A few days late on this, but....
Yeah, I absolutely concur. No one is really safe or is a lock to beat any team in the playoffs. A lot of high variance in that one and unpredictability which makes it fun to watch, but nerve-wracking for the fans of the teams in the playoffs. This generation's Blackhawks, who I really thought would be absolutely indestructible, would be hard to beat against any team in the playoffs, they got swept against Predators in their big run last season and the Blackhawks hardly scored in that series. When the Kings won the cup in 2012, they were #8 in the Western Conference (but in all fairness, about two weeks prior to the end of the season, they were 1st in the Pacific, but teams like Sharks, Stars, and Coyotes was really close in the standings that it was anybody's ballgame to make it to the playoffs and win the Pacific Division). Heck, they beat the President's Trophy winner, Canucks, in 5 games.
That stated. The 2013 Blackhawks team was truly untouchable. They went like what, 25 games, without losing in regulation? It made me mad that year, especially when they were so untouchable at the Kings' expenses (they humiliated the Kings at the first game of the season and beat them in five in the conference finals). 2014 was a much better breather.