Draft positioning

With the Isles being eliminated last night, the focus now is on the draft lottery, which will take place next Tuesday.

Entering play tonight, the Isles are the 6th seed, but could finish anywhere from 2nd to 11th)

1 Edmonton Oilers NW 79 25 46 8 58 (Long ago, clinched worst record in NHL)
2 Toronto Maple Leafs NE 79 29 36 14 72
3 Tampa Bay Lightning SE 78 31 35 12 74
4 Florida Panthers SE 78 31 35 12 74
5 Carolina Hurricanes SE 79 33 36 10 76
6 New York Islanders ATL 78 33 35 10 76
7 Columbus Blue Jackets CEN 80 32 34 14 78
8 Minnesota Wild NW 80 37 36 7 81
9 Atlanta Thrashers SE 79 34 32 13 81
10 New York Rangers ATL 78 36 32 10 82
11 Dallas Stars PAC 79 35 30 14 84

The range where the Isles are seeded could be narrowed to 3rd-8th after tonight.

Besides their own game, the most important game tonight is between Carolina and Tampa. (Do I hear "overtime"?)

Dallas hosts Chicago tonight - If Isles lose (reg/ot) or Dallas earns point, Isles can't catch Dallas
Rangers visit Buffalo - If Isles lose (reg) or Rangers win, Isles can't catch Rangers
Atlanta hosts Devils - If Atlanta wins AND Isles lose (reg), Isles can't catch Atlanta
Minnesota is idle.
Columbus is idle.
Isles host Montreal
Carolina visits Tampa
Florida hosts Ottawa
Toronto hosts Philadelphia - If Leafs lose (reg) OR Isles win OR both teams lose in OT/SO, Leafs can't catch Isles.

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