It will force those seventh and eighth-seeded teams to play a great style of hockey.

They were the first eighth-seeded team to reach the Final under the current playoff format (which was introduced in 1994).

The Knicks were an eighth-seeded team and did not have home-court advantage in the four rounds they played.

It marked the first time an eighth-seeded team made it into the conference final.

Early on, we were about a seventh- or eighth-seeded team.

Last place is to be avoided because that eighth-seeded team gets to go to Maine for a two-game series.

It is a playoff distance never traveled by an eighth-seeded team, and the first time the Knicks have gone this far since 1994.

The Devils were eliminated by the eighth-seeded team the past two years.

The Stags (14-14) had not advanced to the semifinals since 1997, when they won the tournament as the eighth-seeded team.

He also became the first and only player from an eighth-seeded team to receive the award.