Islanders land No. 1 overall pick in NHL Draft Lottery stunner
NY Post
The Islanders might have been a little miffed last week when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the All-Star Game at UBS Arena would be replaced by a vaguely defined Olympic kickoff event.
Up until a little after 7 p.m., the most notable thing to happen in Islanders-land on Monday was New York Gov. Kathy Hochul sending a displeased letter to Bettman over the situation.
Any animus the Islanders fan base, and for that matter, the Islanders organization, was feeling over losing the All-Star Game went away shortly thereafter.
What was already shaping up to be a transformational offseason for the Islanders is now even more so after the pingpong balls fell their way on Monday night, giving them the No. 1 overall pick for the first time since 2009.
A 3.5 percent chance converted in dramatic fashion when Ball No. 13 came up in the first-ever live drawing of the draft lottery. The winning combination — 7-11-12-13 — was one of just 35 that would have gotten the Islanders the top pick out of 1,001 total.
The Sharks, who finished with the league’s worst record, will draft second, followed by the Blackhawks. The Rangers — who finished a mere three points ahead of the Islanders in the standings after beating them four times — moved down a spot and will select 12th.
The offseason signing of Vladislav Gavrikov became exponentially more important for the Rangers when Adam Fox was ruled out for the foreseeable future.
Suddenly, someone had hit a rewind button and everyone had been transported back seven months. It was early spring instead of late fall, it was broiling hot outside the arena walls and not freezing cold. Everyone was back at TD Garden. There were 19,156 frenzied fans on their feet begging for blood, poised for the kill.
After leaving practice early on Monday to be evaluated for a lower-body injury, Adam Edstrom did not suit up Tuesday night against the Stars.
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