GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA AT CANUCKS
Mar 7, 2025SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (27-20-3-3, 59 pts.) vs ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS (28-22-2-1, 59 pts.)
FRI, MAR. 7 | 7:00 P.M. | ABBOTSFORD CENTRE | ABBOTSFORD, B.C.
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Canucks Connection: The Barracuda begin a four-game road trip in Abbotsford against the Canucks on Friday. The Cuda are 2-2 versus Vancouver’s top affiliate this season, and 0-2 at the Abbotsford Centre. The Barracuda were dealt a pair of one-goal losses in the last two meetings on Jan. 18 and 19. San Jose is 9-13-1-1 lifetime against the Canucks and 5-7 on the road.
Wednesday Woes: The Barracuda held four different leads on Wednesday at Tech CU Arena but failed to close out the San Diego Gulls, falling 5-4 in overtime. In the loss, Andrew Poturalski recorded his 17th multi-point (1+1=2) effort of the year and is now up to a league-high 60 points and Walker Duehr picked up a pair (1+1=2) of points in his Cuda debut. Braden Hache also scored his first in the AHL and Ethan Cardwell made it goals in his last two.
Canucks Check: The Barracuda enter Friday three points ahead of Abbotsford in the Pacific Division and are riding a three-game points streak (2-0-1-0). The Canucks are coming off an 8-4 win over the Calgary Wranglers at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday, snapping a four-game skid (0-3-1-0). Abbotsford, who begins a six-game homestand on Friday, have won their last two at the Abbotsford Centre and are 8-2 over their last 10.
Captain Call-Up: Barracuda captain Jimmy Schuldt made his Sharks debut on Thursday in Colorado, his first NHL action in nearly six years, and just the second game of his career. The veteran rearguard made his NHL debut with the Vegas Golden Knights on April 6, 2019, after signing out of St. Cloud State three days prior. Since that point, he has skated in 402 AHL games between the regular season and playoffs with Chicago, Henderson, Rochester, Coachella Valley, and San Jose.
Hot Pot: Andrew Poturalski matched a franchise record and personal best with five points (1+4=5) on Sunday as the Barracuda upended the Henderson Silver Knights, 6-5, in overtime. On Wednesday, Poturalski picked up another two points (1+1=2) and now has nine (3+6=9) over his last three games. Potsy has points in 13 of 15 (9+15=24) and is pacing the AHL in scoring with 60. Additionally, he is second in the league in assists (36), T-fourth in power-play goals (9), and T-fifth in goals (24). The 31-year-old is just one point shy of matching Andrew Agozzino’s single-season franchise points (61) record and two goals short of Agozzino’s goal (26) record, both set in 2022-23. He is two power-play goals shy of matching Danny O’Regan’s single-season PPG record (11), set in 2016-17.
Luca Lightning: Rookie defenseman Luca Cagnoni is pacing the AHL in PP-points (26), second in power-play assists (16), and T-fourth in power-play goals (9). Among league blueliners, he is second in points (41), and T-second in goals (13). The 20-year-old, who has already set a franchise record this season for power-play goals (9) by a defenseman, is just one goal shy of matching the org’s watermark for goals in a season by a rearguard. Tim Heed (2016-17) and Nick DeSimone (2018-19) each scored 14 in a season.
Real Deal Danil: Danil Gushchin notched his first pro hat trick on Sunday, and the Barracuda’s first this season, and 15th in franchise history. The last Barracuda skater to score three times in a game was Nathan Todd on Feb. 10, 2024, vs. Bakersfield. Gushchin now has five goals in his last five games, seven in his previous nine, and 10 in his last 12. Gushchin, who’s now up to 19 goals, is a goal shy of matching his season total last year, in 18 fewer games.
Walk the Talk: After clearing waivers, the Sharks assigned forward Walker Duehr to the Barracuda on Tuesday. In his debut with the Cuda on Wednesday, he collected a pair of points (1+1=2). In 128 AHL contests between Calgary/Stockton/San Jose, Duerr has 38 goals and 33 assists. In 20 games this season with the Wranglers, the native of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, scored 11 times and added eight helpers. In eight games with the Sharks, he potted a pair of goals. In 92 career NHL contests between the Flames and Sharks, he has 11 goals and 10 assists. The Sharks originally claimed the undrafted free agent off waivers in January.
Trade Winds: The Sharks sent goaltender Vitek Vanecek to the Florida Panthers on Wednesday for forward Patrick Giles. The org immediately assigned Giles to the Barracuda. The six-foot-five, 218-pounder has skated in nine games with the Panthers this season, the first nine of his NHL career. Additionally, he has appeared in 39 games with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, scoring five goals and adding a pair of assists. A year ago, Giles scored and added an assist in four games against the Barracuda as a member of the Checkers.