Fourteen down, two to go.
The Portland Pirates and Providence Bruins became the latest additions to the 2016 Calder Cup Playoff roster with victories on Sunday.
In their first season affiliated with the Florida Panthers, the Pirates will head to the postseason for the 17th time in their 23 seasons of play. Portland (40-26-5-2, 87 pts., .596) enters the final week of the regular season in fourth place in the Atlantic Division, two points behind both Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Providence and two ahead of fifth-place Bridgeport.
The Pirates defeated Hartford, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon, to push the Wolf Pack to the brink of elimination.
The Bruins will participate in the Calder Cup Playoffs for the fourth straight spring and the 19th time in 24 years since joining the AHL in 1992. Providence (38-22-9-4, 89 pts., .610) is tied with the Penguins for second place in the Atlantic, bidding for home-ice advantage in the first round, after Sunday’s 3-2 win at Springfield.
Fourteen of the 16 playoff spots in the American Hockey League postseason have now been claimed with one week remaining in the regular season. In the Eastern Conference, Bridgeport has a four-point lead over Hartford with three games left in the battle for the final spot; in the Western Conference, the final playoff spot will go to either Charlotte, San Jose or Stockton.
For more information and daily updates on the playoff races, check out the official AHL Playoff Primer.
