# 2008 Calder Cup playoffs

The 2008 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 16, 2008. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-7 series for division semifinals, finals and conference finals. The conference champions played a best-of-7 series for the Calder Cup. The Calder Cup Final ended on June 10, 2008 with the Chicago Wolves defeating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, four games to two, to win the second Calder Cup in team history. Jason Krog won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as playoff MVP, after having already been named the regular-season MVP. Krog also tied the AHL record for most assists in one playoff with 26.
In Game 5 of the East Division Semifinals between the Philadelphia Phantoms and Albany River Rats, Ryan Potulny of Philadelphia scored 2:58 into the fifth overtime period, ending what was longest game in AHL history. In 2018 a game would last until 6:48 into the fifth overtime period, setting a new record. Chicago's Darren Haydar set two AHL playoff scoring records in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Final by recording his 52nd career AHL playoff goal, as well as his 120th career AHL playoff point. In the same game, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Alex Goligoski set an AHL record for most points scored by a defenseman in a single post-season with 26. This eclipsed the record set by former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defenseman Chris Kelleher, who scored 25 points in the 2001 Calder Cup Playoffs. Goligoski extended his record to 28 points before the playoffs ended.

## Playoff seeds

After the 2007–08 AHL regular season, 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top four teams from each division qualified for the playoffs, except in the North division where the fourth playoff spot was taken by the fifth-placed team from the West division since the fifth-placed San Antonio Rampage earned more points than the Hamilton Bulldogs during the season. This is because the West division has 8 teams while the other three divisions have 7 teams each. Therefore, this was the only situation in which a crossover was possible. The Providence Bruins were the Eastern Conference regular season champions as well as the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners with the best overall regular season record. The Chicago Wolves were the Western Conference regular season champions.

### Eastern Conference
#### Atlantic Division

* Providence Bruins – Eastern Conference regular season champions; Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners, 117 points
* Hartford Wolf Pack – 110 points
* Portland Pirates – 99 points
* Manchester Monarchs – 88 points

#### East Division

* Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – 101 points
* Philadelphia Phantoms – 99 points
* Albany River Rats – 93 points
* Hershey Bears – 92 points

### Western Conference
#### North Division

* Toronto Marlies – 109 points
* Syracuse Crunch – 100 points
* Manitoba Moose – 99 points
* San Antonio Rampage – 94 points (Fifth-place in West Division)

#### West Division

* Chicago Wolves – Western Conference regular season champions, 111 points
* Rockford IceHogs – 98 points
* Houston Aeros – 96 points
* Milwaukee Admirals – 95 points

## Bracket

| Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | | | Division Finals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | | Calder Cup Final | Calder Cup Final | Calder Cup Final |
| A1 | Providence | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A4 | Manchester | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A4 | Manchester | 0 | | | A1 | Providence | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | | | A1 | Providence | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | | | A3 | Portland | 4 | | | | | | | |
| A2 | Hartford | 1 | | | A3 | Portland | 4 | | | | | | | |
| A3 | Portland | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A3 | Portland | 4 | | | | | | A3 | Portland | 3 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | A3 | Portland | 3 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 4 | | | | |
| E1 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 4 | | | | | | | | | E1 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 4 | | | | |
| E4 | Hershey | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E4 | Hershey | 1 | | | E1 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 4 | | | | | | | |
| East Division | East Division | East Division | | | E1 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 4 | | | | | | | |
| East Division | East Division | East Division | | | E2 | Philadelphia | 1 | | | | | | | |
| E2 | Philadelphia | 4 | | | E2 | Philadelphia | 1 | | | | | | | |
| E3 | Albany | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E3 | Albany | 3 | | | | | | | | | | E1 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | W1 | Chicago | 4 |
| N1 | Toronto | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | W1 | Chicago | 4 |
| W5 | San Antonio | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | San Antonio | 3 | | | N1 | Toronto | 4 | | | | | | | |
| North Division | North Division | North Division | | | N1 | Toronto | 4 | | | | | | | |
| North Division | North Division | North Division | | | N2 | Syracuse | 3 | | | | | | | |
| N2 | Syracuse | 4 | | | N2 | Syracuse | 3 | | | | | | | |
| N3 | Manitoba | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| N3 | Manitoba | 2 | | | | | | N1 | Toronto | 1 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | N1 | Toronto | 1 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W1 | Chicago | 4 | | | | |
| W1 | Chicago | 4 | | | | | | | | | W1 | Chicago | 4 | | | | |
| W4 | Milwaukee | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W4 | Milwaukee | 2 | | | W1 | Chicago | 4 | | | | | | | |
| West Division | West Division | West Division | | | W1 | Chicago | 4 | | | | | | | |
| West Division | West Division | West Division | | | W2 | Rockford | 3 | | | | | | | |
| W2 | Rockford | 4 | | | W2 | Rockford | 3 | | | | | | | |
| W3 | Houston | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
In each round the team that earned more points during the regular season receives home ice advantage, meaning they receive the "extra" game on home-ice if the series reaches the maximum number of games. There is no set series format due to arena scheduling conflicts and travel considerations.

## Division Semifinals

    Note 1: All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4).
    Note 2: Game times in italics signify games to be played only if necessary.
    Note 3: Home team is listed first.

### Eastern Conference
#### Atlantic Division
##### (A1) Providence Bruins vs. (A4) Manchester Monarchs

* Providence wins series 4 – 0

##### (A2) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (A3) Portland Pirates

* Portland wins series 4 – 1

#### East Division
##### (E1) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. (E4) Hershey Bears

* Wilkes-Barre/Scranton wins series 4 – 1

##### (E2) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (E3) Albany River Rats

Game five was the longest game in AHL history at the time at 82 minutes, 58 seconds of overtime play. It is now the second longest game in AHL history. Philadelphia's Michael Leighton faced 101 shots and made 98 saves, which remains the AHL record.
* Philadelphia wins series 4 – 3

### Western Conference
#### North Division
##### (N1) Toronto Marlies vs. (W5) San Antonio Rampage

* Toronto wins series 4 – 3

##### (N2) Syracuse Crunch vs. (N3) Manitoba Moose

* Syracuse wins series 4 – 2

#### West Division
##### (W1) Chicago Wolves vs. (W4) Milwaukee Admirals

* Chicago wins series 4 – 2

##### (W2) Rockford IceHogs vs. (W3) Houston Aeros

* Rockford wins series 4 – 1

## Division Finals
### Eastern Conference
#### Atlantic Division
##### (A1) Providence Bruins vs. (A3) Portland Pirates

* Portland wins series 4 – 2

#### East Division
##### (E1) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. (E2) Philadelphia Phantoms

* Wilkes-Barre/Scranton wins series 4 – 1

### Western Conference
#### North Division
##### (N1) Toronto Marlies vs. (N2) Syracuse Crunch

* Toronto wins series 4 – 3

#### West Division
##### (W1) Chicago Wolves vs. (W2) Rockford IceHogs

* Chicago wins series 4 – 3

## Conference finals
### Eastern Conference
#### (E1) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. (A3) Portland Pirates

* Wilkes-Barre/Scranton wins series 4-3

### Western Conference
#### (W1) Chicago Wolves vs. (N1) Toronto Marlies

* Chicago wins series 4 – 1

## Calder Cup Final
### (W1) Chicago Wolves vs. (E1) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

* Chicago wins series 4 – 2