The quest for the Calder Cup is underway.
The 2025 American Hockey League playoffs feature 23 teams hoping to take home the trophy, the Hershey Bears have claimed the last two seasons, defeating the Coachella Firebirds in the Calder Cup Finals each time.
While it’s tough to bet against a three-peat from the Capitals affiliate, the Laval Rocket were the class of the AHL during the regular season with 101 points to Hershey’s 96. Will the two powerhouses clash in the Eastern Conference Finals? Stay tuned.
The AHL playoffs will unfold over the span of about two months before the 2025 Calder Cup champion is crowned.
Here’s a full game schedule and everything you need to know to tune in to all the postseason action.
How to watch Calder Cup playoffs 2025: TV channel, live stream
The Calder Cup playoffs will not air on traditional TV channels. Instead, viewers can watch every game of the AHL postseason via AHLTV on FloHockey, which gives subscribers access to live streams, event replays and FloSports Originals.
Calder Cup playoffs schedule, scores 2025
Atlantic Division
First Round (Best-of-3)
No. 3 Providence Bruins vs. No. 6 Springfield Thunderbirds
| Date | Game | Time (ET)/Result |
|---|---|---|
| Wed., April 23 | Game 1 at Providence | 7:05 p.m. |
| Fri., April 25 | Game 2 at Springfield | 7:05 p.m. |
| Sun., April 27 | Game 3 at Providence* | 3:05 p.m. |
No. 4 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. No. 5 Lehigh Valley Phantoms
| Date | Game | Time (ET)/Result |
|---|---|---|
| Wed., April 23 | Game 1 at W-B/Scranton | 7:05 p.m. |
| Fri., April 25 | Game 2 at Lehigh Valley | 7:05 p.m. |
| Sun., April 27 | Game 3 at W-B/Scranton* | 6:05 p.m. |
Division Semifinals (Best-of-5)
No. 1 Hershey Bears vs. Lower-seeded first round winner
No. 2 Charlotte Checkers vs. Higher-seeded first round winner
| Date | Game | Time (ET)/Result |
|---|---|---|
| TBD | Game 1 at TBD | TBD |
| TBD | Game 2 at TBD | TBD |
| Wed., May 7 | Game 3 at Charlotte | 7 p.m. |
| Fri., May 9 | Game 4 at Charlotte* | 7 p.m. |
| Sun., May 11 | Game 5 at Charlotte* | 3 p.m. |
North Division
First Round (Best-of-3)
No. 4 Toronto Marlies vs. No. 5 Cleveland Monsters
| Date | Game | Time (ET)/Result |
|---|---|---|
| Thu., April 24 | Game 1 at Cleveland | 7 p.m. |
| Sat., April 26 | Game 2 at Toronto | 4 p.m. |
| Sun., April 27 | Game 3 at Toronto* | 4 p.m. |
Division Semifinals (Best-of-5)
No. 1 Laval Rocket vs. Toronto-Cleveland winner
No. 2 Rochester Americans vs. No. 3 Syracuse Crunch
| Date | Game | Time (ET)/Result |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., April 25 | Game 1 at Rochester | 7:05 p.m. |
| Sun., April 27 | Game 2 at Rochester | 3:05 p.m. |
| Thu., May 1 | Game 3 at Syracuse | 7 p.m. |
| Sat., May 3 | Game 4 at Syracuse* | 7 p.m. |
| Fri., May 9 | Game 5 at Rochester* | 7:05 p.m. |
Central Division
First Round (Best-of-3)
No. 4 Chicago Wolves vs. No. 5 Rockford IceHogs
| Date | Game | Time (ET)/Result |
|---|---|---|
| Wed., April 23 | Game 1 at Chicago | 8 p.m. |
| Fri., April 25 | Game 2 at Rockford | 8 p.m. |
| Sun., April 27 | Game 3 at Rockford^* | 5 p.m. |
^ Chicago designated as home team
Division Semifinals (Best-of-5)
No. 1 Milwaukee Admirals vs. Chicago-Rockford winner
| Date | Game | Time (ET)/Result |
|---|---|---|
| Thu., May 1 | Game 1 at Milwaukee | 8 p.m. |
| Sat., May 3 | Game 2 at Milwaukee | 7 p.m. |
| TBD | Game 3 at CHI/RFD | TBD |
| TBD | Game 4 at CHI/RFD* | TBD |
| TBD | Game 5 at Milwaukee* | TBD |
No. 2 Texas Stars vs. No. 3 Grand Rapids Griffins
| Date | Game | Time (ET)/Result |
|---|---|---|
| Tue., April 29 | Game 1 at Grand Rapids | 7 p.m. |
| Mon., May 5 | Game 2 at Grand Rapids | 7 p.m. |
| Fri., May 9 | Game 3 at Texas | 8 p.m. |
| Sat., May 10 | Game 4 at Texas* | 8 p.m. |
| Mon., May 12 | Game 5 at Texas* | 8 p.m. |
Pacific Division
First Round (Best-of-3)
No. 2 Abbotsford Canucks vs. No. 7 Tucson Roadrunners
| Date | Game | Time (ET)/Result |
|---|---|---|
| Wed., April 23 | Game 1 at Abbotsford | 10 p.m. |
| Thu., April 24 | Game 2 at Abbotsford | 10 p.m. |
| Sat., April 26 | Game 3 at Abbotsford^* | 10 p.m. |
^ Tucson designated as home team
No. 3 Ontario Reign vs. No. 6 San Jose Barracudas
| Date | Game | Time (ET)/Result |
|---|---|---|
| Thu., April 24 | Game 1 at Los Angeles | 10 p.m. |
| Sat., April 26 | Game 2 at Los Angeles^ | 9 p.m. |
| Mon., April 28 | Game 3 at Ontario* | 10 p.m. |
^ San Jose designated as home team
No. 4 Coachella Valley Firebirds vs. No. 5 Calgary Wranglers
| Date | Game | Time (ET)/Result |
|---|---|---|
| Tue., April 22 | Game 1: Coachella Valley 4, Calgary 3 (3 OT) | — |
| Sat., April 26 | Game 2 at Coachella Valley^ | 9 p.m. |
| Sun., April 27 | Game 3 at Coachella Valley* | 8 p.m. |
^ Calgary designated as home team
Division Semifinals (Best-of-5)
No. 1 Colorado Eagles vs. Lowest-seeded first round winner
Highest-seeded first round winner vs. Middle-seeded first round winner
Calder Cup playoffs bracket, format
The top seed from each of the AHL’s four divisions receives a bye into the division semifinals. This year, that means Hershey, Laval, Milwaukee and Colorado await opponents from first-round series.
The top five (of seven) teams from the North and Central divisions make the playoffs, along with the top six teams (of eight) from the Atlantic and top seven (of 10) from the Pacific. Those unbalanced numbers make for a complicated bracket, with two best-of-3 first-round series in the Atlantic, one each in the North and Central, and three in the Pacific, to get to the 16-team, best-of-5 division semifinals.
The eight winners from that round advance to the best-of-5 division finals and the final four move on to the best-of-7 conference finals before the two teams that emerge face off in a best-of-7 set for the Calder Cup.
2025 AHL playoff teams and NHL affiliates
Here are the 23 AHL teams that qualified for this year’s Calder Cup playoffs, along with their NHL affiliates.
| AHL team | NHL affiliate |
|---|---|
| Abbotsford Canucks | Vancouver Canucks |
| Calgary Wranglers | Calgary Flames |
| Charlotte Checkers | Florida Panthers |
| Chicago Wolves | Carolina Hurricanes |
| Cleveland Monsters | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Coachella Valley Firebirds | Seattle Kraken |
| Colorado Eagles | Colorado Avalanche |
| Grand Rapids Griffins | Detroit Red Wings |
| Hershey Bears | Washington Capitals |
| Laval Rocket | Montreal Canadiens |
| Lehigh Valley Phantoms | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Milwaukee Admirals | Nashville Predators |
| Ontario Reign | Los Angeles Kings |
| Providence Bruins | Boston Bruins |
| Rochester Americans | Buffalo Sabres |
| Rockford IceHogs | Chicago Blackhawks |
| San Jose Barracuda | San Jose Sharks |
| Springfield Thunderbirds | St. Louis Blues |
| Syracuse Crunch | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Texas Stars | Dallas Stars |
| Toronto Marlies | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Tucson Roadrunners | Utah Hockey Club |
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | Pittsburgh Penguins |
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