NHL Draft Lottery Tonight at 8:00 PM

Tonight, Ranger fans get one last shot to cheer on their team for the next couple of months, as the NHL conducts the annual Entry Draft Lottery. It can be seen live on Versus at 8 p.m. Eastern.

The Rangers, who finished with the 10th-worst record in the league, have a chance to move up to the sixth pick if they can win tonight’s drawing. Unfortunately, with a measly 2.1 percent chance at winning, the likelihood of that happening isn’t very high. But hey, you never know.

Here’s a look at all of the teams involved and their respective chances at winning. Because the winning team can only move up four spots at most, only the teams with the five worst records can win. Those clubs, which include the Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins (owners of Toronto’s pick), Florida Panthers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New York Islanders, will be paying especially close attention tonight.

Edmonton Oilers – 25.0 percent
Boston Bruins (from Toronto) – 18.8 percent
Florida Panthers – 14.2 percent
Columbus Blue Jackets – 10.7 percent
New York Islanders – 8.1 percent
Tampa Bay Lightning – 6.2 percent
Carolina Hurricanes – 4.7 percent
Atlanta Thrashers – 3.6 percent
Minnesota Wild – 2.7 percent
New York Rangers – 2.1 percent
Dallas Stars – 1.5 percent
Anaheim Ducks – 1.1 percent
Calgary Flames – 0.8 percent
St. Louis Blues – 0.5 percent

Here’s a list of previous lottery winners :

1995 – Los Angeles (was seventh, moved to third; Ottawa retained first overall pick)
1996 – Ottawa (retained first overall pick)
1997 – Boston (retained first overall pick)
1998 – Tampa Bay (was third, moved to first)*
1999 – Chicago (was eighth, moved to fourth; Tampa Bay retained first overall pick)
2000 – NY Islanders (was fifth, moved to first)
2001 – Atlanta (was third, moved to first)
2002 – Florida (was third, moved to first)
2003 – Florida (was fourth, moved to first
2004 – Washington (was third, moved to first)
2005 – Pittsburgh (all 30 teams had a chance at No. 1)
2006 – St. Louis (retained first overall pick)
2007 – Chicago (was fifth, moved to first)
2008 – Tampa Bay (retained first overall pick) 

2009 – New York Islanders (retained first overall pick)