Devils should “upset” Panthers in the East

    vs.   

(3) Florida Panthers vs. (6) New Jersey Devils

Even though the Panthers will have home ice advantage, many people will consider New Jersey the favourites going into this series. The Devils finished the season with ten more wins and eight more points than the Panthers. In fact the only reason the Panthers weren’t scrapping their way into the playoffs is because of the NHL’s division rule. (Division winners get ranked 1^st through 3^rd).

Out of the 16 teams that made the playoffs the Panthers finished with the most losses (44), yet still managed to get home ice advantage. (Ridiculous, isn’t it?) This is because 18 of those losses were in extra time. So basically, the Panthers won their division and were awarded the third seed because they were better at losing. (Doesn’t make much sense, but we will save that rant for another day).