The puck drops on the Central Division finals tonight as Grand Rapids and Chicago renew their rivalry in Game 1 at Van Andel Arena (7 ET, 
).
This will be the seventh postseason meeting between the teams – including Chicago’s win in the 2000 Turner Cup Finals when both were members of the International Hockey League – and the first since the 2019 Calder Cup division semifinals, won by the Wolves three games to two.
The Griffins are the only division winner remaining in the hunt for the Calder Cup after defeating Manitoba three games to one last round. Providence, Laval and Ontario were all eliminated, making this the first postseason since 2014 in which three first-place clubs failed to win at least one playoff series.
Grand Rapids charged out to a 29-1-1-1 record to start the season, opening up a 24-point lead on the second-place Wolves by early January. But the second half of the season was a much closer race; from Jan. 9 on, the Griffins (.588) had the division’s third-best record behind Texas (.641) and Chicago (.607).
“They’re a dangerous team,” Grand Rapids head coach Dan Watson said of the Wolves. “They can score goals, they skate extremely well, they’re in great shape… They were able to put away a really good Texas team. I expect another hard fought battle.”
Michal Postava registered a 1.11 goals-against average and a .956 save percentage over six appearances (five starts) against Chicago during the regular season, and he is coming off a series win over Manitoba in which he allowed five goals on 91 shots (3-1, 1.25, .945). The Wolves’ Cayden Primeau (3-2, 2.27, .918) had a 1.48 GAA and a .948 save percentage against the Griffins in 2025-26.
The North Division finals get going tonight at Rocket Arena (7 ET, ) with Cleveland and Toronto both coming off upset series wins.
The Marlies ousted the first-place Laval Rocket with a Game 5 win at Place Bell, while the Monsters used two overtime victories on the road – including a triple-OT clincher – to get through second-place Syracuse.
The teams split their eight meetings during the regular season, although three of Cleveland’s four wins came via shootout. Toronto’s Logan Shaw led all scorers with 12 points (4-8-12) in the season series.
“Cleveland’s a great team,” said Marlies forward Reese Johnson. “We had some good games against them in the regular season. We want to stick to our game plan and do the things that we do that are successful.”
Vinni Lettieri (5-4-9), who scored the winning goal in Game 5 against Laval on Saturday, is the Marlies’ leading playoff scorer thus far. William Villeneuve (1-7-8) leads all AHL defensemen in scoring this postseason.
On the other side, nine different skaters accounted for Cleveland’s 10 goals in their series with Syracuse, and Luca Del Bel Belluz (0-4-4) recorded four assists.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton hosts Springfield in Game 2 of the Atlantic Division finals tonight (7:05 ET, ) after a 2-0 decision in Tuesday’s opener gave the Penguins the early edge in the series.
Bill Zonnon, Pittsburgh’s first-round pick (22nd overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft, made his pro debut on Tuesday and scored the winning goal. Zonnon, 19, joined the Penguins last week following the completion of his junior campaign with Blainville-Boisbriand of the QMJHL, where he notched 46 points in 35 games this season.
“It was a lot of fun. Honestly, I don’t remember the last time I had this much fun playing,” Zonnon said. “I just want to help the team as much as I can. I didn’t want to come in just going through the motions.”
Sergei Murashov made 24 saves in Game 1, notching his first shutout of the playoffs. Murashov (4-1, 1.59, .947) has given up eight goals over his five postseason starts.
“Sergei was great,” head coach Kirk MacDonald said. “He made the saves he needed to make. We defended well, stuck to our game plan. I liked our game overall.”
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was able to quell the momentum that Springfield carried into the series after their emotional upset of Providence in the division semifinals.
“They’ve obviously been on a run for a while now, not just in the playoffs,” MacDonald said. “We want to strike first in any playoff series. You want to get off on the right foot, feel good about yourself, and the guys did a great job of it.”
Georgii Romanov (5-2, 1.50, .950) made his seventh consecutive start for the Thunderbirds and turned aside 23 shots in Game 1. He has allowed two goals or fewer in every one of his appearances this postseason.
Springfield faced an early series deficit in the first round after an 8-1 loss in Charlotte, then won two straight from the Checkers before taking three of four from the Bruins last round. So this is not entirely unfamiliar territory for head coach Steve Ott and his club.
“It doesn’t matter if you lost 8-1 or 2-0, it’s a loss,” Ott said. “We’ll make a few adjustments and be ready to go. We’ve bounced back really strong and I expect the same thing.”