 30-39-13 | - | 73 | 8.5% | 8.5% | - |
| 6 | Vancouver Canucks | 31-40-11 | - | 73 | 7.5% | 7.5% | - |
| 7 | Chicago Blackhawks | 33-39-10 | - | 76 | 6.5% | 6.5% | - |
| 8 | New York Rangers | 34-39-9 | - | 77 | 6.0% | 6.0% | - |
| 9 | Edmonton Oilers | 36-40-6 | - | 78 | 5.0% | 5.0% | - |
| 10 | New York Islanders | 35-37-10 | - | 80 | 3.5% | 3.5% | - |
| 11 | Carolina Hurricanes | 36-35-11 | - | 83 | 3.0% | 3.0% | - |
| 12 | Calgary Flames (NYI) | 37-35-10 | - | 84 | 2.5% | 2.5% | - |
| 13 | Dallas Stars | 42-32-8 | - | 92 | 2.0% | 2.0% | - |
| 14 | St. Louis Blues | 44-32-6 | - | 94 | 1.5% | 1.5% | - |
| 15 | Florida Panthers | 44-30-8 | W | 96 | 1.0% | 1.0% | - |
The final game of the season had the spotlight all to itself as the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins made up the game that had been rescheduled from January 4. Far from simply a meaningless contest to wrap up the regular-season calendar, the Bruins had not just first place in the Atlantice Division, but the Eastern Conference title — and the home-ice advantage that would grant them through the first three rounds of the playoffs — for the taking.
The Panthers, who had been eliminated from post-season play less than 24 hours earlier, had other ideas, and one last say in a season that saw them mount an incredible comeback that fell just a single point short.
Florida started off quickly with a goal from top prospect Henrik Borgström 1:22 in, and never trailed the rest of the way as they went on to a 4-2 victory. While it means that they lost a chance to move up one spot in the lottery rankings, the climb from 1.0% to a 1.5% chance at first overall wasn’t going to have much of an impact on what would still be nearly impossible odds.
The Panthers can at least take solace in the fact that they have young players such as Borgström and Aleksander Barkov to help them avoid this race altogether next season and achieve a post-season berth.
Highlight of the night
While the Calgary Flames finished in the 12th position, they traded their right to pick in that spot — without any lottery protections — to the New York Islanders for Travis Hamonic at last year’s draft. It means the Islanders will select at 10th and 12th this June.
The Ottawa Senators still have the option to send their pick to Colorado to complete the Matt Duchene trade, but with the pick being for no lower than fifth overall (should a team lower in the rankings win each of the three lotteries), they will probably decide on the other option of sending their 2019 first-round choice to the Avalanche.
Unless the Blues win one of the lotteries, their pick will be transferring to the Philadelphia Flyers as part of the Brayden Schenn trade. If that were to happen, they can give the Flyers their 2019 first-rounder and 2020 third-round pick instead.