Devils vault four, win draft lottery

By The Associated Press

The New Jersey Devils won the NHL draft lottery, vaulting four teams including the last-place Colorado Avalanche and the expansion Vegas Golden Knights for the right to the first pick in the 2017 draft.

The Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars each made huge jumps in winning the second and third lottery drawings.

Given just a 2.2 percent chance of winning, the Flyers went from the 13th spot to second. The Stars moved from the eighth spot to third in a lottery process that scrambled the final standings.

Colorado entered with the best odds to win the lottery, but fell three spots and will select fourth. And lady luck didn’t side with Vegas. The NHL expansion Golden Knights will select sixth, moving back three spots from where they were slotted.

Vegas and its desert rival Arizona Coyotes were each awarded the thirdbest odds win at 10.3 percent. The seven-round draft will be held in Chicago on June 23 and 24.

Predators

Winning the Stanley Cup requires 16 victories each postseason, and Nashville started better than any team in these playoffs by winning its first five. Now the St. Louis Blues are ready to test how the Predators respond to their first loss. “We knew this was going to be a long series,” Blues goaltender Jake Allen said after a 3-2 win Friday night tied this Western Conference semifinal at 11. “I don’t think either team thought it was going to be a sweep from one side or the other. ... I guess we’re still in for a long series and have to get rested and go into a tough building.”

Oilers

Edmonton goalie Cam Talbott made 39 saves in a 2-1 victory Friday, his fourth in a row in helping the Oilers grab their first 20 lead on the road since 2006 in the Western final, also against Anaheim. Elias Sports Bureau said teams starting 2-0 on the road are 69-18 (79.3 percent) all time in playoff series. The Ducks now have lost back-to-back games in regulation for the first time since the first two games of this season. They also have never rallied from an 0-2 deficit to win a series.