The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have punched their 16th consecutive ticket to the AHL playoffs with a 7-4 win over the Binghamton Devils on Saturday night.
Wilkes-Barre's streak of 16 seasons is the longest active playoff appearance streak in the AHL. That distinction is also held by the parent club in Pittsburgh, which holds the longest current playoff appearance streak in the NHL with 12 consecutive seasons.
Wilkes-Barre has only missed the playoffs twice in their history -- the inaugural 1999-2000 season, and the 2001-02 season.
Wilkes-Barre's attention now turns to securing home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs -- a much-needed edge, considering the Penguins have the second-best home record in the AHL at 26-10-1-1.
The team currently sits in second place in the Atlantic Division with a point percentage of .639 and a record of 42-22-6-2. The Providence Bruins, their likely first-round opponent, ranks third in the division with a point percentage of .632 and a record of 43-24-3-2.
Providence and Wilkes-Barre have met in the postseason in four of the past five seasons. In the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, Wilkes-Barre eliminated Providence in seven games in the second round of the playoffs. In 2015-16, Wilkes-Barre swept Providence in the best-of-5 first round of the playoffs. Last season, Providence eliminated Wilkes-Barre in five games in the first round.
Last week, the Penguins clinched their 13th straight 40-win season, another active AHL record.
Four games remain in the regular season for the Penguins. They'll visit Bridgeport, Springfield, Lehigh Valley, and Hershey to close out the regular season.
Despite the regular season success, the Penguins -- and captain Tom Kostopoulos -- are still searching for their first Calder Cup. Now that this is officially Kostopoulos' final season, sending the captain off as a champion will be a huge motivator this time around.