2026 NHL and AHL Playoffs: Many Series Are Happening, New Calder Cup Champion

Apr 24, 2026, 11:43

Introduction

The 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs and Calder Cup Playoffs started. In the NHL, many first-round games are happening. In the AHL, a new champion will win because the old champion did not make the playoffs.

Main Body

The Buffalo Sabres did not play in the playoffs for 14 years. Now they are playing. They lead the Boston Bruins 2-1. The Carolina Hurricanes lead the Ottawa Senators 3-0. The Philadelphia Flyers lead the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0. In the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche won the Presidents'' Trophy for the best record. They lead the Los Angeles Kings 3-0. The Dallas Stars lead the Minnesota Wild 2-1. The Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers are tied 1-1 with their teams. Six teams did not play in the 2025 playoffs. Now they are playing this year. The NHL uses a fixed bracket. The conference champions will play in the Stanley Cup Final. The games are on ESPN and TNT. In the AHL, 23 teams are playing for the Calder Cup. The Abbotsford Canucks won in 2025. They did not make the 2026 playoffs. So a new champion will win. The Providence Bruins, Grand Rapids Griffins, Laval, Ontario, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton have the best records. They do not play in the first round. They wait for their first games. The Hershey Bears beat the Bridgeport Islanders 2-0. Other series are happening. The Charlotte Checkers lead the Springfield Thunderbirds 1-0. The Toronto Marlies lead the Rochester Americans 1-0. The Milwaukee Admirals lead the Manitoba Moose 1-0. The Colorado Eagles lead the San Diego Gulls 1-0. The Henderson Silver Knights lead the San Jose Barracuda 1-0. The Bakersfield Condors lead the Coachella Valley Firebirds 1-0. More games will happen soon. All AHL playoff games are on AHLTV on FloHockey.

Conclusion

Now, many NHL and AHL playoff games are happening. Some teams have big leads. Other teams are tied. The Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes are close to winning their series. In the AHL, the best teams wait for their first games. The playoffs will continue for weeks. We will know the Stanley Cup and Calder Cup winners later.

Vocabulary Learning

game
A sports match.一場體育比賽
Example:Many first-round games are happening.
lead
To be ahead of others in a game.在比賽中領先
Example:They lead the Boston Bruins 2-1.
play
To take part in a game or sport.參與遊戲或運動
Example:The Buffalo Sabres did not play in the playoffs for 14 years.
team
A group of people who play together.一隊一起比賽的人
Example:Six teams did not play in the 2025 playoffs.
win
To be the best in a game or competition.贏得比賽或競爭
Example:A new champion will win because the old champion did not make the playoffs.

Sentence Learning

The Buffalo Sabres did not play in the playoffs for 14 years.
Simple past negative tense: 'did not' + base verb 'play' to show an action that did not happen in the past.本句使用一般過去時否定形式，以'did not'加上原形動詞'play'，表示過去沒有發生的動作。
Now they are playing.
Present continuous tense: 'are' + present participle 'playing' to show an action happening now.本句使用現在進行時，以'are'加上現在分詞'playing'，表示正在發生的動作。
The Colorado Avalanche won the Presidents' Trophy for the best record.
Simple past tense: 'won' is the past form of 'win', indicating a completed action in the past.本句使用一般過去時，'won'是'win'的過去式，表示過去完成的動作。
The conference champions will play in the Stanley Cup Final.
Simple future tense: 'will' + base verb 'play' to talk about a future event.本句使用一般將來時，以'will'加上原形動詞'play'，表示將要發生的事件。
All AHL playoff games are on AHLTV on FloHockey.
Simple present tense: 'are' (be verb) to describe a fact or current state.本句使用一般現在時，以動詞'are'描述一個事實或當前狀態。