The Penguins entered Monday's draft lottery with the ninth-best odds of winning the first overall pick, and the odds didn't end up being in their favor. Things went as bad as they possibly could have gone.
The Islanders won the lottery after entering with the 10th-best odds and Utah won the second drawing with the 14th-best odds, both leapfrogging the Penguins in the order and moving the Penguins down from 9th to 11th.
Entering the lottery the Penguins had just a 1.7% chance of dropping to 11th in the order.
In the first drawing, after the first four numbered balls were drawn 7, 11 and 12, the Penguins had jumped to an 18.2% chance to win first overall, tying them with the best odds of winning along with the Blackhawks, Flyers and Islanders, needing either a 1 or 10 ball drawn to complete the combination of numbers they needed to win. The final ball was a 13, matching the combination the Islanders needed to win.
The Rangers were also leapfrogged by Utah, dropping from 11th overall to 12th after having just a 3% chance to earn first overall. The Rangers have up until 48 hours before the draft to decide if the Penguins get the 12th overall pick this year or their unprotected first-round pick next summer to complete the Marcus Pettersson/Drew O'Connor trade the Penguins made with the Canucks this season.
If the Rangers decide to give the Penguins this year's first rounder, that would give the Penguins back-to-back picks in the first round at 11th and 12th.
Kyle Dubas joined the lottery broadcast live from Budapest, Hungary at 1 a.m. local time. Dubas is the general manager of Canada's World Championship team, which plays a pre-tournament game against Hungary tomorrow.
