After their 10-game losing streak moved the Bruins all the way to the No. 4-spot in the pre-lottery position heading into the NHL Draft, Saturday’s win over Carolina dropped Boston into the No. 5 spot with five games left. They’re tied with the Flyers for the fifth fewest points (71), but Philadelphia is fifth because Boston has more regulation wins.
Seattle’s late-night win over San Jose helped the Bruins’ positioning (See below).
If that holds, it would mean the Bruins would enter the lottery with the fifth-best odds of picking first (8.5 percent). If they stay in that spot, the worst they could pick is No. 7 overall.
Fourth is the highest the Bruins can realistically expect to finish before the lottery. Nashville, which is currently third, has 62 points with six games left. It would be unlikely for a team that’s been bad all year to suddenly put together a win streak with no meaning.
Here’s where the Bruins sit:
Games left: 5 — At Buffalo, At New Jersey. vs. Chicago, at Pittsburgh, vs. New Jersey
After Saturday’s games: The Bruins are tied with the fourth fewest points in the NHL. They’re officially fifth because they have more regulation wins than the Flyers do.
Highest pre-lottery draft spot Bruins can reach: Third.
Lowest pre-lottery draft spot Bruins can reach: 13th
Outlook: At 31-37-9, the Bruins have 71 points. The most they can get to is 81 if they won their last five games. There are 19 teams who already have 82 or more points.
Only the Sharks and Blackhawks can’t reach 71.
Here are the bottom seven teams in the NHL, who have the best chance to finish with the No. 1 draft pick.
…………………GP—W—L—OT—Pts
Buffalo………75—33-36-6—72
Seattle………77—33-38-6—72
Boston………77—31-37-9—71
Philadelphia.77—31-37-9—71
Nashville……76—27-41-8—62
Chicago……76—21-45-10—52
San Jose……75—20-45-10-50
Here’s how the lottery works:
NHL Draft Lottery rules
All non-playoff teams are in the lottery.
There will be two drawings, one for the No. 1 pick and one for the No. 2 pick. Once the top two picks have been determined, clubs will be slotted in reverse order of their finish in the regular season. A team can only move up 10 selections if it wins one of the lottery draws, a change announced by the NHL on March 23, 2021. Only the top 11 teams in lottery are eligible to receive the No. 1 selection.
If a team outside of the top 11 wins the first draw, the team with the worst record would get the No. 1 pick and the winner would move up 10 spots.
