Rangers hoping to beat odds in draft lottery

The post-expansion New York Rangers have never picked No. 1 in the Entry Draft. That could change on Monday night.

Last Friday night I had a nightmare about the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Edmonton Oilers, just hours after the latter two were eliminated in their respective qualifying round series.

First, there was Sidney Crosby centering a line with Alexis Lafrenière on his left-wing at Madison Square Garden. By the final horn, Pittsburgh’s duo had combined for 12 points, the chorus of “Crosby Sucks!” chants had long since dissipated.

As Crosby exited, the future Hall of Famer waived to his biggest cheerleader, Gary Bettman, then smiled at the handful of Rangers’ faithful who stuck around to boo him, showing no remorse for the Penguins’ heist of the NHL’s No. 1 selection for the third time in their franchise history.

Next, there was Alexis Lafrenière playfully debating Connor McDavid as to whether their Edmonton Oilers should keep orange as the primary color of their home sweaters or revert to the old blue worn by the dynastic teams that powered their way to five Stanley Cup titles in seven years.

As if either nightmare alone wasn’t bad enough, the double horrors merged. Suddenly, somehow, Lafrenière, Crosby, and McDavid were on the same team.

The only positive came when I found myself egging NHL headquarters on Sixth Avenue. I had three eggs but woke up before I could pelt my third and final target(s).

One egg was for Pittsburgh winning Lafrenière despite having tanked to draft Super Mario at No. 1 and selected Crosby first overall in a special draft following the 2004-05 lockout.

Another egg was for awarding Edmonton the top pick for the 9,999,999 the time since entering the NHL in 1979.

The last egg was for Gary Bettman or Bill Daly, whoever I saw first.

For the record, I would never waste three good eggs on the NHL, much as I love hockey. It was just a touch of justice at the end of an otherwise terrible, terrible dream.

Speaking of dreams, dare we consider the possibility that by bedtime Monday night, the Rangers will own the No. 1 pick in the Entry Draft after the NHL holds Phase Two of the lottery drawing on Monday at 6 p.m. on NBCSN and NHL Network.

The Rangers are one of eight teams with a 12.5% chance of winning the first pick in the Entry Draft, which is tentatively scheduled to be held virtually starting on October 9.

If the Rangers win the lottery they can draft Lafrenière, the consensus top prospect and first pick. If the Blueshirts lose, they’ll pick at either No. 10 or 11, depending on which team wins the top pick.

You can read more about possible scenarios here.

Meantime, crack open an ice-cold beverage and join me in hoping the Rangers don’t screw things up regardless of whether they pick at No. 1, No. 10, or No. 11.

As you know, their track record of drafting in the top 10 isn’t stellar. That said, their ledger of recent picks between No. 11 and No. 15, isn’t all bad. And kids like Kaapo Kakko and Vitali Kravtsov are still a work in progress.

Here’s a look back at the Rangers’ last 10 top 10 entry draft choices, followed by a look at some of their recent selections between Nos. 11 and 15.