Providence Leads AHL Atlantic as Playoff Picture Takes Shape in April
Providence holds the AHL's best points percentage (.773) entering April, just two points clear of Grand Rapids in the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy race with weeks left to play.
Providence carries a 99-point lead atop the Atlantic Division with a 49-14-1-0 record, and its .773 points percentage was the highest in the American Hockey League as of the March 31 standings snapshot, setting up a compelling finish to the regular season in which two points separate the league's best team from its most dominant story.
That story belongs to Grand Rapids. The Griffins clinched the Central Division title with a 5-2 win at the Cleveland Monsters, their first division crown since 2014-15 and their first Central title since 2002-03. Eduards Tralmaks scored the game-winner for his 21st of the season, while Wojciech Stachowiak collected 1-2-3 for his first points as a Griffin. Grand Rapids holds a 10-point cushion over the Ontario Reign for the Western Conference title and trails Providence by two points in the race for the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy, awarded annually to the AHL's regular-season champion.
In the Eastern Conference, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Charlotte sit as the primary challengers to Providence's Atlantic lead, both clubs carrying strong point totals into what amounts to a three-week sprint to the finish. The Pacific race is similarly tight, with Ontario and Coachella Valley jockeying for home-ice advantage as NHL recall activity adds a roster-shuffling variable to every remaining game.
Tonight, Providence hosts a road opponent at Amica Mutual Pavilion in a game that could push the Bruins closer to clinching home ice for the first round. Any slip by Grand Rapids in the Central simultaneously reopens the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy conversation, a two-point margin thin enough to evaporate over a single weekend.
The share hook sits in the history books: Grand Rapids clinched its playoff berth on February 27, the earliest clinching date by any AHL team since the 1992-93 Binghamton Rangers, who went 57-13-10 with a .775 points percentage, the best single-season record in league history. The Griffins are still chasing them.
Know something we missed? Have a correction or additional information?
Submit a Tip
