Islanders News: Tavares staying put, Pulock debuts, Visnovsky not retiring, lottery day

Tonight is the NHL Draft Lottery, which has meant something to the New York Islanders way too many times during its existence. Here's what will happen:

The 2014 NHL Draft Lottery, a weighted system to determine the order of selection for the first 13 picks of the 2014 NHL Draft, will take place Tuesday, April 15, at 8 p.m., ET.

The League, in cooperation with TSN, will announce the results of the Draft Lottery live during a 30-minute program produced and televised by TSN in Canada. The special presentation also will air in the U.S. on NBCSN and will re-air on NHL Network U.S. at 8:30 p.m., ET.

Wait, 13 picks? That's an odd number. Aren't there 14 non-playoff teams...?

The New Jersey Devils will not be eligible to win the Draft Lottery and will select 30th overall in the First Round.

Oh, that's right. The Devils are the Devils so we didn't really mean that whole "forfeit your first-round pick" thing. Good to know. You didn't mean that whole "St. Louis Blues defenseman Scott Stevens has been awarded to the New Jersey Devils" thing either, right?

Anyway, here are other Islanders-like things to read:

• For the last mother#$%ing time: "There's no part of me that wants to leave," John Tavares told Newsday. Also in that post, Lubomir Visnovsky says retirement is not on the radar.
• Lottery permutations: From the Hornick. In other words, you have a 23.2% chance of pissing and moaning about a shootout win tonight.
• Some details and quotes from clean-out day for the Islanders, with more to come throughout the week. [Isles]
• Also: Cal Clutterbuck said an upper body injury bothered him much of the season ... Tavares compared Brock Nelson to Frans ... and Frans agrees ... Michael Grabner wantstogetfasterseriously.
  
• Oh, Jack Capuano and staff are all expected to return next season, says Garth Snow. [Newsday]
• Bridgeport's lineup last night, a 4-2 (EN) loss to Adirondack, was a variety pack of AHLers, prospects, PTOs and ATOs. [Soundin' Off]
• In the game, Ryan Pulock got a chance to flash his boom of a shot and ... his stick broke. Scott Pellerin liked him though. He was paired with Aaron Ness all night. [CT Post] [Soundin' Off]
• Awesome sauce: Butch Goring will do color for NBC in the Stars-Ducks series, featuring Taylor Segui against Ryne Guzzloff, among others.
• NEW! Eric Morris on hockey players and teams managing head/concussion trauma.
• NEW and POOL-ish: The LHH Playoff Bracket pool is now up.

Elsewhere

• Here's a handy dandy SBN playoff bracket to bookmark.
• Some "behind the numbers" playoff predictions: Hockey Visualized | Puck Prediction
• As for our annual routine, we are addicted hockey fans so yes, we'll have a playoff bracket (ooh, look at the odds. Or don't.) and nightly threads. You can vote in the poll for the first series here.
• Teemu Selanne's goodbye lap was awesome, as was grabbing Jean-Sebastien Giguere to join him. [video]
• Bary Trotz is gone in Nashville, now able to resume, as Dan put it, the quest to find his neck. [Forecheck]
• John Tortorella really hates Bob Hartley. [National Post]
• Not a new theory, but a few more angles: The Randy Carlyle Effect. [mc79hockey]

See you in the polls. Or at the lottery. Or amid the zeitgeist. Or in the player report cards.