Flyers' draft odds set
The Flyers' odds for this June's draft lottery were set on Friday night by virtue of the Columbus Blue Jackets' win over Buffalo.
The Flyers are guaranteed to finish in 24th place out of 30 teams, regardless of whether they win or lose against Ottawa in Game 82 on Saturday afternoon.
That means the Flyers will pick either 1st, 7th or 8th overall on June 26 in South Florida.
The Flyers will have a 6.5 percent shot at winning the lottery for the No. 1 overall pick. The lottery will be conducted on April 18 during a Hockey Night in Canada broadcast. Should one of the six non-playoff teams below the Flyers in the standings win the lottery, they will fall one spot to 8th overall.
How exactly is the lottery conducted?
According to The Hockey News, four ping pong balls will be drawn, creating a four-digit number which corresponds to a winning team. There will be 1,000 possible combinations. The Sabres, which clinched 30th place on Friday night, will pick no lower than No. 2 overall and have 200 out of 1,000 combinations (20 percent). The Flyers will have a 65 in 1,000 chance - up from 47 under last year's lottery configuration.
Lottery odds:
30th place - Buffalo - 20 percent
29th place - Arizona - 13.5 percent
28th place - Edmonton - 11.5 percent
27th place - Toronto - 9.5 percent
26th place - Carolina - 8.5 percent
25th place - New Jersey - 7.5 percent
24th place - Flyers - 6.5 percent
23rd place - Columbus / Colorado - 6 percent
22nd place - Columbus / Colorado / Florida - 5 percent
21st place - Colorado / Florida / Dallas - 3.5 percent
20th place - Florida / Dallas / San Jose - 3 percent
19th place - Dallas / Florida / San Jose - 2.5 percent
18th place - Los Angeles - 2 percent
17th place - Boston / Pittsburgh / Ottawa - 1 percent
The defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, eliminated on Thursday night from playoff contention, will have a 2 percent chance to win the lottery.
Other than the Flyers, team is rooting harder for the Penguins to miss the playoffs than Edmonton. When the Oilers acquired Pittsburgh's pick for David Perron, the Penguins were 24-9-5. They've gone 18-17-5 since then to now give Edmonton another 1 percent shot at No. 1 overall, meaning Edmonton could have the No. 1 and No. 4 picks if Pittsburgh's selection were to win the lottery.
What about the Flyers' other first round pick? The Flyers acquired Tampa Bay's first round pick in a March 2 trade for Braydon Coburn. The pick converted to the Flyers on March 30 when the Lightning clinched a playoff berth.
Tampa Bay's positioning depends on whether or not the Lightning win the Atlantic division on Saturday. The 27th through 30th picks are for the conference finalists, Stanley Cup finalist and Stanley Cup winner, depending on elimination. The other picks between 15th and 26th partly depend on regular season and not just elimination.
Side note: likely No. 1 overall pick Connor McDavid scored 5 goals in Erie's OHL playoff win on Friday night, if you needed another reason to salivate. What about all that one in a million talk?
On Twitter: @frank_seravalli