from Jonathan Willis of the Edmonton Journal,

It’s an awfully improbable scenario, but it’s wild enough to be worth considering: What happens if the Pittsburgh Penguins miss the playoffs and win the 2015 NHL Draft Lottery?

Pittsburgh dealt their first-round pick this year to Edmonton in January, along with forward Rob Klinkhammer, in the trade that saw David Perron join the Penguins. Perron suited up for his first game on January 3, with Pittsburgh sitting first in the Eastern Conference thanks to a glorious 24-9-5 record and there was every reason to believe that first-round selection would be a low one.

Since that time, the Pens have gone 18-17-6 (five games under 0.500) and have fallen to a wild card spot in the East. They are currently two points up on a red-hot Ottawa Senators team sitting just outside the postseason. The Penguins and Senators meet Tuesday in Ottawa, which gives the Sens a golden opportunity to move into a tie with Pittsburgh with just two games remaining for each team. The possibility of Sidney Crosby’s team missing the playoffs is suddenly worth considering.

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