The 2019 Kelly Cup playoffs of the ECHL began in April 2019 following the conclusion of the 2018–19 ECHL regular season. The Kelly Cup was won by the expansion Newfoundland Growlers in six games over the Toledo Walleye.
Playoff format At the end of the regular season the top four teams in each division qualifies for the 2019 Kelly Cup playoffs and be seeded one through four based on highest point total earned in the season. Then the first two rounds of the playoffs are held within the division with the first seed facing the fourth seed and the second seed facing the third. The division champions then play each other in a conference championship. The Kelly Cup finals pits the Eastern Conference champion against the Western Conference champion. All four rounds are a best-of-seven format.
Playoff seeds After the regular season, 16 teams qualify for the playoffs. The Cincinnati Cyclones were the first team to qualify during the regular season on March 6, with the Florida Everblades qualifying shortly after on March 8. The Cyclones were the Western Conference regular season champions and the Brabham Cup winners with the best record in the ECHL. The Everblades earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Final seeding:
Eastern Conference North Division Newfoundland Growlers – Division champions, 94 pts Adirondack Thunder – 83 pts Manchester Monarchs – 82 pts Brampton Beast – 79 pts
South Division Florida Everblades – Division champions, 106 pts Orlando Solar Bears – 88 pts South Carolina Stingrays – 76 pts Jacksonville Icemen – 76 pts
Western Conference Central Division Cincinnati Cyclones – Brabham Cup winners, division champions, 110 pts Toledo Walleye – 89 pts Fort Wayne Komets – 82 pts Kalamazoo Wings – 77 pts
Mountain Division Tulsa Oilers – Division champions, 90 pts Idaho Steelheads – 88 pts Utah Grizzlies – 83 pts Kansas City Mavericks – 78 pts
Playoff bracket
Division semifinals
North Division (1) Newfoundland Growlers vs. (4) Brampton Beast
(2) Adirondack Thunder vs. (3) Manchester Monarchs
South Division (1) Florida Everblades vs. (4) Jacksonville Icemen
(2) Orlando Solar Bears vs. (3) South Carolina Stingrays
Central Division
(1) Cincinnati Cyclones vs. (4) Kalamazaoo Wings
(2) Toledo Walleye vs. (3) Fort Wayne Komets
Mountain Division
(1) Tulsa Oilers vs. (4) Kansas City Mavericks
(2) Idaho Steelheads vs. (3) Utah Grizzlies
Division finals
North Division
(1) Newfoundland Growlers vs. (3) Manchester Monarchs
South Division
(1) Florida Everblades vs. (2) Orlando Solar Bears
Central Division
(1) Cincinnati Cyclones vs. (2) Toledo Walleye
Mountain Division
(1) Tulsa Oilers vs. (2) Idaho Steelheads
Conference finals Eastern Conference
(S1) Florida Everblades vs. (N1) Newfoundland Growlers
Western Conference
(M1) Tulsa Oilers vs. (C2) Toledo Walleye
Kelly Cup finals (N1) Newfoundland Growlers vs. (C2) Toledo Walleye
Statistical leaders
Scoring leaders These are the top ten skaters based on points. Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIMZach O'Brien Newfoundland Growlers 23 16 13 29 +12 8Stephen Perfetto Tulsa Oilers 20 9 17 26 +3 6Alex Dostie Tulsa Oilers 20 14 10 24 +3 4Giorgio Estephan Newfoundland Growlers 23 9 15 24 +7 6Brady Ferguson Newfoundland Growlers 23 7 17 24 +7 18Adam Pleskach Tulsa Oilers 20 12 11 23 +1 20Greg Wolfe Toledo Walleye 24 10 11 21 +8 12Shane Berschbach Toledo Walleye 24 9 12 21 +4 8Matthew Register Toledo Walleye 24 4 15 19 +6 14Scott Pooley Newfoundland Growlers 23 9 8 17 +3 16 GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
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 sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded. Player Team GP W L OTL SA GA GAA SV% SO TOIConnor Ingram Orlando Solar Bears 10 5 2 3 338 22 1.94 0.935 0 681Pat Nagle Toledo Walleye 24 14 6 4 729 50 2.03 0.931 1 1,481Étienne Marcoux Brampton Beast 6 2 1 3 234 13 2.04 0.944 0 383Callum Booth Florida Everblades 12 7 4 1 360 27 2.17 0.925 1 745Michael Garteig Newfoundland Growlers 23 16 6 1 726 52 2.19 0.928 3 1,423Kevin Carr Utah Grizzlies 5 1 0 4 217 14 2.47 0.935 0 340 GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime Losses; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes)
See also 2018–19 ECHL season List of ECHL seasons
References
External links ECHL website