The Calder Cup playoff picture continues to crystallize.
One week after Albany qualified for the postseason, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins clinched a berth at the expense of the River Rats.
Eric Tangradi scored twice and Wyatt Smith tallied an unassisted goal in the third period for the game winner as the Penguins edged the Rats, 4-3 on Friday at Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Oskar Osala scored three goals for Albany (42-29-3-5), which had already secured second place in the East Division.
Along with the victory, the Penguins (40-33-2-3) also clinched third place in the East Division as Norfolk lost 6-1 at Hershey.
After Osala provided the Rats with a 3-2 lead with a power-play goal at 13:13 of the second period, Tangradi drew the Penguins even with a power-play tally at 15:18. Smith followed with the deciding goal at 8:45 of the third.
Both teams scored a pair of power-play goals, with Albany converting on both its chances.
Goalie Brad Thiessen made 20 saves to earn the victory for Wilkes-Barre.
Justin Peters stopped 34 of 38 shots for the Rats, who play at Adirondack tonight at 7 in the Albany franchise’s final regular season game.
Rookie defenseman Jason Lepine, who signed a professional tryout with Albany on Friday, registered a pair of assists.