2026 NHL and AHL Postseason Tournaments Feature Multiple Series in Progress and Assured New Calder Cup Champion

Apr 24, 2026, 11:43

Introduction

The 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs and Calder Cup Playoffs have commenced, with the National Hockey League (NHL) bracket featuring several first-round series already underway and the American Hockey League (AHL) tournament guaranteeing a new champion after the previous titleholder failed to qualify for the postseason.

Main Body

In the NHL, the Eastern Conference includes the Buffalo Sabres, who ended a 14-season postseason absence—a league record—and secured the Atlantic Division title. They currently hold a 2–1 series lead over the Boston Bruins. The Carolina Hurricanes lead the Ottawa Senators 3–0, and the Philadelphia Flyers hold a 3–0 advantage over the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche, winners of the Presidents’ Trophy for the best regular-season record, lead the Los Angeles Kings 3–0. The Dallas Stars lead the Minnesota Wild 2–1, while the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers are tied 1–1 in their respective series against the Utah Mammoth and Anaheim Ducks. Six teams that missed the 2025 postseason qualified this year. The NHL uses a fixed division-based bracket with no reseeding; the conference champions will meet in the Stanley Cup Final, broadcast on ESPN and TNT platforms. In the AHL, 23 teams are competing for the Calder Cup. The Abbotsford Canucks, who won the championship in 2025, did not qualify for the 2026 playoffs, ensuring a new champion. The Providence Bruins and Grand Rapids Griffins, along with Laval, Ontario, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, earned first-round byes after posting the best records in their respective conferences. In completed series, the Hershey Bears defeated the Bridgeport Islanders 2–0. Other series in progress include the Charlotte Checkers leading the Springfield Thunderbirds 1–0, the Toronto Marlies leading the Rochester Americans 1–0, and the Milwaukee Admirals leading the Manitoba Moose 1–0. The Colorado Eagles lead the San Diego Gulls 1–0, and the Henderson Silver Knights lead the San Jose Barracuda 1–0. The Bakersfield Condors lead the Coachella Valley Firebirds 1–0. Several series are scheduled to continue in the coming days. All AHL playoff games are available via AHLTV on FloHockey.

Conclusion

As of the current reporting, multiple NHL and AHL playoff series are in progress, with some teams holding commanding leads and others tied. The NHL’s Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes are among those on the verge of advancing, while the AHL’s top-seeded teams await their first opponents after first-round byes. The postseason in both leagues is expected to continue over the coming weeks, with the Stanley Cup and Calder Cup champions to be determined.

Vocabulary Learning

commanding

Very strong and dominant; indicating a clear advantage.壓倒性的；絕對的

Example:Some teams holding commanding leads and others tied.

commenced

Began; started.開始

Example:The 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs and Calder Cup Playoffs have commenced.

reseeding

The process of rearranging the seeding order in a tournament bracket after initial rounds, typically to ensure the strongest teams do not meet early.重新種子排序

Example:The NHL uses a fixed division-based bracket with no reseeding.

titleholder

The current holder of a championship title; the defending champion.冠軍持有者；衛冕冠軍

Example:The previous titleholder failed to qualify for the postseason.

verge

The edge or brink; used in 'on the verge of' meaning about to happen or do something.邊緣；臨界點

Example:The NHL's Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes are among those on the verge of advancing.

Sentence Learning

Main clause: "The 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs and Calder Cup Playoffs have commenced". Then a complex prepositional phrase introduced by "with", containing two coordinated gerund-participial clauses: "the NHL bracket featuring... underway" and "the AHL tournament guaranteeing... champion". The second gerund clause is further modified by an adverbial clause "after the previous titleholder failed to qualify for the postseason". This sentence demonstrates high lexical density and use of absolute-like constructions.主要子句：「2026年史丹利盃季後賽和卡爾德盃季後賽已經開始」。接著是一個由「with」引導的複雜介詞短語，包含兩個並列的動名詞分詞子句：「NHL賽程表包含幾個已經進行的首輪系列賽」和「AHL錦標賽保證產生新冠軍」。第二個動名詞子句進一步由狀語子句「在上一屆冠軍未能晉級季後賽之後」修飾。此句展現高詞彙密度及類似獨立結構的用法。

In the NHL, the Eastern Conference includes the Buffalo Sabres, who ended a 14-season postseason absence—a league record—and secured the Atlantic Division title.

Main clause: "the Eastern Conference includes the Buffalo Sabres". A non-restrictive relative clause "who ended... and secured..." modifies "the Buffalo Sabres". Within the relative clause, there is an appositive phrase set off by dashes: "a league record", which provides additional information about the 14-season absence. The relative clause contains two coordinated verbs: "ended" and "secured". The sentence uses a relative pronoun and an appositive for elaboration.主要子句：「東部聯盟包括水牛城軍刀隊」。一個非限制性關係子句「who ended... and secured...」修飾「水牛城軍刀隊」。在關係子句中，有一個用破折號分隔的同位語短語「a league record」，為14賽季的缺席提供額外信息。關係子句包含兩個並列動詞：「ended」和「secured」。此句使用關係代詞和同位語進行詳述。

The Abbotsford Canucks, who won the championship in 2025, did not qualify for the 2026 playoffs, ensuring a new champion.

Main clause: "The Abbotsford Canucks did not qualify for the 2026 playoffs". A non-restrictive relative clause "who won the championship in 2025" provides background. Then a participial phrase "ensuring a new champion" functions as a resultative adjunct, indicating the consequence of the main clause. This construction combines a relative clause with a participial phrase for concise cause-effect.主要子句：「阿博茨福德加人隊未能晉級2026年季後賽」。一個非限制性關係子句「who won the championship in 2025」提供背景。然後一個分詞短語「ensuring a new champion」作為結果修飾語，表示主要子句的後果。此結構結合關係子句和分詞短語以簡潔表達因果關係。

As of the current reporting, multiple NHL and AHL playoff series are in progress, with some teams holding commanding leads and others tied.

The sentence begins with a prepositional phrase "As of the current reporting" as a temporal frame. Main clause: "multiple NHL and AHL playoff series are in progress". Then a "with" phrase containing two coordinated participial phrases: "some teams holding commanding leads" and "others tied". The second participial phrase uses a reduced form (omitting "being") for conciseness. This structure adds descriptive detail without a full clause.句子以介詞短語「As of the current reporting」作為時間框架開頭。主要子句：「多個NHL和AHL季後賽系列正在進行」。然後是一個「with」短語，包含兩個並列的分詞短語：「some teams holding commanding leads」和「others tied」。第二個分詞短語使用簡化形式（省略「being」）以求簡潔。此結構在不使用完整子句的情況下增加描述性細節。

The NHL uses a fixed division-based bracket with no reseeding; the conference champions will meet in the Stanley Cup Final, broadcast on ESPN and TNT platforms.

This is a compound sentence joined by a semicolon. The first independent clause: "The NHL uses a fixed division-based bracket with no reseeding". The second independent clause: "the conference champions will meet in the Stanley Cup Final". The second clause is followed by a reduced relative clause "broadcast on ESPN and TNT platforms", which modifies "the Stanley Cup Final". The reduced relative (past participle phrase) omits "which is" for efficiency. The semicolon indicates a close relationship between the two clauses.這是一個由分號連接的並列句。第一個獨立子句：「NHL使用固定的分區制賽程，不重新種子排序」。第二個獨立子句：「聯盟冠軍將在史丹利盃決賽中相遇」。第二個子句後接一個簡化關係子句「broadcast on ESPN and TNT platforms」，修飾「史丹利盃決賽」。簡化關係（過去分詞短語）省略了「which is」以提高效率。分號表示兩個子句之間的密切關係。