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The NHL draft lottery took place Friday, but the owner of the No. 1 overall pick has yet to be determined.

Because there will be 24 teams playing in this year's expanded playoffs, placeholders represented the eight teams that lose in the play-in round besides the seven teams already eliminated from contention. As it turned out, a placeholder ended up getting the top pick, meaning each of the eight teams that are eliminated in the qualifying round will have a 12.5 percent chance of landing the top selection in the second phase of the lottery.

While there's uncertainty at the top, Phase 1 of the lottery provided some clarity beyond the No.