 Unlike the NHL, divisional alignment plays no added role in playoff seeding—all teams are seeded solely within their conference.Playoff pairings are based on seeding number within the conference (# 1 vs. # 8, # 2 vs. # 7, # 3 vs. # 6, and # 4 vs. # 5).The division winner with the best record in the conference plays the lowest wild-card seed, while the other division winner plays the next-lowest seed (wild-card teams, who are de facto 4th seeds, may cross over to another division within the conference).