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Griffins clinch franchise record sixth-straight playoff appearance

MiHockey Staff

By @MichaelCaples –

The Grand Rapids Griffins will officially have a chance to defend the Calder Cup in the AHL postseason.

With a 4-1 victory Saturday night in Tucson, Ariz., the Griffins secured a spot in the 2018 AHL playoffs.

It’s the sixth straight season the Griffins will be playing in the postseason – a new franchise record.

What seed they will have in the playoffs has yet to be determined, however. The Griffins have three games remaining – two games in Texas and then the regular-season finale at Van Andel Arena on April 14 against Cleveland – and they are tied for second place in the Central Division with the Manitoba Moose with 88 points each. The Moose hold the tiebreaker with a higher ROW (regulation and overtime wins).

Both the Griffins and Moose are one point behind the Central-leading Chicago Wolverines, as well, so, the last week of the regular season will be an interesting one.

Grand Rapids is 7-2-0-1 in their last 10 games, as they continue an impressive run through the second half of the AHL season.

If the regular season ended today, the Griffins would be the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference. The AHL seeds by division, however, so the matchups will not be decided until the regular season concludes. Right now, it would be the Griffins and the Moose battling in a best-of-five first-round series while the Wolves take on the Rockford IceHogs (presumably, they have seven more points than fifth-place Milwaukee with three games to go).

Here’s the postseason breakdown, courtesy of the Griffins:

  • Eight teams in each conference will qualify for the 2018 Calder Cup Playoffs.
  • The top four teams in each division, ranked by points percentage (points earned divided by points available), will qualify for the postseason.
  • The division semifinals will be best-of-five series, with the first-place team playing the fourth-place team and the second-place team facing the third-place team. The division finals, conference finals and Calder Cup Finals will be best-of-seven series.