As it was originally announced, the top four finishers in each division were seeded based on regular season point totals. The Division Semifinals had the first seed meeting the fourth seed and the second seed meeting the third seed in a best-of-seven series. The winners of the Division Semifinals advanced to the Division Finals, a best-of-seven series. The Division Finals winners advanced to a best-of-seven Conference Finals series. The winner of the American Conference and the winner of the National Conference met in the Kelly Cup Finals, a best-of-seven game series. Home-ice advantage was determined by regular season points. This format is similar to that used by the American Hockey League for the 2009 Calder Cup playoffs.