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Originally Posted by Enoch Root
If they finish 5th in the division, but 8th in the conference (and therefore ahead of the 4th place Central team) they would cross over and compete as the 4th seed in the Central.
The playoff format is divisional now, but a team can cross over if they finish ahead of the 4th place team in the other division.
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I finally grasped what you meant about placing ahead of fourth place in the Central (sorry for being slow on the uptake) - but there isn't really an automatic crossover to the Central like you're talking about. If 5 teams qualify from the Pacific, and three from the Central, the fourth place Pacific team could still "crossover" to play the Central if the Pacific division winner had the best record in the conference.
From the NHL site:
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Originally Posted by nhl.com
In the First Round, the division winner with the best record in each conference will be matched against the wild-card team with the lesser record; the wild card team with the better record will play the other division winner.
The teams finishing second and third in each division will meet in the First Round within the bracket headed by their respective division winners. First-round winners within each bracket play one another in the Second Round to determine the four participants in the Conference Finals.
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So if the Flames are eighth in the conference and have the worst record of the two wild card teams, and Anaheim wins the conference, Calgary plays Anahem.