The Buffalo Sabres won the NHL Draft lottery Saturday night, securing the first overall pick.
The Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens also made jumps up the selection board, and will pick second and third overall, respectively.
The three picks were announced during the second intermission of Game 2 between the Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks, with the rest of the lottery results decided earlier in the night.
Related - NHL Draft lottery: Order set for picks 4-15
Here's a look at the entire lottery board:
| Pick | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Buffalo Sabres |
| 2 | Carolina Hurricanes |
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens |
| 4 | Ottawa Senators |
| 5 | Arizona Coyotes |
| 6 | Detroit Red Wings |
| 7 | Vancouver Canucks |
| 8 | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 9 | New York Rangers |
| 10 | Edmonton Oilers |
| 11 | New York Islanders |
| 12 | New York Islanders (from Calgary) |
| 13 | Dallas Stars |
| 14 | Philadelphia Flyers (from St. Louis) |
| 15 | Florida Panthers |
The Sabres had the best chance of securing the top pick after being the first team to finish 31st overall in NHL history. Interestingly, Buffalo is only the eighth last-place team to retain the top pick in the NHL Draft lottery, according to NHL Public Relations.
Montreal moved up one spot, while Carolina made a big jump after finishing 21st overall during the regular season.
The Sabres will almost assuredly select Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin with the first overall pick, adding a blue-chip player to play with franchise center Jack Eichel.
Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.