The annual lottery that determines who gets the first overall pick at this year’s NHL Entry Draft will be held tonight and for some clubs it’s the opportunity to draft a cornerstone prospect to build their future Stanley Cup contending team around.

The rules have changed surrounding the lottery as we outlined here last week.  In prior years a team could only move up the draft by a maximum of four spots of where they finished the season.  This year, every team of the fourteen that missed the playoffs can win the draft lottery but it remains a weighted procedure to ensure the lowest ranked clubs have the best shot.

So who will win this year’s draft lottery?  The Florida Panthers have the best odds with 25% followed by the Colorado Avalanche at 18.8%.  The Tampa Bay Lightning are currently slotted third and have a 14.2% chance of winning while the Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes round out the top five and have a 10.7 and 8.1% chance respectively.

The Edmonton Oilers who have owned the draft lottery for the past three seasons are in the hunt again this year albeit the odds are stacked against them with just a 4.7% chance of getting the top pick this year.  Dare we count them out?  It’s hard not to given their luck at last year’s draft but with the revised odds for this year’s lottery we might finally have a year when the Oilers aren’t called upon first to kick off the draft.

As always, we’ll have you covered right here at Too Many Men with all the latest news, updates and analysis from the draft lottery.

April 4, 2013; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes left wing Jeff Skinner (53) carries the puck against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the PNC center. The Lightning defeat the Hurricanes 5-0. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s start with the Carolina Hurricanes. During last night’s game against the Ottawa Senators Jeff Skinner left with an upper body injury and did not return. This was a result of a hit by Jared Cowen in the first period, Skinner got up and skated off by his own power and there was no penalty on the play. Skinner will return to Raleigh today for examination according to Chip Alexander.

The Philadelphia Flyers announced yesterday that Bruno Gervais will be undergoing surgery on Thursday to repair a torn stomach muscle. He will be out indefinitely. While we are talking about the Flyers in their game last night against the New York Rangers Brian Boyle left the game in the first period after a hit by Luke Schenn. He would not return due to a right-leg injury and seemed to be wearing a brace under his suit after the game according to the New York Daily News.

Mar 3, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; St. Louis Blues right wing T.J. Oshie (74) skates in the Dallas Stars zone during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeated the Blues 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Blues announced yesterday that T.J. Oshie had surgery for a stress fracture in his left ankle. It is unlikely he will be back before the end of the regular season, but there is no timeline on his return and he is listed as week to week.

Kevin Paul Dupont reported today that Patrice Bergeron could return to the Boston Bruins lineup tonight. He has missed the past six games with a concussion. Also in Boston, Brad Marchand has been cleared for contact and has been practicing with the team. Marchand has only missed two games with a concussion that earned Anton Volchenkov a four game suspension.

The Canadiens are one of the more surprising stories in the league this year.  Following last season that saw them finish dead last in the east, the Habs have rebounded and are years ahead of their organization’s plans to develop a contender.  Very little activity at the trade deadline was a good sign for this club.  Why mess with success and management has to realize that this year’s success is somewhat surprising given they weren’t expecting to compete for the division title this early.  But here we are with around eight games remaining for most clubs the Canadiens will be playing in the postseason and as we’ve been taught from them before, if the ghosts show up at the Bell Centre, this team could be dangerous.

Another pleasant surprise this year has been the New York Islanders.  Maybe not so much for the whole year given their less than ideal start, but in their last ten they are 8-1-1 and have won three in a row thanks to a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins.  And it was in Boston!

A team that was once the laughing stock of the east, the Islanders have become a model to copy when it comes to revamping and rebuilding your team.  John Tavares doesn’t get enough attention in my opinion.  He’s one of the top players in the league and the Islanders were wise to build their club around him.

If the Islanders can roll into Boston and beat the big, bad Bruins then what kind of damage could they do in the playoffs?  They need to keep playing consistently strong hockey to ensure they punch their ticket to the second season and then once they get in, this team could be a lot of fun to watch.

Meanwhile, the Washington Capitals just keep on winning.  The turn around club as they could be called won their sixth straight thanks to a 3-1 victory over their divisional opponent, the Carolina Hurricanes.  The Canes are done this year, losing their seventh straight but the Caps are humming right along and remain two points up on the Jets.

Washington has long been known for choking in the playoffs but quite often those were times when they were the top seed in the east and favored to win it all.  If they can sneak in as the number three seed and fly under the radar somewhat, I’d take them as a sleeper in this year’s playoffs.

Keep checking back for more headlines within the headlines tomorrow on the Morning After.