After a frenetic Friday saw several puzzle pieces fall into place, the 2024-25 regular season comes to a conclusion with 14 games tonight and one more on Sunday afternoon.
Only one Calder Cup Playoff berth remains up for grabs, but nine seeds are still to be determined as teams prepare to play Game 72. Here’s a look at where things stand on the penultimate day of the season:
ATLANTIC DIVISION
The Hershey Bears (1) and Charlotte Checkers (2) have secured byes into the division semifinals in the Atlantic Division, while the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (5) and Springfield Thunderbirds (6) will be the lower seeds in the first round.
Providence and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton enter Saturday jockeying for third and fourth place. The Penguins host Cleveland (6 ET, AHL Live on Social Game of the Week), while the Bruins entertain Bridgeport (7 ET).
Providence clinches third place on Saturday with:
(a) a point vs. Bridgeport, OR
(b) a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton loss (reg/OT/SO) or OT/SO win vs. ClevelandWilkes-Barre/Scranton clinches third place on Saturday with:
(a) a regulation win vs. Cleveland AND a Providence regulation loss vs. Bridgeport
NORTH DIVISION
The North Division races were all locked up Friday night, as Toronto (4) and Cleveland (5) secured the final two playoff berths and Syracuse (3) clinched a third-place finish.
The Laval Rocket (1) wrapped up the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the AHL’s regular-season champions, and will await the winner of a Marlies-Monsters first-round series. The Rochester Americans (2) will take on the Crunch in the other division semifinal.
CENTRAL DIVISION
The Milwaukee Admirals (1) outlasted the Texas Stars (2) in the race for the division title in the Central, while the Rockford IceHogs (5) are preparing for a first-round series against either Grand Rapids or Chicago.
The Griffins hold a two-point lead over the Wolves entering Saturday. The third-place finisher gets a date with Texas in the division semifinals, while the fourth-place club would square off against Rockford in the best-of-three round. Grand Rapids is in Iowa tonight (7 ET); the Wolves entertain the IceHogs (8 ET).
Grand Rapids clinches third place on Saturday with:
(a) a point at Iowa, or
(b) a Chicago loss (reg/OT/SO) vs. RockfordChicago clinches third place on Saturday with:
(a) a win vs. Rockford AND a Grand Rapids regulation loss at Iowa
PACIFIC DIVISION
The Colorado Eagles (1) clinched the division championship on Friday night, and the Coachella…
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