2004 Calder Cup playoffs

The 2004 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 14, 2004. Twenty teams, the top five from each division, qualified for the playoffs. The fourth- and fifth-placed teams in each division played best-of-3 series in the qualifying round. The four winners, in addition to the other twelve teams that qualified, played best-of-7 series for division semifinals, finals and conference finals. The conference champions played a best-of-7 series for the Calder Cup. The Calder Cup Final ended on June 6, 2004 with the Milwaukee Admirals defeating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins four games to none to win the first Calder Cup in team history. Milwaukee's Wade Flaherty won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as AHL playoff MVP.

Records
Several league records were set during the 2004 Calder Cup Playoffs.
 * A total of 93 games were played throughout the playoffs, the most of any Calder Cup Playoffs
 * Wilkes-Barre/Scranton lost 12 times during the 2004 playoffs, the most games lost in a single playoff
 * Wilkes-Barre/Scranton also played in a record 11 overtime games in one playoff
 * There were 17 shutouts overall, the most in any single playoff
 * 27 overtime games were played, the most in a single playoff
 * Milwaukee tied a record by recording six overtime victories in one playoff
 * Wade Flaherty became the first goaltender to win 16 games in a single playoff

Playoff seeds
After the 2003–04 AHL regular season, 20 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top five teams from each division qualified for the playoffs. The Milwaukee Admirals were the Western Conference regular season champions as well as the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners with the best overall regular season record. The Hartford Wolf Pack were the Eastern Conference regular season champions.

Atlantic Division

 * 1) Hartford Wolf Pack – Eastern Conference regular season champions, 102 points
 * 2) Manchester Monarchs – 92 points
 * 3) Worcester IceCats – 90 points
 * 4) Providence Bruins – 87 points
 * 5) Portland Pirates – 85 points

East Division

 * 1) Philadelphia Phantoms – 101 points
 * 2) Bridgeport Sound Tigers – 98 points
 * 3) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – 86 points
 * 4) Binghamton Senators – 80 points
 * 5) Norfolk Admirals – 79 points

North Division

 * 1) Hamilton Bulldogs – 96 points
 * 2) Syracuse Crunch – 93 points
 * 3) Rochester Americans – 89 points
 * 4) Cleveland Barons – 89 points
 * 5) Toronto Roadrunners – 81 points

West Division

 * 1) Milwaukee Admirals – Western Conference regular season champions; Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners, 102 points
 * 2) Chicago Wolves – 96 points
 * 3) Grand Rapids Griffins – 96 points
 * 4) Houston Aeros – 74 points
 * 5) Cincinnati Mighty Ducks – 72 points

Bracket
In the qualification round all games are played at the arena of the fourth seed. In each round after the Qualification Round, the higher seed receives home ice advantage, meaning they can play a maximum of four home games if the series reaches seven games. There is no set series format for each series after the Qualification Round due to arena scheduling conflicts and travel considerations.

Division Qualifiers

 * 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.

(W1) Milwaukee Admirals vs. (N3) Rochester Americans
1 – Game played at HSBC Arena – Buffalo, NY 2 – Game played at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial – Rochester, New York