Previewing The 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs: Atlantic Division
The Calder Cup Playoffs are back! After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs return beginning with Monday night's Game 1 between the Providence Bruins and Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
With the playoffs starting in the Atlantic Division first, let's take a look at the six teams in the division competing for a championship - making a 'case for' and a 'case against' for each team.
1. Charlotte Checkers
Regular season: 42-24-6
Case For
The Charlotte Checkers are still the defending Calder Cup Champions heading into the 2022 Playoffs after winning the championship in 2019 and COVID preventing the league from having a postseason in 2020. Only Pacific Division teams competed in a non-Calder Cup playoff tournament last spring.
Albeit with new NHL affiliates, the Checkers 'check' off a lot of boxes when looking at who can really contend for the Calder Cup this year.
They have the goaltending.
Joey Daccord (19-11-2) allowed three or fewer goals in all but three of his 34 appearances this season. Albeit unproven in AHL playoff action thus far, it's only his third year at the pro level and there wasn't any postseason attainable for any AHL players since the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs.
They play solid team defense.
Of the 23 playoff teams, only three - Chicago (2.55), Providence (2.67) and Stockton (2.72) allowed fewer goals per game in the than Charlotte (2.74).
They have a balanced offensive attack
You'll be hard-pressed to find a team as well-rounded as Charlotte's forward core. They pose matchup problems in terms of which line to focus your top defensive players against because they have three lines that can score at will.
Leading scorer Alex True (42 points in 60 games) centers the first line with Max McCormick (29 in 46), while the 'second line' has 30-goal scorer Zac Dalpe with 24-goal scorer Scott Wilson on one of his wings.
Then there's the third line which features young center Cole Schwindt and highly-touted 1st round prospect Aleksei Heponiemi. Impressively, 17 of the 19 goals Schwindt scored came at 5v5. In his first full year at the pro level, that kind of even-strength scoring doesn't go unnoticed and is a valuable asset to have in a playoff run when things tighten up defensively.
Case Against
Rest vs. Rust
The biggest thing that can throw a wrench into Charlotte's hopes to repeat as champs is how they respond to quite a lengthy layoff.
The Checkers finished their regular season last weekend on April 23rd, and finishing first place in the division allowed them to bypass the first round best-of-three series.
While the exact date for Game 1 of their Atlantic Division semifinal series is currently unknown, it's likely to be mid-week in the second week of May - possibly Tuesday, May 10 or Wednesday May 11. That would mean two and a half weeks between games.
Another interesting wrinkle is the fact that Charlotte elected to start their second round series on the road for Games 1 and 2, while hosting the final three games of the series.
Make no mistake about it, though. If Charlotte enters the second round well-rested and not well-rusted, they're going to be the favorite in not only the Atlantic Division but in the entire Eastern Conference.
2. Springfield Thunderbirds
Regular Season: 43-24-9
Case For
A Red-Hot Goaltender
Running into a hot goaltender can be the great equalizer in a playoff series, and there's perhaps no hotter goalie in the AHL heading into the postseason than Springfield's Charlie Lindgren.
Not take away from his strong play all season long, turning in a 24-7-1 record to go along with a 2.21 goals-against average and .925 save percentage, but Lindgren finished the season on a tear - recording back-to-back shutout performances in his final two appearances in the regular season, with all three of his AHL shutouts on the year coming in his final eight starts.
High Octane Offense
The Thunderbirds' top line of James Neal (yes, THAT James Neal), Matthew Peca and Sam Anas is as deadly a line as there is in the Eastern Conference.
Unsurprisingly, Neal has put up 26 points in 28 AHL games this season, while Anas (64 points in 75 games) and Peca (60 in 68) are both near point-per-game players this season.
Case Against
Defense and Depth*
Yes, the Thunderbirds finished the regular season with three straight shutout wins. And they have a strong goaltender.
The real question marks surrounding Springfield will be if they can defend well enough in front of Lindgren. Of the 23 teams in the playoffs, only eight have allowed more goals than Springfield - and that doesn't account for any variance in the Western Conference where the goal totals during the season were higher across the board.
Another thing that will be tested is Springfield's secondary scoring. That top line is lethal, but there's a significant drop in offensive production after the aforementioned top line. Will rookies Hugh McGing, Nikita Alexandrov and Keean Washkurak rise to the occasion? All three made strides in the regular season and reached double digits in goals.
3. Providence Bruins
Regular season: 36-25-11
Case For
Built For the Playoffs
Providence's heavy and aggressive style of play, similar to that of their NHL affiliate, is a system that typically can have success in a playoff run when the battle intensity increases. They are known in the Eastern Conference to be difficult to play against because of the way they can ware teams down.
That's not to say they don't have talented offensive players (Jack Studnicka and Oskar Steen immediately come to mind), but the PBruins are one of only four teams in the AHL not eclipse 200 goals on the season - two of which played only 68 games in the Pacific Division.
Defense Wins Championships
While not as offensively potent as the rest of the teams in the postseason, Providence's team defense is their bread and butter. Only Chicago and Stockton allowed fewer goals per game this season than the PBruins.
They also have a solid veteran goaltender who put up strong numbers once again at the AHL level in Troy Grosenick (16-6-4, 2.00 GAA, .933 SV%, 3 SO).
Case Against
Injuries/Call Ups
For a team that doesn't score a lot, being without Jesper Froden, Chris Wagner, Cameron Hughes and Eduards Tralmarks to start their best-of-three series with Bridgeport is certainly not going to make creating offense any easier. That's nearly a third of the team's goals on the season that will be unavailable for the start of their playoff run which begins Monday night.
4. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Regular Season: 35-33-8
Case For
Battle Tested
The Penguins were dead last in the AHL standings league-wide back in January, but were able to claw their way back into the playoff picture with a tremendous second half of the season. The fact that they come into the postseason having to have been in playoff mode the final 20+ games of the season bodes well for them to hit the ground running in a first-round best-of-three series.
Like Providence, the Penguins also employ a blue-collar/hardworking identity that sees them ferocious on the forecheck and playing a physical game that will ware down teams in a playoff series.
Case Against
Key Injuries & Call Ups
With their NHL affiliate in Pittsburgh down their starting goaltender in Tristan Jarry, the AHL Penguins are also without their #1 goalie as Louis Domingue was called up to fill in for Jarry's absence.
They also look to be without arguably their top forward as Drew O'Connor was added to the NHL Penguins' roster in advance of their playoff series against the New York Rangers.
Big shoes to fill for AHL-contracted goalie Tommy Nappier as well as the other WBS forwards heading into a best-of-three series against Hershey.
5. Hershey Bears
Regular season: 34-32-10
Case For
Returning Scorers
The return of Joe Snively, on a conditioning loan from Washington, will be a welcomed addition - even if it's only for their first round series. Mike Sgarbossa also recently returned from injury and is another point-per-game player at the AHL level that will be leaned on to produce.
They also added the NCAA's leading goal scorer late in the season in Ethen Frank to help pinch in offensively.
Case Against
Goal-Scoring Drought
Of the 23 playoff teams, only Providence (199) and San Diego (197) have scored less goals in the regular season than Hershey's 202 markers. Hershey played four more games than the PBruins and eight more games than the Gulls.
Hershey has also had trouble converting on the power play, going a combined 1-for-18 in their final three games of the season to finish tied for 26th out of 31 teams with a 17.4% conversion rate.
Banged Up
The Bears are severely banged up, especially at the forward position. Captain Matt Moulson and scorer Brian Pinho both had surgeries and are out indefinitely.
Forwards Shane Gersich and Ethen Frank are all out with lower body injuries, while wingers Julian Napravnik and Riley Sutter are out with upper body injuries. Veteran defenseman Cody Franson also missed the final weekend of the regular season with a lower body injury.
How many of these injured players will be able to return for the first round remains a looming question.
6. Bridgeport Islanders
Regular season: 31-30-11
Case For
Already In Playoff-Mode
Similar to the Penguins' situation, Bridgeport has had to essentially play playoff hockey over the final ~20 games of the season just to get into the postseason - going 10-5-2 in their final 17 games heading into Monday's opening playoff game against Providence.
Good Mix of Veterans/Youth
The Islanders have plenty of talent up front with both veterans (Andy Andreoff, Austin Czarnik Chris Terry) and prospects with upside (Michael Dal Colle, Simon Holmstrom, and Autu Raty).
They also have former longtime NHL goalie Cory Schneider in net. Despite being the six-seed in the division, the Islanders won't be an easy out - especially in a best-of-three series where anything can happen.
Case Against
Enough Left In The Tank?
The Islanders overcame a lot of adversity due to being decimated early in the season from injuries, call ups and COVID that really hurt the organization from the onset.
Having to enter playoff mode for over a month already, if they do manage to make it out of the first round will they have it in them to go toe-to-toe with the Charlotte Checkers in the Atlantic Division Semifinals or make an extended run in the postseason?
