Dallas Stars Daily Links: Buffalo Wins Draft Lottery

As you’re probably aware, the NHL Draft lottery was held last night in Toronto. For only the second time in the last 10 years, the team with the worst record (in this case the Buffalo Sabres) won the first overall pick. The Carolina Hurricanes jumped nine spots from 11th to 2nd, and the Montreal Canadiens moved up one spot from 4th to 3rd.

With the first overall pick, the Sabres are expected to draft Rasmus Dahlin, a blue-chip defensive prospect from Sweden. Dahlin will have an immediate impact in Buffalo, giving them a much needed boost on the blue line:

For example, Rasmus Ristolainen has played way too many minutes in his young career with the Sabres and the returns have reflected that. With Dahlin on board, Ristolainen’s duties can be scaled back, hopefully improving his overall play in the process. And with Dahlin shooting left and Ristolainen right, they could even make up a pairing for the Sabres. Toss in Marco Scandella, hope for Brendan Guhle to stick as a rookie full-time next season and Buffalo’s blue line gets a marked improvement without even heading to free agency.

You can read more about how Dahlin will fit into the Sabres’ lineup in Ryan Kennedy’s article here.

And if you want to hear more about the Swedish defenseman, here’s a long read for you:

Stars News

As seen above, the Dallas Stars ended up staying at the 13th spot for the draft. Here is some insight as to what fans might expect from the eventual draft pick:

Dallas’s ECHL affiliate, the Idaho Steelheads, also had a less-than-ideal Saturday night — they lost 1-0 in overtime to the Colorado Eagles in the first game of their series. [ECHL]

In case you’re now bummed out, here’s an interview of an adorable kid to brighten your day, courtesy of Texas Stars goaltender Mike McKenna:

Stanley Cup Playoff Update

The Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning had their first game of the second round, and it wasn’t even close — the Bruins blew out the Lightning 6-2. [Stanley Cup of Chowder]

Later in the evening, the San Jose Sharks handed the Vegas Golden Knights their first ever playoff loss with a 4-3 win in double overtime. [Knights on Ice]

The worst part for Vegas? They actually celebrated an overtime win during the first extra period, but the goal was called back for goaltender interference:

Around the League

The Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins will square off for the second time today. If the Capitals want to even up the series, they’ll have to find a way to stop Jake Guentzel:

The Nashville Predators also hope to even up their series when they face the Winnipeg Jets tonight. Mark Spector writes how Nashville, who entered the postseason as Cup favorites, have transformed into an overwhelming expansion success. [Sportsnet]

Do you think Connor McDavid should have been a Hart finalist? I have just the story for you:

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock and star player Auston Matthews have denied recent reports that there is any friction between the two. [NBC Sports]

Finally...

In case you forgot, the NHL is a #NoFun league, and we’re all worse off because of it: