From Aaron Vickers:

In game 1,240 of the National Hockey League schedule, the Dallas Stars were upended 5-3 by the Minnesota Wild, ending their bid for a berth in the playoffs.

It also solidified the final regular season standings and, as a result, the NHL Entry Draft lottery order.

For the second year in a row, the Edmonton Oilers head into the draft lottery with the best odds of picking between Red Deer Rebels centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Modo defenseman Adam Larsson, forwards Gabriel Landeskog and Sean Couturier or going off the board for a draft day surprise.

Only the Oilers (25.0%), Colorado Avalanche (18.8%), Florida Panthers (14.2%), New York Islanders (10.7%) and the Ottawa Senators (8.1%) have a shot at selecting first. Lottery rules stipulate the winning team can only move up a maximum of four spots. Clubs like the Columbus Blue Jackets (3.6%) and Minnesota Wild (2.1%) can only hope to jump into the top-5, while Dallas (0.5%) and the Calgary Flames (0.8%) will be eyeing a top-10 selection.

The 2011 NHL Draft Lottery Drawing will be held live on TSN Tuesday April 12th at 8:00 EST.

25.0% – Edmonton Oilers
18.8% – Colorado Avalanche
14.2% – Florida Panthers
10.7% – New York Islanders
8.1% – Ottawa Senators
6.2% – Atlanta Thrashers
4.7% – Columbus Blue Jackets
3.6% – New Jersey Devils
2.7% – Boston Bruins (From Toronto)
2.1% – Minnesota Wild
1.5% – St. Louis Blues
1.1% – Carolina Hurricanes
0.8% – Calgary Flames
0.5% – Dallas Stars

Aaron Vickers is the managing editor of Future Considerations and can be found on Twitter at www.twitter.com/VickersFC. Follow the latest Future Considerations news and posts, follow FC’s Official Twitter Feed at www.twitter.com/FCHockey.

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