Draft position update

1 Edmonton Oilers          79 25 46 8 58
2 Toronto Maple Leafs     80 29 37 14 72
3 Tampa Bay Lightning    79 31 36 12 74
4 Florida Panthers           79 31 36 12 74
5 Columbus Blue Jackets  80 32 34 14 78
6 Carolina Hurricanes      80 34 36 10 78
7 New York Islanders      79 34 35 10 78
8 Minnesota Wild           80 37 36 7 81
9 Atlanta Thrashers        80 34 33 13 81
10 New York Rangers    79 36 33 10 82
11 Dallas Stars             80 35 31 14 84

Today's Key Games:       
Rangers host Toronto  Isles can not catch Rangers if Rangers win.     
Columbus at Detroit  Columbus is tied with Isles in points, but has fewer wins     
       
Isles can finish anywhere between 20th and 28th (and hold 3rd to 11th pick in draft)       
If Isles win one of final 3, they can finish no lower than 26th (pick 5th)       
If Isles lose one of final 3 in regulation, they can finish no higher than 22nd (pick 9th).       
       
Almost impossible for Isles to drop to 28th -- need 3 regulation losses and for Tampa and       
Florida to get 5 points each, including split weekend with both teams winning in OT/SO       

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick