illies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "That was a sign for me

NHL draft lottery losers last year, the Florida Panthers had their number come up this year. Nike Air Vapormax Online . In the meantime, chalk up yet another loss for the Buffalo Sabres. The Panthers bucked the odds Tuesday by jumping up a spot and earned the right to the top pick in June. Florida, which finished 29th in the league, vaulted ahead of the last-place Sabres, who had the best odds of winning the lottery held in Toronto. "It means a lot to us. Weve very excited," said Travis Viola, Panthers president of hockey operations. "Were looking to continue to build on our core talent of young players. Its just a great opportunity." It also marked a reversal of fortune for Florida. After finishing last a year ago, the Panthers were relegated to the No. 2 pick after Colorado won the lottery. The top two projected prospects are left wing Samuel Bennett, of OHL Kingston, who finished first in the final rankings released by NHL Central Scouting last week, and OHL Barrie defenceman Aaron Ekblad. The draft will be held in Philadelphia on June 27-28. The Panthers (29-45-8) had an 18.8 per cent chance of winning the lottery, behind only Buffalo (21-51-10), which had a 25 per cent shot. The Sabres continued whats been a losing trend since the season began in October. Buffalos 51 losses were a franchise worst, and the most losses in the NHL since the New York Islanders went 21-51-7-3 in 2000-01. General manager Tim Murray took the latest loss in stride, telling the teams website that he almost anticipated losing out on the No. 1 pick. "Were very comfortable," Murray said. "The other way wouldve been gravy, but its kind of what we thought would happen, and we prepared for it." The Sabres were guaranteed falling no further than second. Florida will have the first pick for the fourth time in franchise history. The Panthers are gradually rebuilding. They made a splash this year by acquiring goalie Roberto Luongo in a trade with Vancouver. And theyll be picking third or better for the fourth time in five years. Their previous top three picks -- defenceman Erik Gudbranson (in 2010), wing Jonathan Huberdeau (2011) and centre Aleksander Barkov (2013) -- all played significant roles this season. "Were anxious to put a winner in Florida," Viola said. The Panthers move up marked the fourth straight year in which the last-place team failed to win the lottery. Since the NHL lottery system was introduced in 1995, the last-place team has earned the No. 1 pick only six times. The Panthers had the No. 1 pick in the 2002 and 2003 drafts, but traded them away both times. They also had the No. 1 pick in 1994, when they selected defenceman Ed Jovanovski. The remaining 11 teams maintained their draft order based on the final standings, starting with the Edmonton Oilers staying with the No. 3 draft pick. Calgary will select fourth followed by the New York Islanders. The top 10 picks are rounded out by Vancouver picking sixth, followed by Carolina, Toronto, Winnipeg and Anaheim. The Pacific Division champion Ducks earned a lottery spot by acquiring a first-round pick in a trade with Ottawa, which finished 21st. The New Jersey Devils, who finished 20th, were included in the lottery to maintain the weighted odds, but were not eligible to be selected. The Devils are already slotted to pick 30th after being sanctioned by the NHL. The league ruled New Jersey circumvented the collective bargaining agreement by attempting to skirt the salary cap by signing Ilya Kovalchuk to a 17-year, $102 million contract in 2010. Center Sam Reinhart (WHL Kootenay) and left wing Leon Draisaitl (WHL Prince Albert) were ranked third and fourth among North American skaters, while the top-ranked European skater is Finnish right wing Kasperi Kapanen. The Sabres actually have a shot at holding three first-round picks based on two trades they made this year. The Islanders have to until June 1 to decide whether to hand over their first-round selection to Buffalo this year or next year. Islanders head amateur scout Trent Klatt said the team has not yet determined its plans. The Sabres will also acquire the Blues first-round pick should St. Louis reach the Western Conference finals. Cheap Nike Air Vapormax . - A week after a late-game debacle on defence, the Pittsburgh Steelers showed they can finish. Discount Nike Air Vapormax . His apology came before a pregame ceremony in which the team honoured its 2004 team that won Bostons first World Series championship since 1918. "I realize that I behaved bad in Boston," Ramirez said. https://www.fakevapormaxwholesale.com/ . Gustafsson controlled the first round after getting top position on a throw, and came out much more forcefully in the second, buckling Manuwa with a Muay Thai knee, and finishing him off with strikes on the ground. DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Jose Bautista kept up his torrid start to the spring, hitting two doubles and driving in two runs Thursday that sent the Toronto Blue Jays over the Philadelphia Phillies 7-5. A day after hitting a long home run against the Phillies in his first at-bat of exhibition play, Bautista had an RBI double in the first inning off Philadelphia ace Cliff Lee. Bautista finished 2 for 2 with a walk. The former two-time major league homer champion missed the final six weeks last year because of a hip injury. Jose Reyes, Brett Lawrie and Melky Cabrera also drove in runs for Toronto. "I thought we swung the bats pretty good," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. Gibbons liked how many of Torontos hits were up the middle or to the opposite field. "Against a lot of lefties and things like that, you have to be able to do that and I think it was progress for us," he said. Lee allowed two hits and a run in two innings. He struck out three and walked none. "Obviously Im trying to throw strikes," Lee said. "I made a couple mistakes. The first double was, for sure, a mistake. I tried to throw a backdoor cutter and it ended up right down the middle." "And then Bautista, I just missed on the pitch before and tried to throw the same pitch. It wasnt a bad one, its just you get into a 2-2 count with him in that situation is not where you want to be. He put a good swing on it." Philadelphias offence was powered by a pair of home runs from bench hopefuls: Darin Ruf hit a two-run shot in the third and John Mayberry Jr. had a solo drive in the sixth. Blue Jays starter R.A. Dickey allowed one unearned run in two innings. He gave up two hits, two walks and struck out two. STARTING TIME Phillies: Lee gave up doubles to two of the first three batters he faced, then stopped the Blue Jays. He is the odds-on favourite to start on opening day March 31 at Texas. Blue Jays: Dickey got through an uneasy first inning to feel good about his spring debut. The knuckleballeer walked back-to-back batters with one out in his opening inning. Nike Air Vapormax Outlet. "Im feeling a lot better than I was at this point last year, so Im hoping that will carry out through the rest of spring and opening day," Dickey said. RUF RIDER Ruf hit a long home run off Esmil Rogers with one on and no one out in the third inning. The shot was the first for any Phillies player this spring. Ruf finished 1 for 3 with a walk. KNUCKLED Dickey worked with new battery partner Erik Kratz for the first time this spring. Kratz, a catcher acquired from the Phillies in a trade this winter, wore a first basemans glove in an attempt to have a better chance at catching Dickeys arsenal of knuckleballs. Kratz allowed one passed ball in the games first inning. "Its a hard thing to do," Dickey said. "The game speed, and runners on -- its just going to take some time. But I felt like he looked real comfortable back there. Outside of the one passed ball, I felt like he handled it pretty well." TRAINERS ROOM Philadelphia right-handed reliever Mike Adams threw off the mound for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery on July 31. He was limited to 28 games in his first season after signing a two-year, $12 million free agent deal with the Phillies. The veteran setup reliever hopes to join the Phillies bullpen at some point in April. "It went good -- really good," he said. "It was probably an 85 per cent bullpen or so. I wasnt trying to let loose right off the bat. I was trying to get a good feel for throwing off the slope again." Philadelphia right-hander Ethan Martin, who entered camp competing for the fifth starters job, left after facing four batters in the fifth inning with shoulder discomfort. Hell be examined by the team medical staff on Friday morning. "He was pain-free pitching, but the ball just wasnt coming out, throwing 85 miles per hour," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "That was a sign for me to go out and see what was going on." ' ' '