From 1998 to 2011, if the wild-card team and the division winner with the best record were from the same division, the wild-card team played the division winner with the second-best record, and the remaining two division leaders played each other.)
From 1998 to 2011, if a wild-card team and the division winner with the best record were from the same division, they would compete against each other in the playoffs, while the remaining two division leaders would play each other.