With eight games remaining in the 2025-26 regular season, the Springfield Thunderbirds are right in the thick of the Atlantic Division playoff picture - here's your refresher of the AHL's playoff format and other important details as the T-Birds begin a four-game homestand on Friday against the Hershey Bears.

Springfield enters the week's action sitting in the sixth and final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. Despite having equal points to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the T-Birds hold the tiebreaker as they have more regulation wins (24) than the Phantoms (19). 

What is the AHL's playoff format?

The American Hockey League's Atlantic Division will feature six playoff teams. The top 2 seeds will earn a bye straight through to the best-of-5 Atlantic Division semifinals. Positions 3-6 will play a best-of-3 First Round series, with the (3) seed holding home-ice advantage against the (6) seed and the (4) seed holding home-ice advantage against the (5) seed.

If the playoffs began today, the T-Birds would be the (6) seed and take on the (3) seed Charlotte Checkers in a best-of-3 First Round series. 

The top 3 seeds in the Atlantic Division have officially been locked in. Providence's magic number to win the Atlantic Division sits at 6. The Penguins' magic number to clinch a first-round bye sits at 8. The Checkers can finish no lower than third. 

What is the T-Birds' magic number?

The T-Birds' magic number to clinch a Calder Cup playoff berth currently sits at 15. That number would go down for every point the Thunderbirds gain in the standings, as well as any point the Lehigh Valley Phantoms fail to gain. For example, if the T-Birds win a game and earn 2 points, the magic number would go down by 2. If the Phantoms lose a game in regulation, the magic number would also go down by 2. 

The T-Birds' Week Ahead

The T-Birds begin a crucial four-game homestand on Friday as they host the Hershey Bears at 7:05 p.m. at the Thunderdome. As of March 31, the T-Birds sit three points back of Hershey for the 4-seed in the division. The Bears and Islanders play one another on Wednesday, April 1 in Bridgeport. 

Friday's contest, the final regular season meeting between Springfield and Hershey, will also feature the return of former Thunderbirds Corey Schueneman and Sam Bitten, who were traded to the Washington Capitals/Hershey Bears organization on Nov. 3 in exchange for Calle Rosen. The T-Birds have won three of their last four games overall, including an impressive 4-2 win over the AHL's top team, the Providence Bruins, on Sunday afternoon.

Since taking over as T-Birds head coach for his debut on Jan. 23, Steve Ott has led Springfield to a record of 14-10-2-0 to climb back into playoff positioning, and the club's offense has improved drastically, average 3.04 goals per game under their new bench boss. Chris Wagner, who was appointed as the fifth captain in T-Birds history on March 11, has led the way for Springfield, posting 11 points (5g, 6a) over his last eight games. 

Goaltending has also proven to be a huge asset for the T-Birds, with Will Cranley, Georgi Romanov, and Vadim Zherenko combining for a 9-4-2 record since Feb. 20 with a .915 save percentage. 

The "reunion" weekend continues on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. as the T-Birds host the Syracuse Crunch in what is expected to be Matthew Peca's first game back inside the Thunderdome as an opponent. The T-Birds' all-time leader scorer, Peca was traded to Syracuse earlier this month in exchange for defenseman Wyatt Newpower. Peca, who served as T-Birds captain from 2023 until his trade on March 10, registered 233 points (83g, 150a) in 271 games with Springfield from 2021-26.