clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Tank Battle, 2016 Edition: The Oilers Lock Up A Pick In The Top 5

With one game left to play the Oilers can do no better than 29th place.

By ryan_batty
Codie McLachlan/Getty Images

For those watching the bottom of the NHL's standings, wondering where the Oilers will draft this June, Wednesday night was a good news/bad news kind of night. The bad news being that the Oilers win over the Canucks, combined with the Leafs loss, means that the Oilers are no longer in last place in the NHL. The good news is that the Leafs lost to the Blue Jackets, giving Columbus 72 points on the year, a total that the Oilers cannot match. And so, for a sixth time in seven seasons, the Oilers have secure themselves a top five pick in this years draft.

Here's how the bottom of the standings, and the associated chances of picking first overall, look right now.

TEAM GP W L OT PTS ROW % Chance
Toronto 80 28 41 11 67 22 20.0%
Edmonton 81 31 43 7 69 27 13.5%
Columbus 80 32 40 8 72 26 11.5%
Vancouver 80 30 37 13 73 26 9.5%
Calgary 80 33 40 7 73 31 8.5%
Winnipeg 80 33 39 8 74 31 7.5%
Arizona 80 35 38 7 77 34 6.5%
Montréal 80 36 38 6 78 31 6.0%
Buffalo 80 34 35 11 79 32 5.0%
Ottawa 80 36 35 9 81 30 3.5%
New Jersey 80 37 35 8 82 35 3.0%
Colorado 80 39 37 4 82 35 2.5%
Carolina 80 35 29 16 86 33 2.0%
Boston 80 41 30 9 91 37 1.0%

Because the Leafs have so few right out wins they will have to finish ahead of the Oilers in the standings in order for the Oilers to finish dead last, in this case a tie will go to the Leafs. And the Leafs will be finished their season before the puck drops on the Oilers final game in Vancouver on Saturday night, making that game even more meaningless than it already was. If the Leafs lose either of their remaining games - at Philadelphia tonight and at New Jersey on Saturday - they will lock up 30th place and the one-in-five shot at the first overall pick. Not that it'll matter, since we all know who's going to win the lottery.

More From The Copper & Blue