The Toronto Marlies are the first team to clinch a berth in the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs, securing their postseason spot on Saturday night when the Rochester Americans dropped a 5-3 decision to the Binghamton Senators in Binghamton, N.Y.
The Marlies (45-15-5-0, 95 points) have a league-leading .731 points percentage with 11 games remaining on their schedule.
Toronto will be heading to the Calder Cup Playoffs for the fifth straight spring, and is closing in on its fourth division title in that span. The top development club of the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs reached the Calder Cup Finals in 2012 and made the conference finals in 2014.
The Marlies have already become the first club in AHL history to win 40 games in four consecutive seasons with four different head coaches, accomplishing the feat under Dallas Eakins (2011-12 and 2012-13), Steve Spott (2013-14), Gord Dineen (2014-15) and now Sheldon Keefe (2015-16).
