Buffalo Sabres Lose Another Draft Lottery Simulation
By Tim Redinger
Remember all the jokes about hell freezing over – it must mean the Buffalo Sabres have won the Stanley Cup. That is far from the truth as the bitter cold of this February plain old sucks. The car would not start this morning, well at least not on the first try that is. But I digress, the Buffalo Sabres dropped their third straight loss, I don’t want to be a Debbie-downer, but the countdown to another long losing streak starts in earnest.
Here are your standings for the NHL Draft lottery.
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Running the simulator once a day has been the mantra here, because you only get one shot at it in real life. So with that being said, the times that I have run it, have not been favorable for the Buffalo Sabres, having grabbed the second overall pick in the standings each time. Today’s draft lottery winner, the Carolina Hurricanes, with an 11.5% chance at the top overall spot.
Here is the schedule of games today, with some impact on the draft lottery standings.
NY Rangers @ NY Islanders
Battle of the Big Apple. Depending on how the standings shake out, could be a first round playoff matchup.
Carolina Hurricanes @ Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are nine points back of the wild card spots, and time is ticking for them to make a move. The deadline is fast approaching and they have to figure out if they are buyers or sellers. Can they jump into the playoff picture?
Montreal Canadiens @ Detroit Red Wings
Two teams in the top three of their division. Potential playoff matchup in the makings for the second round. Do the Montreal Canadiens have what it takes to break out of the first round?
Edmonton Oilers@ Winnipeg Jets
Winnipeg made the trade of the year so far to ensure their chances of making the playoffs. I think they are a year or two away from seriously contending in the Western Conference. While I wish Tyler Myers the best – losing here is in the Buffalo Sabres best interest, as more points to the Oilers is key. The Sabres will win hockey games still this year, and the more buffer points between the Oilers and Sabres the better. I will even take a Jets win in extra time.
Arizona Coyotes @ Colorado Avalanche
The team everyone thought would coast to the bottom of the standings was the Arizona Coyotes, who are also on a three game losing streak. they are double digit points over the Buffalo Sabres for last place, so I don’t think there is a chance they will drop low enough to knock the Sabres out of the first or second overall pick.
Boston Bruins @ Calgary Flames
The Bruins need to be careful, because they are on the cusp of being one of the teams that is involved in the draft lottery, despite being a beast in the East the last few seasons. Calgary continues to hold onto the hope of the post season, and should be looking to buy pieces to help them continue to keep teams like the Wild and Kings out of the playoff hunt.
Minnesota Wild @ Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks are barely holding on, bouncing between one of the top three teams in their division and a wild card buy in. Minnesota on the cusp the other direction.
Tampa Bay Lightning @ Los Angeles Kings
What should be a potential Stanley Cup matchup in the making is only hampered by the fact that the Los Angeles Kings are on the outside looking in. Can they jump over two teams and land at least a wild card spot? Once in they have the makeup to win a Stanley Cup, but their only hopes are to make a dash for the wild card spots.