with files from Patrick Williams
Two more division semifinal series openers highlight Day 9 of the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs.
Laval and Toronto get their best-of-five series under tonight at Place Bell (7 ET, 
).
Only eight points separated the division champion Rocket and the fourth-place Marlies in the regular season, and Toronto won five of the eight meetings head-to-head between the clubs.
The Marlies are coming off a hard-fought three-game victory over Rochester in the first round. The Rocket had a bye and have been idle since being swept in a two-game visit to Toronto to close out the regular season.
This series marks the first postseason meeting between the Maple Leafs’ and Canadiens’ AHL affiliates since 2001, when the Quebec Citadelles beat the St. John’s Maple Leafs in a Canadian Division semifinal.
“It’s deep-rooted,” Marlies head coach John Gruden said of the Toronto-Montreal rivalry. “Any time we’ve played, it’s pretty electric. When the teams get out there it seems that the intensity gets raised a little bit, and now under the circumstance of the playoffs it’s going to get raised even more.”
“It’s going to be a war out there,” said Marlies forward Michael Pezzetta, who spent his first three pro seasons with Laval. “That’s the best kind of hockey. It’s going to be a blast to get in there and play hard.”
Laval was 23-8-2-3 at Place Bell this season, tied for the fourth-best home record in the league. Toronto has a five-game road losing streak in the playoffs going back to 2023.
After winning their first division title in a decade, the Ontario Reign now turn their attention to making waves in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Their postseason journey begins with Game 1 of the Pacific Division semifinals against Coachella Valley tonight (10 ET, ).
The Reign finished first in the Pacific in 2015-16, their first season in the AHL and a year after their predecessors, the Manchester Monarchs, won the Calder Cup. They reached the Western Conference Finals that spring, but playoff success has been elusive since then.
This year’s club, under first-year head coach Andrew Lord, has ridden a workmanlike approach to the top of the standings.
“Our team has played the right way the whole year,” Lord said. “We have so many guys that block shots, we have an excellent penalty kill… To a man I believe our group is willing to check, they’re really in a defense-first mindset and that makes it a lot easier on our goaltenders.
“It’s the sum of our parts. We play a great team game in all three zones of the ice. The guys work every day in practice and it shows. They play really consistently game in and game out and there’s a real belief in the room.”
While the Reign have been awaiting an opponent, Coachella Valley was battling through a tough first-round series with Bakersfield.
“We’ll let them enjoy it for 10 minutes and move on to the next series,” Firebirds head coach Derek Laxdal said after Sunday’s Game 3 win to eliminate the Condors. “These young guys, once they have a taste of it, you want more. That’s the message we have to sell: It was great, let’s move on to the next one and get that same feeling again.”
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard (3-2-5) led the Firebirds in scoring in the first round. He was held off the scoresheet in Game 1, but scored twice in the third period of Game 2 and added a goal and two assists in Game 3.
A1-Providence Bruins vs. A6-Springfield Thunderbirds
Game 1 – Friday, 7:05 ET,
Game 1 – Fri., May 1 – Springfield at Providence, 7:05
Game 2 – Sun., May 3 – Springfield at Providence, 7:05
Game 3 – Tue., May 5 – Providence at Springfield, 7:05
*Game 4 – Thu., May 7 – Providence at Springfield, 7:05
*Game 5 – Sat., May 9 – Springfield at Providence, 7:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern
A2-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. A5-Hershey Bears
Game 1 – Thursday, 7:05 ET,
Game 1 – Thu., Apr. 30 – Hershey at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Game 2 – Sat., May 2 – Hershey at W-B/Scranton, 6:05
Game 3 – Tue., May 5 – W-B/Scranton at Hershey, 7:00
*Game 4 – Thu., May 7 – W-B/Scranton at Hershey, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 9 – Hershey at W-B/Scranton, 6:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern
N1-Laval Rocket vs. N4-Toronto Marlies
Game 1 – Tonight, 7:00 ET,
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 29 – Toronto at Laval, 7:00
Game 2 – Fri., May 1 – Toronto at Laval, 7:00
Game 3 – Sun., May 3 – Laval at Toronto, 4:00
*Game 4 – Tue., May 5 – Laval at Toronto, 7:00
*Game 5 – Fri., May 8 – Toronto at Laval, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
N2-Syracuse Crunch vs. N3-Cleveland Monsters
Game 3 – Friday, 7:00 ET,
(Series tied, 1-1)
Game 1 – CLEVELAND 3, Syracuse 2 | Recap | Highlights
Game 2 – Syracuse 4, CLEVELAND 1 | Recap | Highlights
Game 3 – Fri., May 1 – Cleveland at Syracuse, 7:00
Game 4 – Sun., May 3 – Cleveland at Syracuse, 3:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 9 – Cleveland at Syracuse, 5:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
C1-Grand Rapids Griffins vs. C4-Manitoba Moose
Game 1 – Saturday, 3:00 ET,
Game 1 – Sat., May 2 – Grand Rapids at Manitoba, 3:00
Game 2 – Sun., May 3 – Grand Rapids at Manitoba, 3:00
Game 3 – Wed., May 6 – Manitoba at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 4 – Fri., May 8 – Manitoba at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 9 – Manitoba at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
C2-Chicago Wolves vs. C3-Texas Stars
Game 2 – Thursday, 8:00 ET,
(Texas leads series, 1-0)
Game 1 – Tue., Apr. 28 – TEXAS 2, Chicago 0 | Recap | Highlights
Game 2 – Thu., Apr. 30 – Chicago at Texas, 8:00
Game 3 – Sat., May 2 – Texas at Chicago, 8:00
*Game 4 – Sun., May 3 – Texas at Chicago, 4:00
*Game 5 – Tue., May 5 – Texas at Chicago, 8:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
P1-Ontario Reign vs. P4-Coachella Valley Firebirds
Game 1 – Tonight, 10:00 ET,
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 29 – Coachella Valley at Ontario, 10:00
Game 2 – Fri., May 1 – Coachella Valley at Ontario, 10:00
Game 3 – Tue., May 5 – Ontario at Coachella Valley, 10:00
*Game 4 – Thu., May 7 – Ontario at Coachella Valley, 10:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 9 – Coachella Valley at Ontario, 9:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
P2-Colorado Eagles vs. P3-Henderson Silver Knights
Game 1 – Friday, 10:00 ET,
Game 1 – Fri., May 1 – Colorado at Henderson, 10:00
Game 2 – Mon., May 4 – Colorado at Henderson, 10:00
Game 3 – Wed., May 6 – Henderson at Colorado, 9:05
*Game 4 – Sat., May 9 – Henderson at Colorado, 8:05
*Game 5 – Sun., May 10 – Henderson at Colorado, 8:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern
In last night’s Stanley Cup Playoff action, David Pastrnak scored 9:14 into overtime and Jeremy Swayman made 24 saves as Boston avoided elimination with a 2-1 win in Buffalo… Mats Zuccarello scored in his return to the lineup, Matt Boldy recorded a goal and an assist and Minnesota defeated Dallas, 4-2, to take a 3-2 series lead… Connor Ingram made 29 saves and Evan Bouchard notched three assists in Edmonton’s 4-1 win over Anaheim, cutting the Ducks’ series lead to 3-2.
