The New York Rangers were the first team in the Eastern Conference to be eliminated from playoff contention. With the team playing uninspired hockey for most of the season, Rangers fans, as do most fans of pro sports teams, set their focus on the draft. With the Rangers careening down the standings, their odds to win the NHL Draft Lottery increased, meaning they could have a strong chance of drafting one of the top prospects in Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg.
But as of late, the Rangers have been on fire. After weekend victories over the Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals, two playoff hopefuls, the Rangers won five of their last six games. Now, entering Monday, the Rangers have the fourth-best odds to win the NHL Draft Lottery at 9.5 percent.
For the fans that were embracing the tank, they could be panicking that their recent stretch of impressive wins will cost them. Let's not forget about what happened in last year's lottery. The rival Islanders won the lottery with even less odds.
Islanders show that Rangers fans shouldn't panic about decreased NHL Draft Lottery odds after winning stretch
Remember last year, the San Jose Sharks had the best odds to win the No. 1 overall pick at 25.5 percent. The second-best odds? The Chicago Blackhawks with 13.5 percent. Yet neither of them secured the No. 1 pick. That went to the Islanders, who won the lottery with just 3.5 percent odds. They had the 10th-best odds of securing the No. 1 pick.
Rangers fans know how well that turned out for the Islanders. The Islanders used the No. 1 pick on defenseman Matthew Schaefer, who has already become one of the top young stars in the game. Rangers fans know how well he can play, considering he scored one goal and recorded an assist in their four-game sweep. It stings even more considering how much Schaefer loves taking digs at the Rangers, ever since he was drafted.
So yes, the Rangers have been winning a lot of games as of late, so their odds of winning are taking a hit. But just because you have the highest odds to win the lottery doesn't mean that that will be the case. Look at the 2015 NHL Draft. The Buffalo Sabres had the best odds to secure the No. 1 pick to draft Connor McDavid at 20-percent. Instead, the Edmonton Oilers won the lottery with just 11.5 percent odds, the third-best among eligible teams.
Last year, in the same draft lottery, the Utah Mammoth jumped up to the fourth overall spot as they were ranked 14th entering the event. That's 10 spots they jumped.
Even the Rangers were part of NHL Draft Lottery history for making one of the biggest jumps to win it all. In 2020, the Rangers were lumped in as part of the eighth and 15th ranked teams who missed out on playoff qualification in the Toronto bubble. Despite this, the Rangers won the lottery with 12.5 percent odds to secure the No. 1 pick and the rights to draft Alexis Lafreniere.
While having the best odds would suffice for Rangers fans, that doesn't mean they'll get the No. 1 or No. 2 selections in the draft. Recent history has shown us just that. It's a lottery after all.
For now, the Rangers are playing some good hockey, with their young players strongly, such as Gabe Perreault, Adam Sykora, Drew Fortescue, and Jaroslav Chmelar, all of whom can factor into the team's plans entering next season. We'll see how their lottery odds fluctuate in their final four games, especially if they win games.