Is there a payoff going into the Stanley Cup playoffs on a hot streak? Or is there truth to the adage that the regular season means nothing when first-round action begins? For the record, here are the teams with the highest point totals since play began on March 9. Dallas has the advantage of 16 games played during this span, while Minnesota and Colorado were limited to 14 games.

Most Points, March 9-April 8

Dal 12-2-2 (26)
SJS 11-1-3 (25)
Min 11-2-1 (23)
Pit 11-3-1 (23)
Col 10-2-2 (22)

It seems so logical that a team that plays well at the close of the regular season keeps winning. So, are the odds favorable that the Penguins will square off against the Stars, Sharks or Wild in the Stanley Cup finals?

Not so fast. Last year’s Stanley Cup finalists were in the middle of the NHL pack over their last 15 regular-season games, and Carolina lost four of five to close out the season before winning the Cup. Edmonton alternated wins and losses down the stretch, going 5-4-1 before surprising Detroit, San Jose and Anaheim in the playoffs.

That pattern is more the norm than the exception in recent seasons. The 2004 champs, Tampa Bay, won just eight of their last 15 games. Eleven clubs had more points over that span. Calgary fared a bit better down the stretch and won three of its last four before marching to the finals behind Miikka Kiprusoff.

The 2002 champs, Detroit, didn’t post a win in the last seven games of the regular season, losing five times and managing a pair of ties. On the other hand, the Red Wings ranked among the best in points over their last 15 regular-season games in each of the last three NHL seasons, but each spring they fell to the eventual Stanley Cup finalists from the West. They exited in the first round to Anaheim (2003) and Edmonton (2006). In 2004, Detroit survived the opening series, but lost to the Flames in the second round.

The one team that has converted a season-ending hot streak into successful runs to the Stanley Cup finals is New Jersey. Before winning the Cup in 2003, the Devils lost just once in their last 11 games. Two years earlier, they won their last four and 19 of 21 to close out the regular season. Then the Devils advanced to the finals, only to lose a seven-game series to Colorado.

If there’s a team we can feel good about, based on its performance at the close of the regular season, it’s the Devils. They finished by winning six of the final eight games on the 2006-07 schedule. One of their two losses was the season finale on Sunday, when the Devils rested goaltender Martin Brodeur and lost to the desperate Islanders, who clinched the final playoff berth with a shootout victory.