# 2018 Calder Cup playoffs

The 2018 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 19, 2018, 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.
A Division finals game between the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and the Charlotte Checkers became the longest game in AHL history by going 86:48 into overtime when Alex Krushelnyski of the Phantoms scored the winning 2–1 goal. The game started at 7:03 pm on May 9 and ended at 1:09 am on May 10. The Checkers had 95 shots on goal and Alex Lyon would finish with 94 saves, while Alex Nedeljkovic would finish with 51 saves on 53 shots. The previous record of 82:58 into overtime was set in 2008, also between the AHL affiliates of the Philadelphia Flyers and the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Toronto Marlies won their first Calder Cup, beating the Texas Stars four games to three in the finals.

## Playoff seeds

After the 2017–18 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 2018 Calder Cup Playoffs. The Toronto Marlies were the first team to clinch a playoff spot and went on to claim the regular season title with four games remaining.

### Eastern Conference
#### Atlantic Division

* Lehigh Valley Phantoms – 104 points (.684)
* Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – 99 points (.651)
* Charlotte Checkers – 96 points (.632)
* Providence Bruins – 95 points (.625)

#### North Division

* Toronto Marlies– 112 points (.737)
* Syracuse Crunch – 100 points (.658)
* Rochester Americans – 91 points (.599)
* Utica Comets – 88 points (.579)

### Western Conference
#### Central Division

* Chicago Wolves – 95 points (.625)
* Grand Rapids Griffins – 93 points (.612)
* Manitoba Moose – 92 points (.605)
* Rockford IceHogs – 88 points (.579)

#### Pacific Division

* Tucson Roadrunners – 90 points (.662)
* Texas Stars – 90 points (.592)
* Ontario Reign – 79 points (.581)
* San Jose Barracuda – 76 points (.559), 33 ROWs

## 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 | Lehigh Valley | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A4 | Providence | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A4 | Providence | 1 | | | A1 | Lehigh Valley | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | A3 | Charlotte | 1 | | | | | | | |
| A2 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 0 | | | A3 | Charlotte | 1 | | | | | | | |
| A3 | Charlotte | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A3 | Charlotte | 3 | | | | | | A1 | Lehigh Valley | 0 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | A1 | Lehigh Valley | 0 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | N1 | Toronto | 4 | | | | |
| N1 | Toronto | 3 | | | | | | | | | N1 | Toronto | 4 | | | | |
| N4 | Utica | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| N4 | Utica | 2 | | | N1 | Toronto | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | N2 | Syracuse | 0 | | | | | | | |
| N2 | Syracuse | 3 | | | N2 | Syracuse | 0 | | | | | | | |
| N3 | Rochester | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| N3 | Rochester | 0 | | | | | | | | | | N1 | Toronto | 4 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | P2 | Texas | 3 |
| C1 | Chicago | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | P2 | Texas | 3 |
| C4 | Rockford | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| C4 | Rockford | 3 | | | C4 | Rockford | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | C3 | Manitoba | 0 | | | | | | | |
| C2 | Grand Rapids | 2 | | | C3 | Manitoba | 0 | | | | | | | |
| C3 | Manitoba | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| C3 | Manitoba | 3 | | | | | | C4 | Rockford | 2 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | C4 | Rockford | 2 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | P2 | Texas | 4 | | | | |
| P1 | Tucson | 3 | | | | | | | | | P2 | Texas | 4 | | | | |
| P4 | San Jose | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| P4 | San Jose | 1 | | | P1 | Tucson | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | P2 | Texas | 4 | | | | | | | |
| P2 | Texas | 3 | | | P2 | Texas | 4 | | | | | | | |
| P3 | Ontario | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Division semifinals

    Note 1: Home team is listed first.
    Note 2: Higher-seeded team had the choice of games 1, 2, and 5 at home or games 3, 4, and 5 at home.

### Eastern Conference
#### (A1) Lehigh Valley Phantoms vs. (A4) Providence Bruins

* Lehigh Valley won series 3–1

#### (A2) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. (A3) Charlotte Checkers

* Charlotte won series 3–0

#### (N1) Toronto Marlies vs. (N4) Utica Comets

* Toronto won series 3–2

#### (N2) Syracuse Crunch vs. (N3) Rochester Americans

* Syracuse won series 3–0

### Western Conference
#### (C1) Chicago Wolves vs. (C4) Rockford IceHogs

* Rockford won series 3–0

#### (C2) Grand Rapids Griffins vs. (C3) Manitoba Moose

* Manitoba won series 3–2

#### (P1) Tucson Roadrunners vs. (P4) San Jose Barracuda

* Tucson won series 3–1

#### (P2) Texas Stars vs. (P3) Ontario Reign

* Texas won series 3–1

## Division finals

    Note: Home team is listed first.

### Eastern Conference
#### (A1) Lehigh Valley Phantoms vs. (A3) Charlotte Checkers

* Lehigh Valley won series 4–1
* ↑ Game 4 became the longest game in AHL history by going 86:48 into overtime. The previous record of 82:58 into overtime was set in 2008.

#### (N1) Toronto Marlies vs. (N2) Syracuse Crunch

* Toronto won series 4–0

### Western Conference
#### (C3) Manitoba Moose vs. (C4) Rockford IceHogs

* Rockford won series 4–0

#### (P1) Tucson Roadrunners vs. (P2) Texas Stars

* Texas won series 4–1

## Conference finals

    Note: Home team is listed first.

### Eastern Conference
#### (N1) Toronto Marlies vs. (A1) Lehigh Valley Phantoms

* Toronto won series 4–0

### Western Conference
#### (P2) Texas Stars vs. (C4) Rockford IceHogs

* Texas won series 4–2

## Calder Cup Finals

    Note: Home team is listed first.

### (N1) Toronto Marlies vs. (P2) Texas Stars

* Toronto won series 4–3

## 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 |
| Andreas Johnsson | Toronto Marlies | 16 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 4 |
| Curtis McKenzie | Texas Stars | 22 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 27 |
| Chris DiDomenico | Rockford IceHogs | 13 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 22 |
| Trevor Moore | Toronto Marlies | 20 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 4 |
| Justin Dowling | Texas Stars | 22 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 2 |
| Ben Smith | Toronto Marlies | 20 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 0 |
| Chris Mueller | Toronto Marlies | 20 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 6 |
| Travis Morin | Texas Stars | 22 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 16 |
| Brian Flynn | Texas Stars | 22 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 6 |
| Carl Grundstrom | Toronto Marlies | 20 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 14 |

### 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 |
| Alex Lyon | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | 11 | 6 | 5 | 449 | 25 | 1.98 | .944 | 0 | 757:59 |
| Alex Nedeljkovic | Charlotte Checkers | 8 | 4 | 4 | 234 | 19 | 2.11 | .919 | 1 | 540:44 |
| Adin Hill | Tucson Roadrunners | 9 | 4 | 5 | 258 | 20 | 2.12 | .922 | 2 | 566:04 |
| Garret Sparks | Toronto Marlies | 19 | 14 | 5 | 497 | 42 | 2.22 | .915 | 2 | 1134:20 |
| Collin Delia | Rockford IceHogs | 10 | 7 | 3 | 340 | 26 | 2.34 | .924 | 0 | 666:42 |
| Mike McKenna | Texas Stars | 22 | 14 | 8 | 752 | 55 | 2.41 | .927 | 2 | 1371:00 |
| Thatcher Demko | Utica Comets | 5 | 2 | 3 | 191 | 14 | 2.69 | .927 | 0 | 312:23 |