The Bad but Also Some Good From the Reign’s Calder Cup Playoff Performance
The 2025-2026 Ontario Reign season concluded on May 9, 2026. The double overtime defeat against the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the winner-take-all game five at Toyota Arena. While the Reign were able to tie the game at two with six minutes left in regulation, a breakaway chance by Coachella’s J.R. Avon less than two minutes into the second overtime period ended the series.
It was the second straight year with a quick playoff exit for Ontario. The same organization that just two years ago reached the Pacific Division final. Last year they were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the San Jose Barracuda. This year, though, they won a franchise-record 45 games along with the Pacific Division and enjoyed a first round bye. Yet, they couldn’t close out the series while leading it.
Today, we’ll take a look at what went wrong for the Reign but also what went alright.
What went wrong:
The power play was atrocious
In the series, Ontario had nine opportunities with a man advantage and didn’t score a single goal. They had a four minute double minor in the first game of the series but didn’t score. In the potential series winning game on May 7, the Reign had five power plays but again did not score.
Scoring on the power play would have been incredibly beneficial especially when the team wasn’t taking that many penalties themselves. They had three games with six or more penalty kills – which is also very bad – but only had two in game three and none in the final game.
Not the plays you’d expect from the division champs
At points in this series, the Reign didn’t look like themselves. They were slow to get into games or looked like a team that had more than 10 days between games. That seemed to be something that troubled the team throughout the series. It felt like déjà vu because the same happened in game one. The team also had some bouts of bad plays. They didn’t finish checks and lacked physicality. Two things they desperately needed against a shutdown team like the Firebirds.
“At times we pass[ed] the puck one too many times,” Lee told reporters after the first game. “In [a] tight series like this you got to maybe throw one in and get the bodies to the net and whack one in that way.”
Even head coach Andrew Lord called the team’s play “sloppy” and “clunky” after the first game of the series. He also pointed to what went wrong for the team after their 6-2 loss in game four.
“Our puck management, our execution is not where it’s needed to be particularly tonight and obviously last game as well,” Lord explained. “When you compare that to the second game, the second game when our execution was there. We looked like we were playing so much faster and you’re getting more pucks in and you’re getting in on the forecheck more and then you have the opportunity to pinch. But when we’re ending shifts by chipping pucks out or just getting in and having to change, it’s difficult to get a fiveman forecheck going.”
Top players in the regular season didn’t perform in the playoffs
The Reign’s offense performed well during the regular season. Martin Chromiak led the way with 56 points off 28 goals and 28 assists. Cole Guttman and Glenn Gawdin also surpassed the 50 point mark with 53 and 51 points, respectively. Rounding out the top five were Andre Lee with 48 points and early season acquisition Nikita Alexandrov who recorded 42 points in 48 games with Ontario.
Unfortunately, Chromiak, Guttman, and Gawdin recorded one point each in the playoffs while Alexandrov recorded two. Lee was the only one of the top five regular season scorers to have more than two points. He finished with three including the game tying goal late in game five. He also brought a lot of physicality to his game which was noticeable especially in the first game.
Barring any injuries or ailments these players could have played with, you’d expect more out of this group. Especially given all five of these players are veterans. Chromiak, Gawdin, and Lee have all been on this team longer than this season. Guttman and Alexandrov also have a plethora of Calder Cup playoff experience with their previous teams. Yet, most of the players fell flat in the playoffs.
What went well:
The Reign did have some bright spots.
A great bounce back in game 2
The second game of the series was a great bounce back win. The Reign were able to capitalize after allowing the first goal of the game. Logan Brown opened the scoring and Guttman extended the lead to 3-1 seconds into the final period. This was one of the games with six penalties and the Reign managed to kill each one. They even added a shorthanded goal for more cushion.
“We were back to ourselves, honestly. We were faster, execution was far better. Compete was far better,” coach Lord said after the team’s 5-2 win in game two. “It was a fun game. I thought the first was really solid. Even though we gave up the first [goal], I thought we stayed the course really well.”
Pheonix Copley put together a great game by allowing only one goal and making 34 saves as well. The goalies weren’t terrible and in some sloppy periods of play, they were the ones that kept the team in the game.
Penalty kill did the work more often than not
It could have been catastrophic for Ontario if their penalty kill was as bad as their power play. The penalty kill was actually very good. By my count, the Reign killed off 15 of 16 penalties in the five game series. That was a part of their game that shined immensely.
Fourth line showed up
I mentioned how the top scorers from the regular season didn’t show up for the playoffs but the fourth line did. Jack Hughes, who made his professional debut a week after the season started, had a great playoff performance. He began the playoffs scoreless then recorded one point in each of the final four games. Asked about Hughes after game three, Lord was quick to praise the rookie.
“He’s given us some real depth minutes,” Lord said. “He’s more of a top six style of player, but he’s bought in with puck management, his tracking, his defensive game, his faceoffs. I think they were really good tonight as well, the draws he did take. And that’s huge this time of year. It’s all those little things.”
Hughes’ line mate Kenta Isogai also had a great playoffs. He appeared in four games and recorded three points. For a player on the fourth line, and with only 28 AHL games under his belt, he had a great series. Isogai even had a chance late in the third period of game five but ended up missing. Still, these two young players in their first pro seasons, were able to shine.
Fought until the very end in game five
Facing elimination isn’t easy. Sure, maybe the Reign didn’t think they would be in this position just weeks after winning the Pacific Division. Yet, when facing elimination, they stuck it out. Lee’s game tying goal with six minutes left in regulation along with Erik Portillo’s satisfactory performance showed the team wasn’t going down without a fight.
Sure, the Reign’s season ended with an elimination at the hands of a team that outplayed them and took advantage of that. Yet, you can’t pin the sudden end to the season on just one thing. It’s a learning experience for the rookies and the players who joined the team a month ago. This is a development league after all. If anything, with the young guys coming in next season and head coach Lord with this stellar season under his belt, maybe Ontario’s playoff path won’t end so swiftly next season.
Only time will tell.
