It’s official; seeding in sports is meaningless.

Just to mention a few examples: The fifth-seeded Cardinals took down the top-seeded Phillies on their path to the 2011 World Series. The Giants overcame their crippling sixth seed to topple the mighty Patriots. And despite the overwhelming odds that Vegas gave him, the aptly-named Bodemeister still lost to a horse with lowly 12-1 odds in the Kentucky Derby.

But nothing has proven the irrelevance of seeding quite like the NHL playoffs.

For starters, the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Kings have an 8-1 record after shutting the door on both the President Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks and the second-seeded St. Louis Blues. Led by appropriately named goaltender Jonathan Quick— he is indeed very fast — and ruthless captain Dustin Brown, the Kings are hotter than Barry Melrose’s hair.

Not only have the Kings established themselves as a serious contender by dismantling two top-ranked teams, but they’re now a favorite to win the cup. Vegas currently gives them 2-1 odds, six times better than those of the Derby winner, I’ll Have Another.

Meanwhile, the Phoenix Coyotes have shown how far a hot goaltender and a little Arizona sun can take a team. After eliminating the Detroit Red Wings 4-1, they took a card from Chris Hansen’s playbook by catching the Nashville Predators. Scoring nine goals in two games, they lit up Neil Patrick Harris look-alike and star goaltender Pekka Rinne on their way to taking down Music-City’s heavily favored squad and eventually howled their way to a date with the Kings.

The playoff picture is forming slower in the East and it’s still far from certain who will represent the Conference in the finals. Last night, the sixth-seeded New Jersey Devils brought down the fifth-seeded Philadelphia Flyers in five games, showing an intensity and drive that nobody could have seen coming. After all, who would have though that a team backed by a 40-year-old goaltender could bring down the high-flying Philadelphia offense?

Though the Flyers entered the series with huge momentum after their historic domination of the fourth-ranked Pittsburgh Penguins, the Flyers couldn’t pull off a win. Showing their true colors, they dropped four consecutive games to a team few saw making it past the first round.

Finally, we move to our hometown boys: the Washington Capitals. They’re currently fighting it out with the top-seeded New York Rangers in a series so close it’s only comparable to the Capitals’ previous one against the second-seeded Boston Bruins.

The Caps have shown a new side to their star-studded roster, as many watch their roles change after underperforming in the regular season and numerous playoffs past. For example, coach Dale Hunter limits star left wing Alex Ovechkin’s playing time in close situations when his weak defensive skills could hurt the team.

Other top players, like left wing Alex Semin, center Nick Backstrom and defensemen Mike Green, have contributed greatly but aren’t the only means to victory. Instead, hidden gems have come through in the clutch. Brooks Laich has shown his colors, Jason Chimera has stepped up with three huge goals and 39-year-old Mike Knuble has shown how much he can still bring to each game.

And of course, none of this would matter if it hadn’t been for Braden Holtby, the team’s 22-year-old stud in net. Holtby has been an absolute beast this postseason, posting a .933 save percentage just a month after being pulled up from the American Hockey League. He outplayed reigning Vezina Trophy Winner Tim Thomas in the first round and has held his own so far against King Henrik Lundqvist and the Broadway Blueshirts. None of the Capitals’ success would have been possible without the outstanding play of this young star.

However, the Caps have suffered two devastating losses, one in triple overtime and one after a last-second Rangers goal tied up the game. They now face elimination, but have proven this postseason that they can rise to the challenge. We just hope this trend of high performing low seeds continues.