The 2010 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 14, 2010. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven series for division semifinals, finals and conference finals. The conference champions, Hershey Bears and Texas Stars, played a best-of-seven series for the Calder Cup that was won by the Hershey Bears in 6 games. This was the 2nd consecutive Calder Cup for the Bears and their 11th overall.
Contents
Playoff seeds
After the 2009–10 AHL regular season, 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top eight teams from each conference qualified for the playoffs.
Atlantic Division
- Worcester Sharks – 104 points
- Portland Pirates – 101 points
- Manchester Monarchs – 95 points
- Lowell Devils – 88 points
- Bridgeport Sound Tigers – 86 points
East Division
- Hershey Bears – 123 points
- Albany River Rats – 94 points
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – 87 points
North Division
- Hamilton Bulldogs – 115 points
- Rochester Americans – 91 points
- Abbotsford Heat – 90 points
- Manitoba Moose – 87 points
West Division
- Chicago Wolves – 105 points
- Texas Stars – 99 points
- Rockford IceHogs – 94 points
- Milwaukee Admirals – 91 points
Bracket
In each round the team that earned more points during the regular season receives home ice advantage, meaning they receive the "extra" game on home-ice if the series reaches the maximum number of games. There is no set series format due to arena scheduling conflicts and travel considerations.
Leading skaters
These are the top ten skaters based on points. If there is a tie in points, goals take precedence over assists.
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus-minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
Leading goaltenders
This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on games played who have played at least 420 minutes. The table is initially sorted by goals against average, with the criterion for inclusion in bold.
GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes)
Division Semifinals
Note 1: All times are in Eastern Time (UTC-4). Note 2: Game times in italics signify games to be played only if necessary. Note 3: Home team is listed first.East Division
(E1) Hershey Bears vs. (A5) Bridgeport Sound Tigers
(E2) Albany River Rats vs. (E3) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Atlantic Division
(A1) Worcester Sharks vs. (A4) Lowell Devils
Due to scheduling issues Lowell hosted game 5.
(A2) Portland Pirates vs. (A3) Manchester Monarchs
North Division
(N1) Hamilton Bulldogs vs. (N4) Manitoba Moose
(N2) Rochester Americans vs. (N3) Abbotsford Heat
West Division
(W1) Chicago Wolves vs. (W4) Milwaukee Admirals
(W2) Texas Stars vs. (W3) Rockford IceHogs
East Division
(E1) Hershey Bears vs. (E2) Albany River Rats
Atlantic Division
(A1) Worcester Sharks vs. (A3) Manchester Monarchs
North Division
(N1) Hamilton Bulldogs vs. (N3) Abbotsford Heat
West Division
(W1) Chicago Wolves vs. (W2) Texas Stars
Hershey Bears vs. Texas Stars
The series began eight days after the conclusion of the Conference Finals, as the Giant Center hosted the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus over the Memorial Day weekend.