GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA AT EAGLES
Apr 5, 2025SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (33-24-5-4, 73 pts.) vs COLORADO EAGLES (39-19-5-3, 86 pts.)
SAT, APR. 5 | 6:05 P.M. PT | BLUE ARENA ARENA | LOVELAND, CO
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Colorado Connection: After a 6-3 win on Friday, the Barracuda close out their eight-game season series with the Colorado Eagles at Blue Arena on Saturday. The Barracuda are 3-4 versus the Avs affiliate this season and 1-2 on the road.
Friday Fun: In a game that resembled playoff hockey from the onset, the Barracuda ended a nine-game losing skid at the Blue Arena on Friday night, taking down the first-place Colorado Eagles, 6-3. In the win, Scott Sabourin finished the game with a Gordie Howe Hat Trick, and Patrick Giles scored twice and now has three goals in his first two games in a Barracuda sweater. The Barracuda also deployed six rookie defensemen, including Axel Landen, who made his AHL debut and managed to hold the top offense in the league to just 18 shots.
Eagles Soaring: On March 27, the Eagles became the first team in the Pacific Division to clinch a playoff berth and have now reached the postseason in all six years the playoffs have been held since joining the AHL in in 2018. Colorado boasts a league-best +64 goal differential and +55 at home. As of Friday, Colorado ranked first in the AHL in goals for (3.52) and second in goals against (2.49). The Eagles also rank first in shorthanded goals (15).
Familiar Face: Former Sharks/Barracuda defenseman Jacob MacDonald is in his second stint with the Avs organization after signing this summer as a free agent. MacDonald is leading all defenders in scoring (53), goals (29), power-play goals (13), shots (187), game-winning goals (5), third in shooting percentage (15.5%), and fourth in power-play points (23). Among all skaters, he is T-first in power-play goals and sixth in total goals. Against the Barracuda, he has eight points (5+3=8) in seven games, scoring a hat trick on Feb. 11. MacDonald’s 13’s PPG are the most by a rearguard since 2014-15. MacDonald is one goal shy of matching the AHL record for goals in a season by a defenseman which was set during the 1999-2000 season by John Slaney of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. MacDonald was injured on Friday in the first period and did not return to the game.
Powering Up: The Barracuda’s franchise record power-play goal streak was snapped at 10 consecutive games (18/47=38%) on Friday, but has bounced back with goals in its last three games. San Jose ranks first in the AHL on the PP (24.9%) and first on the road (26.1), having scored in seven consecutive road games on the PP (14/35=40%). Danil Gushchin and Andrew Poturalski are T-first in the AHL with 13 power-play goals and Luca Cagnoni is pacing the league in power-play points (32).
Hot Pot: The AHL named Barracuda forward Andrew Poturalski the Player of the Month for March on Tuesday. The nine-year vet notched 22 points (9+13=22) in 12 games, including seven multi-point games. Despite missing the last three games with a lower-body injury, he is still pacing the AHL in points (73), T-first power-play goals (13), second in assists (43), and power-play points (27), and fourth in goals (30). Poturalski has 21 multi-point games this season.
Dan the Man: Danil Gushchin’s career-long nine-game points streak (7+9=16) ended on Saturday, a game shy of the franchise record. In the middle of the points streak, from Mar. 16 to Mar. 26, the 23-year-old had goals in five consecutive, matching John McCarthy’s franchise record. The third-year pro has set personal bests this season in goals (26) and power-play goals (13). He is T-first in the league, along with teammate Andrew Poturalski in advantage goals, T-ninth in total goals, and fourth in shots (202). Last week, he was named the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week after collecting seven points (4+3=7) in three games.
Do the Cagn Cagn: The Sharks reassigned rookie defender Luca Cagnoni back to the Barracuda on Monday and on Wednesday he scored his 14th goal of the year in the Barracuda’s 3-2 loss to the Ontario Reign. The 20-year-old skated in his first five NHL games during the recall stint, collecting his first NHL assist on Mar. 22 vs. Boston. Despite missing the last six games with the Barracuda, the Burnaby, B.C., native still ranks first in the AHL in power-play points (32), second in power-play assists (22), and T-fourth in power-play goals (10). Among fellow rearguards, he is third in goals, T-third in points (48), and sixth in assists (34).