5. 2003 Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Another No. 7 seed, Anaheim, returned to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a three-year absence in 2003, making a 26-point improvement over the previous season. But the still-Mighty Ducks got no favors in the first round, drawing the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings. Thanks in large part to goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, the Wings folded like a pack of lawn chairs in a four-game sweep in which they scored four goals. Next up was top-seeded Dallas, who dropped the opening two games at home, both in overtime, with Game 1 stretching to a mind-numbing five overtime periods before Petr Sykora scored for Anaheim to mercifully end the suffering. Dallas would regroup, but not before falling in six.

Next up were the Minnesota Wild, the only team left in the tournament that packed less offensive punch than the anemic Ducks. Not surprisingly, they folded in four straight, too, with Giguere, the eventual Conn Smythe winner, allowing only a single goal over the entire series.

Though the Ducks would go on to fall in seven games to the New Jersey Devils, they didn't go down without a fight. Anaheim rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the series, and then staved off elimination at home in Game 6 when Paul Kariya returned to the ice, Lazurus-like, to score an OT goal after being knocked out cold by New Jersey's Scott Stevens.

4. 2006 Edmonton Oilers
Coming down the stretch in the first season after the NHL lockout, the Oilers didn't exactly set the world on fire with a 5-4-1 record as they slipped into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Still, acquiring Dwayne Roloson from the Wild at the deadline seemed to instill confidence up front, and it wasn't long before Chris Pronger and other postseason heroes Raffi Torres and Fernando Pisani were pushing Edmonton deep into the postseason.

First up for Edmonton was Presidents' Trophy winner Detroit, a team that finished 29 points ahead of the Oilers in the regular season. The Wings went down in six games, shocking the hockey world.

The San Jose Sharks proved a sterner challenge in the next round. Edmonton fell behind 2-0 in the series and was staring down a possible 3-0 series deficit as overtime loomed at the end of Game 3. But the Oilers won Game 3 in triple overtime and then reeled off three more wins to finish off the Sharks.

Next, sixth-seeded Anaheim went down in five games and the Oilers were on the verge of their first Cup since 1990 if only they could beat the Carolina Hurricanes.

But Roloson, who sported a 12-5 record, was injured in Game 1 of the Finals, forcing the Oilers to plop an overmatched Ty Conklin in net. With the game tied 4-4 with only 32 seconds left, a misplay by Conklin led to Rod Brind'Amour's game-winning goal. Still the Oilers fought on, this time with Jussi Markkanen in goal, as they extended the series to seven games before eventually falling short.

3. 1981 Minnesota North Stars
Sometimes it's hard for younger fans to understand just how delightfully out of control the Stanley Cup playoffs used to be. Twenty-one teams in the league. Sixteen made the playoffs, seeded 1-16 without any regard to division or conference. This was the cauldron the 1981 Minnesota North Stars found themselves swimming in, managing to get to the Finals by a combination of hard work and dumb luck.

Minnesota had Steve Payne and Bobby Smith, incredible young goal scorer Dino Ciccarelli and Don Beaupre, a goalie who got hot at just the right time. The ninth-seeded North Stars didn't pull off any shocking upsets, beating No. 8 Boston, No. 5 Buffalo and No. 7 Calgary on the way to a meeting with the New York Islanders in the Finals. But they kept playing well as the dominoes elsewhere kept falling their way.

Unfortunately for Minnesota, even in a season in which the playoff system was totally bizarre, it eventually had to play one heavyweight — in this case, the freight train to destiny from Long Island. The New Yorkers ended it in five games.

2. 1982 Vancouver Canucks
When you look at the final standings for the 1981-82 NHL season, it's clear it should have been the year of the Edmonton Oilers in the Campbell Conference. At 111 points and with a young Wayne Gretzky in the lineup, the Oilers should have shredded their way to a Stanley Cup Finals matchup with the New York Islanders.

Instead, the Oilers dropped their first-round series with the Kings, 3-2, and opened the door for the Vancouver Canucks to waltz to the Finals. The Canucks finished second to the Oilers in the Smythe that year, compiling only 77 points. Thanks to some other upsets (including the top seed in the Norris, Minnesota), the Canucks, led by goalie Richard Brodeur, Thomas Gradin and Stan Smyl, made it to the Finals by defeating three teams that finished below them in the standings: Calgary, Los Angeles and Chicago. The Canucks then were confronted by the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Islanders, who won in four games.

1. 1991 Minnesota North Stars
If you ever wonder why the NHL migrated to a Conference-based playoff system, look no further than the 1991 Minnesota North Stars. That year the North Stars finished with 68 points, 38 behind Norris Division-leading Chicago. But that mattered little to coach Bob Gainey, who seemed to understand what it took to win in the postseason. So down went the Blackhawks in the first round in six games, followed by St. Louis (105 points), also in six games. Pretty soon, standing in their way were the defending Stanley Cup Champion Edmonton Oilers. Then again, no worries, gone in five. The magic continued through three games in the Finals, as Minnesota took a 2-1 lead over Pittsburgh before the Penguins and Mario Lemieux stormed back to win three straight and their first Cup.

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