The Boston Bruins concluded their season with an overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils, impacting their NHL draft position. The Bruins could have secured the No. 4 spot with a regulation loss, but the overtime defeat allowed the Philadelphia Flyers to temporarily move into fourth place due to having more points.
Both the Bruins and Flyers currently possess 76 points, with Boston positioned fifth and Philadelphia fourth based on regulation wins. The outcome guarantees the Bruins no worse than the fifth draft pick, as the Seattle Kraken also have 76 points but more regulation wins. Consequently, Boston's lowest potential pick is now seventh, even if two teams below them win the draft lottery.
The NHL draft lottery includes all non-playoff teams, with separate drawings for the No. 1 and No. 2 picks. Following determination of the top two selections, teams are slotted based on their regular-season finish in reverse order. A team can advance a maximum of 10 picks by winning a lottery draw, as per a rule change announced by the NHL in 2021. Only the top 11 teams in the lottery are eligible for the No. 1 pick, with specific provisions in place for teams outside this range winning the draws.