The NHL Playoffs are set to begin on Tuesday as teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks start their quest to win Lord Stanley's Cup and while those teams were preparing, some others were getting ready for the future, as the Colorado Avalanche won the NHL Draft lottery on Tuesday night in Toronto.
The Avalanche were one of the worst teams in the league last season and they were followed in the lottery selection by the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have the third selection despite Marin St. Louis leading the entire NHL in scoring, just ahead of his teammate Steven Stamkos. Colorado did not have the highest odds to win the lottery and still was able to win it after going 16-25-7 in the Western Conference and had an 18.8 percent chance, while the Panthers had the most with 25 percent after going just 15-27-6.
This year's NHL Draft has a number of talented players at the top, including defenseman Seth Jones from the Western Hockey League in North America, as well as forwards Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin, who play in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey league. Finnish league star Alexander Barkov will also be in the mix for the top pick, as will Valeri Nichushkin and Swedish League star Elias Lindholm. Following the Lightning at number three, the top five is rounded out by the Nashville Predators and the Carolina Hurricanes before the Edmonton Oilers, Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils select. The rest of the top part of the draft will be the Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Winnipeg Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets, who just missed out on the playoffs after the Red Wings and Wild made it in out in the Western Conference.
The playoffs get started on Tuesday and some of the most intriguing series include the New York Rangers in the sixth seed against the Washington Capitals, while the number one seeded Penguins will play the Islanders after the team slumped to a finish in the East. The Rangers had one of the best finishes in the league and surged to the end while winning 10 of 14 games in regulation and in the process they moved from the eighth to the sixth seed.