The 2017 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 20, 2017, with the playoff format that was introduced in 2016. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-five series in the division semifinals, with the playoffs continuing with best-of-seven series for the division finals, conference finals, and Calder Cup finals. The Grand Rapids Griffins won their second Calder Cup championship by defeating the Syracuse Crunch 4-games-to-2 in the finals, in a repeat of the 2013 finals.
Playoff seeds After the 2016–17 AHL regular season, 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top four teams in each division ranked by points percentage (points earned divided by points available) qualify for the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs.
At the end of the regular season, the following teams qualified (with points percentage):
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – 107 points (.704) Lehigh Valley Phantoms – 101 points (.664) Hershey Bears – 97 points (.638) Providence Bruins – 96 points (.632)
North Division Syracuse Crunch – 90 points (.592) Toronto Marlies – 89 points (.586) Albany Devils – 83 points (.546) St. John's IceCaps – 82 points (.539)
Western Conference
Central Division Chicago Wolves – 101 points (.664) Grand Rapids Griffins – 100 points (.658) Milwaukee Admirals – 93 points (.612) Charlotte Checkers – 86 points (.566), 36
Pacific Division San Jose Barracuda – 95 points (.699) San Diego Gulls – 89 points (.664) Ontario Reign – 83 points (.619) Stockton Heat – 76 points (.567)
Bracket
Division semifinals Note 1: All times are in Eastern Time (UTC−04:00). Note 2: Game times in italics signify games to be played only if necessary. Note 3: Home team is listed first.
Eastern Conference (A1) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. (A4) Providence Bruins
(A2) Lehigh Valley Phantoms vs. (A3) Hershey Bears
(N1) Syracuse Crunch vs. (N4) St. John's IceCaps
(N2) Toronto Marlies vs. (N3) Albany Devils
Western Conference
(C1) Chicago Wolves vs. (C4) Charlotte Checkers
(C2) Grand Rapids Griffins vs. (C3) Milwaukee Admirals
(P1) San Jose Barracuda vs. (P4) Stockton Heat
(P2) San Diego Gulls vs. (P3) Ontario Reign
Division finals Eastern Conference (A3) Hershey Bears vs. (A4) Providence Bruins
(N1) Syracuse Crunch vs. (N2) Toronto Marlies
Western Conference (C1) Chicago Wolves vs. (C2) Grand Rapids Griffins
(P1) San Jose Barracuda vs. (P2) San Diego Gulls
Conference finals Eastern Conference (A4) Providence Bruins vs. (N1) Syracuse Crunch
Western Conference (P1) San Jose Barracuda vs. (C2) Grand Rapids Griffins
Calder Cup Finals Syracuse Crunch vs. Grand Rapids Griffins
Playoff statistical leaders Leading skaters
These are the top ten skaters based on points. If there is a tie in points, goals take precedence over assists.
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus–minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts PIM Syracuse Crunch 22 12 16 28 27 Syracuse Crunch 22 9 18 27 29 Grand Rapids Griffins 19 10 12 22 18 Grand Rapids Griffins 19 8 13 21 2 Syracuse Crunch 22 5 15 20 11 Grand Rapids Griffins 19 9 10 19 50 Grand Rapids Griffins 19 2 17 19 12 Providence Bruins 17 9 9 18 0 San Jose Barracuda 15 9 8 17 8 Grand Rapids Griffins 19 6 10 16 18
Leading goaltenders
This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage with at least 240 minutes played. The table is initially sorted by goals against average, with the criterion for inclusion in bold.
GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes)
Player Team GP W L SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI Ontario Reign 5 2 2 121 8 1.70 .934 0 282:14 Hershey Bears 9 5 4 282 19 2.13 .933 1 534:23 Albany Devils 4 1 3 125 9 2.13 .928 1 254:06 St. John's IceCaps 4 1 3 129 10 2.21 .922 0 272:04 Providence Bruins 16 8 7 426 40 2.57 .906 0 932:36 San Diego Gulls 10 4 6 341 26 2.69 .924 0 580:29
References
External links AHL official site