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The playoffs mostly went according to form. In the West, the top four seeds won their series. The #3 Oilers came back from a 1-3 deficit vs. the #6 Coyotes. And in the East, #1 New Jersey and #4 Pittsburgh advanced.
However, the big story of the Conference Quarterfinals was the monumental upsets of the New York teams. First, the #3 Rangers (106-56) fell to the #6 Hurricanes (80-82) in six games. And for the second year in a row, the powerful #2 Islanders (119-43) went down in the first round. They lost to the #7 Senators (77-85) in seven games, in perhaps the greatest upset in the history of the NHLB.
The 138-win Devils now have a cakewalk to the Stanley Cup Finals. The three teams remaining in their conference have 82, 80, and 77 wins on the season.
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