This year is about who is hot for a half season. The late bloomers are finding it tough to pick up where they left off. While the hot teams at the moment are playing above their means (ducks, Habs, Hawks). Not saying these teams are bad by any means, but we all know they could just as easily be the 7th or 8th seed (or worse) and we wouldn't be surprised. All that matters is they make the playoffs, then it's anyone's game.
The NHL (and to a lesser extent MLB) is awesome in that regard, any team from any seed can win due to the parity alone. Preference goes to the hot team though.
