You are correct, I think? Kind of?? Maybe??? Hell, I don't know!!
The way I'm reading this, the conference standings don't really matter as much as the Division standings.
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/the-explainer-new-nhl-playoff-seeding-format-1.1871216
This is how the teams would be seeded in their new divisions based on last year's performance. Because they'll play out-of -conference games this season, comparisons to last season are fairly inapplicable. This is purely a mock-up to illustrate what could happen in the upcoming campaign, not an exercise of “what-if.”
Metropolitan Division
1. Z- Pittsburgh
2. Z - Washington
3. Z - NY Rangers
4. NY Islanders (55 points)
5. Columbus
6. Philadelphia
7. New Jersey
8. Carolina
Atlantic Division
1.Z- Montreal
2.Z - Boston
3.Z - Toronto
4.X - Detroit (56 points)
5.X- Ottawa (56 points)
6.Buffalo
7.Tampa Bay
8.Florida
Central Division
1.Z - Chicago
2.Z - St. Louis
3.Z -Minnesota
4.X - Winnipeg (51 points, 22 ROW)
5.Dallas
6.Nashville
7.Colorado
Pacific Division
1.Z - Anaheim
2.Z - Vancouver
3.Z - Los Angeles
4.X - San Jose (57)
5.Phoenix (51 points, 17 ROW)
6.Edmonton
7.Calgary
Key:
Z – These teams are the top three seeds in their division, and gain automatic entry into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
X – Wild card teams are the teams outside of the top three in their division, chosen because they have with the next highest point totals, regardless of the division. Three seeds can come from one division and five from another.
Matchup breakdown:
1.The division leader in each conference with the most points plays the wild card team with the fewest points.
2.The division leader with the second highest amount of points plays the wild card team with the most points
3 & 4 – the second and third seeds in each division face one another in the first round.
This is what the first round would’ve looked like had realignment happened a year earlier:
Eastern Conference
1.Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa
2.Montreal vs. Detroit
3.Washington vs. NY Rangers
4.Boston vs. Toronto
Western Conference
1.Chicago vs. Winnipeg
2.Anaheim v. San Jose
3.St. Louis vs. Minnesota
4.Vancouver vs. Los Angeles