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Numbers Game

NHL Draft Lottery – The Magic #

As the NHL season comes to an end, fans of the teams at the bottom of the league have given up on their playoff hopes and have instead begun checking the standings on a daily basis to find out if their team has a chance to finish in the bottom 5. Of course, only teams in the bottom 5 have a shot at landing the top pick in the upcoming draft and selecting the highly coveted John Tavares.

Below are the standings for the teams currently out of the playoffs (or hovering around a playoff spot).  Based on the number of games each team has remaining, we have determined the highest point total each team can finish the season with and, mathematically, the highest they can finish in the draft lottery.  As well, if a team reaches the “magic #” in points, it is mathematically impossible for them to finish in the bottom 5 and have a shot at landing the top pick.  It is possible that teams with an “n/a” as the “magic #” fall out of the lottery, it just means that they cannot be mathematically eliminated .

Rank

Team

GP

W

L

T

Points

Possible
Points

Highest Lottery

Pick

Magic #
Out of
Lottery

Current
Chance of
1st Pick

1

NY Islanders

75

25

41

9

59

73

1

n/a

48.1%

2

Colorado

76

31

43

2

64

76

1

n/a

18.8%

3

Tampa Bay

76

24

35

17

65

77

1

n/a

14.2%

4

Atlanta

76

32

38

6

70

82

1

n/a

10.7%

5

Phoenix

76

32

37

7

71

83

1

13

8.1%

6

Los Angeles

75

31

33

11

73

87

1

11

7

Toronto

76

31

32

13

75

87

2

9

8

Ottawa

75

33

32

10

76

90

2

8

9

Dallas

76

33

33

10

76

88

2

8

10

Minnesota

76

36

32

8

80

92

4

4

11

Edmonton

76

36

31

9

81

93

4

3

12

Buffalo

75

37

30

8

82

96

4

2

13

Anaheim

76

38

32

6

82

94

6

n/a

14

St. Louis

76

37

30

9

83

95

5

1

15

Nashville

76

38

30

8

84

96

6

n/a