On Tuesday night, the New York Islanders and the other 15 teams that missed the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs will take part in the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery.
The Islanders, who won the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery with just 3.5% odds (they selected future Calder-Trophy winner Matthew Schaefer), finished this season with the 13th-best odds to win the lottery at 2.0%.
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While the Islanders could win the lottery, that wouldn’t mean they’d select first overall for a second straight draft. Per the rules, a lottery team can only move up at most 10 spots.
That means that the Islanders’ “winning the lottery” would mean they’d select third overall. That would also mean that the Vancouver Canucks, who have the best odds at 18.5%, would win the lottery.
The Islanders will either pick third overall or 13th.
Here are the Islanders’ lucky numbers, per team statistician Eric Hornick, with 20 total combinations that would give the Islanders the third pick:
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1 2 5 6
1 2 5 11
1 3 4 13
1 5 7 9
1 5 11 12
1 6 7 11
2 3 7 13
2 3 12 13
2 9 12 13
2 12 13 14
3 6 13 14
3 8 12 14
3 10 11 14
4 5 8 11
4 5 8 14
4 6 9 14
5 7 10 14
6 11 13 14
7 9 13 14
8 9 10 14
As you can see, and as Hornick makes clear in his Draft Lottery “The Skinny”, the number 14 is incredibly common, appearing 10 times.
Per Hornick, the odds of the Islanders winning the lottery at 3.5% and then 2.0% in consecutive years are 1 in 1,428.
So, you are saying there’s a chance?
You can tune in and watch the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery live from NHL Network in Secaucus on ESPN, Sportsnet, and TVA at 7 PM ET.
Read the full article here
