The draft lottery, which will be held at 8 PM EST, is particularly important for the Islanders, who are currently seated among the bottom five teams in the league. Should they still be there when Monday night rolls around, the Isles will have a shot at obtaining the first overall draft pick and almost certainly the highly touted prospect, Steve Stamkos.
This, of course, all depends on how the Islanders do in the few games that remain in the NHL season. Should they lose and fall in the standings, they could potentially better their odds at bringing in Stamkos or at least a higher pick. This, however, would mean losing to the Rangers twice and propelling them to the clinching of a playoff birth. So, the home-and-home against the Rangers, regardless of the outcome, will most likely be a bittersweet one for Islanders fans to watch.
Regardless of how the Isles fare in their final few games, it is certain that Monday night will be a key night for the future of the franchise. It's extremely exciting that the NHL is taking the step to televise the lottery and I'm sure every Isles fan will be watching closely on Monday Night.
Be sure to tune into this
Saturday's episode of Hockey Night on Long Island as hosts Alex and Steve will undoubtedly devote plenty of coverage to Monday night's lottery and much more Isles talk.
For the full announcement from the NHL and info on the Lottery system, click here
The next episode of HNLI will be on Saturday May 3, 2008 at 3:30 PM EST. As always, be sure to call in (718-664-9597), IM (AIM: hockeynightli) and join us in the HNLI chatroom for this episode. In June, Hockey Night on Long Island's 2008 NHL Entry Draft Coverage will begin, with episodes occurring weekly. Be sure to keep checking hockeynightonlongisland.com for updates on the special guests for these episodes. All episodes will still remain at the normal Saturday 3:30 PM EST time. Thanks for your support of Hockey Night on Long Island.
Posts
