The <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Vancouver Canucks’</a> 2024-25 campaign is officially over, falling six points shy of a Western Conference Wild Card spot.
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But hockey’s pulse still beats strong in British Columbia, as the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-assign-7-players-ahl-abbotsford">Abbotsford Canucks</a> have taken the American League by storm with a franchise record season.
Through 70 games, they’ve already notched 42 wins, soaring past their previous high of 40, set from back-to-back seasons in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
This historic season can be attributed to various hot streaks throughout the year, highlighted by an eight-game winning streak (January 10-January 25) and their most recent 13-game winning streak, which lasted an incredible five-week stretch (March 8-April 6).
The latter marked the AHL’s longest streak of the season and a new franchise best for the Canucks&#8217; entire affiliated history.
With 72 games in each AHL season, each Pacific Division team has two games remaining, and all have ample reasons to play their best for this final stretch.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-142951 size-full" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/aa.png" alt="" width="1042" height="208" srcset="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/aa.png 1042w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/aa-300x60.png 300w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/aa-1024x204.png 1024w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/aa-768x153.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1042px) 100vw, 1042px" />
At the top of the division sits a three-way race to first place. While the Colorado Eagles hold an incredible advantage, needing just one point to clinch that spot, it’s anyone’s for the taking.
Why is first place important, you ask? The winner of the Pacific Division earns a first-round bye and an automatic berth in the Divisional semifinals.
Below, we will discuss how the AHL playoffs work, specifically for the Pacific Division.
For the Canucks, they can finish first, second or third place in the Division and of course, the final game of the season is an important match against the very team they are fighting with – the Ontario Reign.
If first place is out of range, it behooves the Canucks to finish second, as the seventh and final placed team will either be the Tucson Roadrunners (72 points) or Bakersfield Condors (70 points), both of whom would come in as the lower seeded team within the Pacific Division.
The good news is that no matter where the Canucks finish, they will have home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs. As of today, the Canucks’ first-round foe — if they don’t snag the bye — remains unclear. A handful of points separates the fourth-through-sixth seeds, and a weekend shakeup could shuffle matchups in a big way.
The playoff breakdown can be confusing for those new to the American League. So, let’s break it all down.
The AHL’s Pacific Division playoff format is unique. Ten teams vie for seven spots, unlike the Central, North, and Atlantic, which hold just seven or eight teams.
Here’s how it breaks down:
<ul>
<li>Round One (Play-In): The top seed gets a bye; seeds 2-7 face off in best-of-three series (2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6, 4 vs. 5).</li>
</ul>
Abbotsford advanced past this round last year, edging Colorado in Game 3.
<ul>
<li>Round Two (Divisional Semifinals): The bye team returns; four teams play a best-of-five series.</li>
</ul>
The Canucks fell here in 2023-24, swept by Ontario in three.
<ul>
<li>Round Three (Divisional Finals): Best-of-five for the Pacific title.</li>
<li>Round Four (Conference Finals): Best-of-seven, Pacific vs. Central champion.</li>
<li>Round Five (Calder Cup Finals): Best-of-seven for the AHL crown.</li>
</ul>
Five rounds, scaling from three to seven games, stand between Abbotsford and the Calder Cup.
So while just two games remain in the season, with home-ice advantage already locked up, there is no shortage of incentives to play for. That goes for the Canucks, and all eight teams still in the running for placements.
Luckily for the Canucks, they are about to enjoy a significant influx of reinforcements. On Thursday, the morning after Vancouver’s final regular-season game, the club announced a string of marquee reassignments to their affiliated club.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the following players have been assigned to Abbotsford (AHL):
&#8211; D Kirill Kudryavtsev &#8211; D Victor Mancini &#8211; F Aatu Räty &#8211; F Linus Karlsson &#8211; F Max Sasson &#8211; F Ty Mueller &#8211; G Nikita Tolopilo
&mdash; Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1912865600386531365?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Of course, there was one key omission. <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/watch-vancouver-canucks-elias-pettersson-gets-into-first-fight-nhl-career">Elias Pettersson</a>, the defenceman, will not be joining for the playoff festivities. The club failed to “paper” the player down to the minor leagues at this year’s trade deadline, resulting in him being ineligible for reassignment.
With only so many AHL call-ups beyond the deadline, the Canucks deemed the young rookie ready to play NHL games full-time this season. Whatever their reasoning, Pettersson is not eligible to be sent down and play playoff games for the Abbotsford Canucks.
However, with a fully loaded Abbotsford lineup, they are ready to face their final two stops in Coachella Valley and Ontario, California, to capture that coveted first place in the division.
With so much uncertainty, the playoff schedule has yet to be announced. However, games should kick off between April 21 and 27.
<a href="https://canucksarmy.com/">CanucksArmy</a> will have full coverage of their playoff journey — stay tuned.
Sponsored by bet365
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&nbsp;

The <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Vancouver Canucks’</a> 2024-25 campaign is officially over, falling six points shy of a Western Conference Wild Card spot.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2111" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="329"></div>
&nbsp;

But hockey’s pulse still beats strong in British Columbia, as the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-assign-7-players-ahl-abbotsford">Abbotsford Canucks</a> have taken the American League by storm with a franchise record season.

Through 70 games, they’ve already notched 42 wins, soaring past their previous high of 40, set from back-to-back seasons in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

This historic season can be attributed to various hot streaks throughout the year, highlighted by an eight-game winning streak (January 10-January 25) and their most recent 13-game winning streak, which lasted an incredible five-week stretch (March 8-April 6).

The latter marked the AHL’s longest streak of the season and a new franchise best for the Canucks' entire affiliated history.

With 72 games in each AHL season, each Pacific Division team has two games remaining, and all have ample reasons to play their best for this final stretch.

<img class="alignnone wp-image-142951 size-full" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/aa.png" alt="" width="1042" height="208" />

At the top of the division sits a three-way race to first place. While the Colorado Eagles hold an incredible advantage, needing just one point to clinch that spot, it’s anyone’s for the taking.

Why is first place important, you ask? The winner of the Pacific Division earns a first-round bye and an automatic berth in the Divisional semifinals.

Below, we will discuss how the AHL playoffs work, specifically for the Pacific Division.

For the Canucks, they can finish first, second or third place in the Division and of course, the final game of the season is an important match against the very team they are fighting with – the Ontario Reign.

If first place is out of range, it behooves the Canucks to finish second, as the seventh and final placed team will either be the Tucson Roadrunners (72 points) or Bakersfield Condors (70 points), both of whom would come in as the lower seeded team within the Pacific Division.

The good news is that no matter where the Canucks finish, they will have home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs. As of today, the Canucks’ first-round foe — if they don’t snag the bye — remains unclear. A handful of points separates the fourth-through-sixth seeds, and a weekend shakeup could shuffle matchups in a big way.

The playoff breakdown can be confusing for those new to the American League. So, let’s break it all down.

The AHL’s Pacific Division playoff format is unique. Ten teams vie for seven spots, unlike the Central, North, and Atlantic, which hold just seven or eight teams.

Here’s how it breaks down:
<ul>
 	<li>Round One (Play-In): The top seed gets a bye; seeds 2-7 face off in best-of-three series (2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6, 4 vs. 5).</li>
</ul>
Abbotsford advanced past this round last year, edging Colorado in Game 3.
<ul>
 	<li>Round Two (Divisional Semifinals): The bye team returns; four teams play a best-of-five series.</li>
</ul>
The Canucks fell here in 2023-24, swept by Ontario in three.
<ul>
 	<li>Round Three (Divisional Finals): Best-of-five for the Pacific title.</li>
 	<li>Round Four (Conference Finals): Best-of-seven, Pacific vs. Central champion.</li>
 	<li>Round Five (Calder Cup Finals): Best-of-seven for the AHL crown.</li>
</ul>
Five rounds, scaling from three to seven games, stand between Abbotsford and the Calder Cup.

So while just two games remain in the season, with home-ice advantage already locked up, there is no shortage of incentives to play for. That goes for the Canucks, and all eight teams still in the running for placements.

Luckily for the Canucks, they are about to enjoy a significant influx of reinforcements. On Thursday, the morning after Vancouver’s final regular-season game, the club announced a string of marquee reassignments to their affiliated club.

https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1912865600386531365

Of course, there was one key omission. <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/watch-vancouver-canucks-elias-pettersson-gets-into-first-fight-nhl-career">Elias Pettersson</a>, the defenceman, will not be joining for the playoff festivities. The club failed to “paper” the player down to the minor leagues at this year’s trade deadline, resulting in him being ineligible for reassignment.

With only so many AHL call-ups beyond the deadline, the Canucks deemed the young rookie ready to play NHL games full-time this season. Whatever their reasoning, Pettersson is not eligible to be sent down and play playoff games for the Abbotsford Canucks.

However, with a fully loaded Abbotsford lineup, they are ready to face their final two stops in Coachella Valley and Ontario, California, to capture that coveted first place in the division.

With so much uncertainty, the playoff schedule has yet to be announced. However, games should kick off between April 21 and 27.

<a href="https://canucksarmy.com/">CanucksArmy</a> will have full coverage of their playoff journey — stay tuned.

Sponsored by bet365
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