Just look at last playoffs when the eighth seed Anaheim Ducks beat the top seed San Jose Sharks. Here is the history of No. 8 teams beating No. 1’s according to NHL.com.
Since the NHL switched the current playoff format in 1994 — seeding teams 1-8 in a conference format — the No. 8 seed has upset the No. 1 seed eight times out of 30 instances (26.7 percent).
Want to know every team that’s done it? NHL.com has that for you too. They’re nice.
1994 — San Jose (8) won best-of-seven series 4-3 over Detroit (1)
1995 — N.Y. Rangers (8) won best-of-seven series 4-2 over Quebec (1)
1998 — Ottawa (8) won best-of-seven series 4-2 over New Jersey (1)
1999 — Pittsburgh (8) won best-of-seven series 4-3 over New Jersey (1)
2000 — San Jose (8) won best-of-seven series 4-3 over St. Louis (1)
2002 — Montreal (8) won best-of-seven series 4-2 over Boston (1)
2006 — Edmonton (8) won best-of-seven series 4-2 over Detroit (1)
2009 — Anaheim (8) won best-of-seven series 4-2 over San Jose (1)
All are conference quarterfinal series
One bit of bad news for hopeful Montreal Canadiens fans, though: only the 2006 Edmonton Oilers really did much after the first round. Still, right now it’s all about squeezing one more win out of a series that often has been a mismatch.