35 four number combinations can win the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery for the NY Islanders

The New York Islanders have a 3.5% chance at winning tonight's NHL Draft Lottery.

You may have seen their chance percentage before, but how does the lottery actually work?

It's both complicated and simple, nuanced, yet straightforward. The NHL prides themselves in having developed a system that doesn't reward tanking while making the odds fair depending on where the teams finished in the standings.

The league draws for the first and second overall picks. One thousand possible four-ball combinations are randomly assigned to each team based on their lottery odds. Fourteen numbered ping-pong balls are put into the lottery machine, and the NHL draws four of them. The odds will change as each ball comes out, and some teams will be eliminated. The Isles' 3.5% odds result in 35 different four-number combinations to win the No. 1 or 2 overall pick.

This type of drama normally occurs behind closed doors at the league office, meaning that a handful of executives and media personnel are already aware of the winner before the cards are flipped on television for the rest of the hockey world to see. However, this year will be different as the league has elected to let the drama play out live as it happens.

"There will be anticipation like you've never seen in a draft lottery, and I truly believe we're the first ones in any league to try this," said Steve Mayer, NHL president of content and events. "We're always looking to be innovative -- and not innovative for the sake of doing it. We've really thought this through and think it's going to be really compelling for our fans."

The NHL will draw the top pick first and then reset and repeat the process to determine who wins the second pick. If the same teams wins both, they'll draw again until there is a second winner.