Maple Leafs win NHL Draft Lottery

The Toronto Maple Leafs won the NHL Draft Lottery on Saturday, and own the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo on June 24.

The Winnipeg Jets will draft second, while the Columbus Blue Jackets will draft third overall.

Here’s a look at the rest of the lottery results:

Draft Position Team
4 Edmonton Oilers
5 Vancouver Canucks
6 Calgary Flames
7 Arizona Coyotes
8 Buffalo Sabres
9 Montreal Canadiens
10 Colorado Avalanche
11 New Jersey Devils
12 Ottawa Senators
13 Carolina Hurricanes
14 Boston Bruins

Toronto entered the night with a 20 percent chance of winning the top pick, while both Columbus and Winnipeg made a jump up the board, Edmonton and Vancouver fell out of the top three.

Auston Matthews has long been considered the best available prospect heading into the 2016 NHL Draft, with Finnish forwards Patrick Laine and Jesse Puljujärvi expected to round out the first trio of picks.

The 2016 NHL Draft is scheduled for June 24-25 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo.

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Maple Leafs win NHL Draft Lottery

The Toronto Maple Leafs won the NHL Draft Lottery on Saturday, and own the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo on June 24.

The Winnipeg Jets will draft second, while the Columbus Blue Jackets will draft third overall.

Here’s a look at the rest of the lottery results:

Draft Position Team
4 Edmonton Oilers
5 Vancouver Canucks
6 Calgary Flames
7 Arizona Coyotes
8 Buffalo Sabres
9 Montreal Canadiens
10 Colorado Avalanche
11 New Jersey Devils
12 Ottawa Senators
13 Carolina Hurricanes
14 Boston Bruins

Toronto entered the night with a 20 percent chance of winning the top pick, while both Columbus and Winnipeg made a jump up the board, Edmonton and Vancouver fell out of the top three.

Auston Matthews has long been considered the best available prospect heading into the 2016 NHL Draft, with Finnish forwards Patrick Laine and Jesse Puljujärvi expected to round out the first trio of picks.

The 2016 NHL Draft is scheduled for June 24-25 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Lightning’s Bishop: Drouin ‘carrying’ team since recall

Watching from the crease, Ben Bishop has a unique perspective on the game.

As far as the Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender is concerned, Jonathan Drouin's impact in the playoffs can't be understated.

Related: Lightning's Drouin slides 1st-career playoff goal past Greiss

"He's been carrying this team ever since he's come up here," Bishop told reporters after a Game 2 win over the New York Islanders. "You've got to respect that. He's come up with great attitude."

"Up," of course, is a reference to Drouin's AHL exile and subsequent team suspension upon making a trade request public earlier this season.

In seven playoff games, Drouin has recorded one goal and six assists, and is driving the offense devoid of star Steven Stamkos.

Head coach Jon Cooper put it this way:

There's been no comment in regards to the relationship between Drouin and the team, but it's safe to assume every point fosters positive feelings and/or raises his value should he remain on the trade market in the offseason.

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Tyler Johnson scores twice, Lightning even series with Islanders

TAMPA, Fla. - Tyler Johnson had two goals and an assist and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 4-1 on Saturday to even the second-round series at a game apiece.

Lightning goalie Ben Bishop rebounded after being pulled in second period of Game 1 to make 19 saves. He gave up four goals on 13 shots Wednesday night in a 5-3 loss.

Jonathan Drouin and Victor Hedman each had a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay.

Nikolay Kulemin scored for the Islanders, and Thomas Greiss 27 stopped shots.

Game 3 is Tuesday night in Brooklyn.

After Islanders teammates Cal Clutterbuck and Nick Leddy collided at the Tampa Bay blue line, the Lightning got an odd-man rush that resulted in Johnson's backhander that opened the scoring 6:03 into the game.

Johnson extended the Tampa Bay advantage to 4-1 with a late empty-netter.

Drouin made it 2-0 on another backhander that trickled past Greiss at 11:55 of the first. It was the first career playoff goal, coming in his 13th game, for the third overall pick in the 2013 draft.

Kulemin's deflection cut the deficit to 2-1 on the Islanders' third power play with 4:45 left in the first.

Hedman stopped a 23-game playoff goal drought to give Tampa Bay a 3-1 lead during a power play at 11:59 of the second. His shot from the blue line went off New York's Calvin de Haan.

Hedman's goal came after Clutterbuck was sent off for goalie interference, a penalty that appeared to stun players on the New York bench.

NOTES: Tampa Bay D Anton Stralman, out since breaking his left fibula March 25, is skating before practice but is not ready yet to return. Tampa Bay also was without D Matt Carle, who sat out with an undisclosed injury. ... Islanders D Ryan Pulock (upper-body injury) missed his fourth straight game but could soon be ready to play. ... New York has allowed the first goal in seven of its eight playoff games this season.

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Hitchcock: Stars are better than Blackhawks

If the St. Louis Blues underestimated the Dallas Stars, they learned a big lesson in Game 1.

"I think there's a realization that this is a better team than anybody we've played," admitted head coach Ken Hitchcock.

This comes on the heels of the Blues' seven-game opening-round series win over the Chicago Blackhawks, who happened to be the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Still, the Stars finished the season in first place in the highly competitive Central Division, and proved to be a formidable foe Friday, even without the services of injured center Tyler Seguin.

Hitchcock added the Blues will have to step up accordingly.

Dallas took Game 1 by a score of 2-1, with Game 2 set for Sunday.

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Linden brings Pat Quinn rookie card to Draft Lottery as lucky charm

Trevor Linden is hoping for some luck of the Irish in Toronto on Saturday.

The Vancouver Canucks president is carrying a 1971 Pat Quinn rookie card to Saturday's NHL Draft Lottery proceedings.

"I was thinking about what I could bring that would be meaningful for me and the organization," Linden said. "This felt right."

Quinn, who passed away in 2014, worked for the Canucks for nine years and was responsible for bringing franchise greats like Linden and Pavel Bure to the organization through the draft, as well as guiding the team to the 1994 Stanley Cup Final.

He also spent two seasons with the Canucks as a defenseman.

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Cat safe and sound after running on ice before Game 1 in San Jose

The feline is fine.

There was some confusion about what happened to the black cat that ran on to the ice before Game 1 between the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators, but that was quickly cleared up.

Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area appeared to have the scoop Saturday afternoon.

Sharks PR man Scott Emmert set the record straight a few hours later.

The cat emerged from the Sharks bench before San Jose's 5-2 victory over Nashville on Friday night.

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Watch: Lightning’s Drouin slides 1st-career playoff goal past Greiss

The Tampa Bay Lightning came storming out of the gate in Game 2 on Saturday.

After forward Tyler Johnson opened the scoring six minutes in, forward Jonathan Drouin picked up his first-career playoff goal just under six minutes later, sliding a backhand through the legs of New York Islanders goaltender Thomas Greiss.

The Islanders would stop the bleeding, collecting a goal of their own thanks to a deflection by Nikolay Kulemin.

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