The Vancouver Canucks' morale may have taken another hit on Thursday night with their loss to the Arizona Coyotes, but their lottery odds certainly improved.

Thursday's 4-3 loss dropped the Canucks below the Coyotes to 29th in the overall NHL standings with two games remaining in their season.

If the Canucks go winless in their final two games, they'll enter the this month's draft lottery with a 12.1 per cent chance of securing the first overall pick. Through Thursday's results and standings, the Coyotes share the third-best odds with the Vegas Golden Knights – a 10.3 per cent chance.

Though a loss could be solace for Vancouver fans, Canucks defenceman Ben Hutton said the team is never happy taking one.

"You never want to lose a game, no matter who you're playing," Hutton told the Vancouver Sun after Thursday's game. "We come in every night looking to win and get two points for our team. We're not happy with what happened tonight."

The Canucks were down 4-1 before potting two goals in the game's final frame.

"We had a good bounce back in the third, but it was too much catching up," Hutton continued. "I think we were frustrated with what happened in the second and came out with a little fire in our blood. We were trying to push back."

The Canucks play back-to-back games against the Edmonton Oilers over the weekend to end their season. But with nothing left to play for, winger Daniel Sedin said his focus is coming back as a better team next season.

"I thought our first period was decent, but in the second we give up three goals," he told The Sun. "That's where we lose the game. Our third was good, but 40 minutes isn't good enough, even though we're a young team. We have to play for 60 minutes; that's the only way we're going to win.

"It's too late in the season (to fix) but coming in next season we'll be better."

The Coyotes, who sit at 70 points on the season to the Canucks' 69, have one game remaining on Saturday against the Minnesota Wild. The New Jersey Devils also have 70 points, but with two games remaining against the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings over the weekend. The Coyotes have one less regulation/overtime win than the Devils, which would give them the better odds on a tiebreaker.

If the season ended Friday, the lottery odds would be as follows:

1. Colorado Avalanche (47 pts) – 17.9%

2. Vancouver Canucks (69 pts) – 12.1%

3. Arizona Coyotes (70 pts) – 10.3%

4. Vegas Golden Knights – 10.3%

5. New Jersey Devils (70 pts) – 8.5%

6. Detroit Red Wings (76 pts) – 7.6%

7. Dallas Stars (77 pts) – 6.7%

8. Florida Panthers (77 pts) – 5.8%

9. Buffalo Sabres (78 pts) – 5.4%

10. Los Angeles Kings (83 pts) – 4.5%

11. Carolina Hurricanes (84 pts) – 3.1%

12. Winnipeg Jets (85 pts) – 2.7%

13. Philadelphia Flyers (85 pts) – 2.2%

14. Tampa Bay Lightning (90 pts) – 1.8%

15. New York Islanders (90 pts) – 0.9%