Essentially a 5-team play-in tournament for 2 spots, with each team getting 6 or 7 games. The Wings and:
- Philadelphia, defeated by Detroit in ‘97 Cup final
- Washington, defeated by Detroit in ‘98 Cup final
- NYI, coached by Patrick Roy who was yanked from Game 7 blowout as Wings advanced to ‘02 Cup final
- Pittsburgh, defeated by Detroit in ‘08 Cup final (before robbing Wings in ‘09)