NY Rangers Draft Lottery Update Ahead of Panthers Matchup

The game between the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers will have an impact on the NHL draft lottery odds.

NY Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury speaks during a press conference to introduce new head coach Mike Sullivan at the MSG Training Center in Tarrytown, New York May 8, 2025. / Peter Carr/The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The New York Rangers will be taking the ice for their penultimate game of the 2025-26 NHL regular season against the Florida Panthers.

Normally, this isn’t a matchup that would generate much interest. Both teams are outside of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference, already turning attention to the offseason, where they will look to improve their respective rosters.

However, this isn’t a run-of-the-mill near the end of the regular season matchup. It will be the final game in the incredible career of Jonathan Quick, who will be starting for the last time in the NHL as his retirement was revealed hours before puck drop.

Also, this is a matchup that will have a major impact on the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery odds. As shared by Vince Z. Mercogliano, the Rangers still have a wide range of possibilities when it comes to where they could land in the NHL draft, set to be held on June 26 and June 27.

Rangers have wide-range of lottery possibilites

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan speaks to reporters after an 8-1 win against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden. / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

If New York is defeated in regulation by the Panthers, they would clinch, at worst, having the No. 4 odds to land the first overall pick. That would also mean that the Rangers would select no lower than No. 6.

Should New York lose to Florida and in their regular-season finale against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 15, they would be locked into no worse than the third-best odds to land the No. 1 pick, with a guaranteed spot in the top five.

That is the best the Rangers can do; the spots for first and second best odds in the lottery are already locked in by the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks.

New York fans will be doing plenty of scoreboard watching in the coming days as well. If the Toronto Maple Leafs win one more game and the Seattle Kraken earn at least one more point, the worst the Rangers can do is be locked into the fourth-best odds.

A morning skate draft lottery update as the #NYR prepare for their second-to-last game of the 2025-26 season...

▪️A regulation loss tonight against #TimeToHunt would clinch no worse than 4th-best odds for the No. 1 pick and a guaranteed spot in the top 6.

▪️Losses in each of…

— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) April 13, 2026

Should New York win both of their remaining games, with the Maple Leafs and Kraken both losing out, the Rangers would have the sixth-best odds and could fall as far down as No. 8 in the draft order.

There is a lot that can occur to shake up the lottery odds in the final days of the season. But, New York knows the range they will be in when the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery is held on May 5, 2026.

The Rangers will have somewhere between the third and sixth best odds, with No. 8 being the absolute lowest they will be selecting when they come on the clock in the first round in a few months.