Mapping out Playoff Scenarios

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AHL Charlotte Checkers

Mapping out Playoff Scenarios

April 16, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release


The Atlantic Division race is coming down to the wire, and with three games left on their schedule the Checkers still have plenty to play for.

There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to the playoff scenarios, so let's break things down.

WHERE IT STANDS NOW

The six playoff spots from the Atlantic Division are set. Hershey, Charlotte, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Providence will be the top four seeds, while Lehigh Valley and Springfield will be the fifth and sixth seeds - but the exact order for all of that remains to be decided.

TOP SPOT

The defending champion Bears reign atop the division but haven't quite locked in the number-one spot in the playoffs, as the Checkers still have an outside shot at the division title. Charlotte is five points back of Hershey with three games remaining and would overtake first place if it wins all three contests while the Bears lose all three in regulation (if this same scenario were to play out but the Bears earned one standings point, the two sides would require a tiebreaker - which we'll get into later).

EARNING A BYE

The battle for the second seed - which, like the top seed, comes with a first-round bye - is the big one coming down the stretch.

Checkers (3 games left)

Current points: 88

Max points: 94

Penguins (3 games left)

Current points: 86

Max points: 92

Bruins (2 games left)

Current points: 86

Max points: 90

Looking at the max points for each team, Charlotte controls its own destiny - in that if all three teams were to win out, the Checkers would be on top.

That max points number goes down as teams fail to collect points in games, and once a team currently has more points than another team's max points, that means they can't be caught.

TIEBREAKERS

In the event of a tie between two teams, there are a series of tiebreakers that would be used to decide who finished ahead. The first is regulation wins, then regulation & overtime wins, then wins in any manner, then points in the season series between the two teams - there are more beyond that but let's just stop there.

Here's how things look in those columns:

Checkers (3 games left)

Regulation wins: 33

Regulation & overtime wins: 39

Wins: 41

Head-to-head: Win over Penguins & Bruins

Penguins (3 games left)

Regulation wins: 32

Regulation & overtime wins: 37

Wins: 39

Head-to-head: Lose to Checkers & Bruins

Bruins (2 games left)

Regulation wins: 32

Regulation & overtime wins: 35

Wins: 39

Head-to-head: Lose to Checkers, Win over Penguins

TONIGHT

With all that laid out, there's a scenario with the games on Wednesday night that could lock some things into place.

The Checkers are playing in Springfield at 7, while the Penguins host the Bruins at 7:05. If the Checkers win in regulation and the Penguins lose in regulation, Charlotte would clinch a first-round bye as one of the top two seeds in the Atlantic Division.

So tune in with AHLTV on FloHockey and buckle up!

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American Hockey League Stories from April 16, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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