The Rochester Americans have a chance to do what their parent club, Buffalo Sabres, couldn’t quite manage doing. They could make the Calder Cup Playoffs. If the Americans win tonight against the Lake Erie Monsters, no matter if it comes in regulation or overtime, they will clinch a playoff berth. Rochester last made it to the playoffs in the 2009-2010 season where they lost in seven games to the Abbotsford Heat in the first round.
How muddled are the Western Conference standings in the AHL this season? Here are the standings in the final weekend. As a reminder AHL teams play 76 games in a season.
| Rank | GP | Team | Points |
| 5 | 74 | San Antonio | 85 |
| 6 | 75 | Lake Erie | 84 |
| 7 | 75 | Rochester | 84 |
| 8 | 74 | Milwaukee | 83 |
| 9 | 74 | Charlotte | 83 |
| 10 | 74 | Houston | 82 |
| 11 | 75 | Peoria | 82 |
The Americans set themselves up in this situation after a 5-1 victory over the Syracuse Crunch on Friday night. Marcus Foligno had two goals and an assist in the game, his first three point game in the AHL this season. David Leggio made 30 saves to get his 27th win of the season. Colin Stuart, Evan Rankin, and Nick Crawford each had a goal of their own as well. Mark Bell scored the lone Crunch goal and Igor Bobkov had 32 saves in the losing effort.
They travel to Cleveland to take on a Lake Erie team that they have beaten four out of five times this season. The lone Americans loss came on February 18th at the end of a home and home for the team and in the middle of a three game weekend. The Monsters are trying to keep themselves in the playoff hunt as well as they are among the cluster of teams looking to try and clinch a spot.
Game time is at 7:30 pm and can be seen on the AHL website for a fee.