Chirps from Center Ice

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Time to herd cats, or in this case, predict the unpredictable. Time for the Calder Cup Playoff Preview, my look at each series from the first round play-in games to the Calder Cup Finals.

Now, I expect these to be very wrong, but give a strong case for each on why they could be very right.

Twenty-three teams qualified for the postseason. Eight did not. Let’s pour one out for the Iowa Wild, Grand Rapids Griffins, San Jose Barracuda, Tucson Roadrunners, Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Hartford Wolf Pack, Cleveland Monsters and the Toronto Marlies. Better luck next year, guys. Enjoy the tranquility of the postseason and we will see you in October.

Your formats are as follows, the first round is a best of three. The division semis and finals are best of five. The Conference Finals and Calder Cup Finals are best of seven. Here’s a handy graphic from the folks at the AHL.com:

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Alright, enough bloviating, let’s do this, starting in familiar territory.

Atlantic Division

First Round Byes: Charlotte and Springfield

First Round, best of three.

(3) Providence vs. (6) Bridgeport: Starting off with the first upset. The Bruins were hot and cold all season long. They are missing key pieces in a series which starts Monday. Chris Terry and either goaltender Jakub Skarek or Corey Schneider are the X factors for the Islanders, who advance in three.

(4) Wilkes-Barre / Scranton vs. (5) Hershey: Expect a war and two games that go into overtime. Hershey’s inconsistency at the end of the season bleeds over to the playoffs. Penguins steal the series in three.

Division Semi-Finals, best of five.

(1) Charlotte vs. (6) Bridgeport: Islanders luck runs out, but they take the Checkers the distance. Charlotte survives a real scare in five.

(2) Springfield vs. (4) Wilkes-Barre / Scranton: Another series which likely goes the distance, Springfield was good, but inconsistent through the regular season and should have won the division running away. The Penguins know how to beat the Thunderbirds and do so in five.

Division Finals, best of five.

(1) Charlotte vs. (4) Wilkes-Barre / Scranton: Charlotte’s guns, their success on the power play which wasn’t on full display the series earlier against Bridgeport, finally kick it into gear and they dispatch the Penguins in four.

Central Division

First Round Byes: Chicago, Manitoba, Milwaukee

First Round, best of three.

(4) Rockford vs. (5) Texas: Pesky Stars give the IceHogs all they can handle and advance in three.

Division Semi-Finals, best of five.

(1) Chicago vs. (5) Texas: Cinderella meets midnight and the Wolves, who were class of the Central for much of the season, dismiss their first victim in four.

(2) Manitoba vs. (3) Milwaukee: Moose played second fiddle to the Wolves for the entire season it seems, but are the only team in this division to advance in a sweep. Moose in three.

Division Finals, best of five.

(1) Chicago vs. (2) Manitoba: Here it is, a chance for the Moose to take down the Wolves and yet, as we have seen time and time again this season, Chicago always finds a way. Wolves in five.

Pacific Division

First Round Bye: Stockton

First Round, best of three.

(2) Ontario vs. (7) San Diego: San Diego finished with a sub-.500 record and is gifted a playoff spot because they were the best of the dregs in the Pacific. Ontario kept pace with Stockton for pretty much the entire season. No Cinderella’s in this forum here when you have a guy in your lineup in T.J. Tynan who scored close to 100 points this season. Ontario in two.

(3) Colorado vs. (6) Henderson: One of a handful of series which will all be played at one venue, this being the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado which is a raucous place to play to start with. Eagles were nearly 10 games over .500 at home while the Silver Knights were sub-.500 on the road. You know how this goes, Eagles in three.

(4) Bakersfield vs. (5) Abbotsford: Probably the most dead even matchup in the entire first round. Condors lost just 9 games in regulation at home all season. Another series being played all at one place. Give the edge to the real home team, Condors in three.

Division Semi-Finals, best of five.

(1) Stockton vs. (4) Bakersfield: You can make a case for an upset here for the Condors with the way that the Heat sputtered down the final few weeks of the season but that’s a risk I don’t take. The Condors win a game, if that, Heat in four.

(2) Ontario vs. (3) Colorado: Not the matchup the Reign wanted in the second round because the Eagles had the Reign’s number in the regular season. Eagles in five.

Division Finals, best of five.

(1) Stockton vs. (3) Colorado: The edge in a series like this where the team that is supposed to be here (Stockton) meets the team they weren’t expecting (Colorado) which beat the team they were expecting (Ontario) usually works out well for the team with the expectations coming into the series. Heat in five.

North Division

First Round Byes: Utica, Syracuse, Laval

First Round, best of three.

(4) Belleville vs. (5) Rochester: The expectations for the Americans is such that they shouldn’t have needed the final day of the regular season to qualify. However, people are going to learn quick to not bet against Belleville Head Coach Troy Mann. Senators in three.

Division Semi-Finals, best of five.

(1) Utica vs. (4) Belleville: Another one of those matchup problems for a team that ran the North wire-to-wire. Comets survive a real scare, probably come back from being on the brink down 2-1 in the series, but advance in five games.

(2) Syracuse vs. (3) Laval: I toss out matchups in a lot, but sometimes teams go on runs. I see it here with the Crunch, evidenced by the 8-2 stretch they used to close out the regular season. Syracuse in four.

Division Finals, best of five.

(1) Utica vs. (2) Syracuse: Ah yes, two teams and fan bases who hate each other. Utica owned the Crunch in the regular season, but the Crunch take the Comets to the limit in probably the most entertaining series of the entire playoffs, but Utica survives. Comets in five.

Eastern Conference Finals, best of seven.

(1) Utica vs. (1) Charlotte: Comets will have home ice since they won the Conference running away. Intriguing matchup here. Utica went 3-0-1 against the Checkers this year. But, the Checkers are fairly fresh and rested whereas the Comets have scars from the exposition that the Senators displayed in the semis and the war from Syracuse in the division finals. Charlotte in six.

Western Conference Finals, best of seven.

(1) Chicago vs. (1) Stockton: The only scare Chicago faces is already behind them in the series with the Moose. Stockton makes a couple games close, but go out quickly and Chicago advances in six.

Calder Cup Finals, best of seven.

(1) Chicago vs. (1) Charlotte: After two years of season and postseason cancellations due to COVID, am I really forecasting a Calder Cup Finals rematch from the last time there was a Calder Cup Final? I guess I am, only this time, it’s the Wolves who are the victors. Sometimes the best team in the regular season stays that way and remain the best team in the postseason. Wolves in five.

That’s how I see it playing out this year. All chalk, a couple scares, a few sweeps, not many upsets. The action gets going Monday. If you have a team in it, enjoy the ride.