The Washington Capitals, who just finished a 70-point season and 21 points out of the playoffs, had no luck with injuries this past season. Tuesday, they had no luck in the lottery, either.
After finishing with the fourth worst record, the Capitals slipped to the No. 5 spot during the drawing. The draft will take place June 22-23 in Columbus. Washington has four selections in the first two rounds and 10 overall.
Chicago won the No. 1 choice followed by Philadelphia, Phoenix and the Los Angeles Kings. Washington had a 10.7 percent chance of winning the weighted lottery. Only the league’s five worst teams had a chance to win the No. 1 pick.
The Capitals selected fourth last year and chose center Nicklas Backstrom, who is likely to join the club next season. They won the lottery in 2004, selecting Alex Ovechkin, who has posted consecutive 90-point seasons.
Among the top prospects are: winger Patrick Kane; center Kyle Turris; winger Alexei Cherepanov, defenseman Karl Azner, center Logan Couture and forward Angelo Esposito.
