TORONTO (AP) -The Tampa Bay Lightning landed the No. 1 pick in the NHL’s draft lottery Monday night.
The Lightning had the best chance (48.8 percent) of earning the top pick after earning 71 points (31-42-9) in the regular season.
The winner of the lottery can move up a maximum of four spots, so only the five teams with the fewest points have a chance to win the first pick.
The rest of the non-playoff teams will fall in line in order of poorest record behind Tampa Bay, with the Los Angeles Kings picking second.
The Atlanta Thrashers, St. Louis Blues and New York Islanders round out the top five.
The Columbus Blue Jackets will select sixth, followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Phoenix Coyotes.
Nashville holds Florida’s first-round pick and will select ninth. Vancouver picks 10th, Chicago 11th and Anaheim has the 12th pick, acquired from Edmonton.
Buffalo picks 13th and Carolina 14th.
Forward Steven Stamkos is the highest-rated prospect after finishing second in the Ontario Hockey League with 58 goals and fifth in scoring with 105 points while playing for the Sarnia Sting.
The draft will be held at Ottawa in June.
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