GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA AT FIREBIRDS
Feb 27, 2023
SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (21-26-0-4) vs. COACHELLA VALLEY FIREBIRDS (33-9-4-2)
MON, FEB. 27 | 7:00 P.M. | Acrisure Arena | Palm Desert, CA
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Road Trip Wrap: After falling 6-1 in Ontario to the Reign on Friday, the Barracuda close out its four-game road trip on Monday against the Coachella Valley Firebirds (Seattle Kraken). The Barracuda are 0-4-0-1 against Seattle’s top affiliate, and 0-1-0-1 at the Acrisure Arena. Prior to Friday, SJ had won three in a row and had earned points in four straight (3-0-0-1). The Firebirds have won two in a row entering Monday, snapping a three game skid in the process (0-2-0-1).
About Friday: The Barracuda fell behind by a pair of goals in the first period on Friday at Ontario, before Jeff Viel cut the lead in half at 2:42 of the third period. After Viel’s goal, the Reign would score the next four en-route to a 6-1 win. Strauss Mann suffered the loss, allowing five goals on 28 shots, while Matt Villalta collected his fourth consecutive victory, stopping 34 of 35. Reign defenseman Jacob Moverare collected a game-high three points (1+2=3), while Martin Chromiak, T.J. Tynan, and Sam Helenius finished with multiple assists.
Let’s Make A Deal: On Sunday evening, the Sharks traded forward Timo Meier, defenseman Scott Harrington, forward Timur Ibragimov, defenseman Santeri Hatakka, and goaltender Zach Emond to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a 2023 first-round selection, a conditional 2024 first-round selection, defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin, forward Fabian Zetterlund, defenseman Nikita Okhotiuk, and forward Andreas Johnsson. Meier played 34 games with the Barracuda during the 2016-17 season, totaling 23 points (14 goals, nine assists), helping the Barracuda reach the conference finals. Harrington skated in five games with the Barracuda earlier this season, notching one assist. Hatakka had not appeared in a game with the Cuda since Nov. 12 after suffering an upper-body injury. Over parts of two seasons, the second-year blueliner had dressed in 49 games with the Sharks farm team, totaling 12 points (three goals, nine assists). Emond and Ibragimov had not played in the AHL this season after spending most of last year with the Barracuda.
Fire Squad: The Firebirds enter Monday with points in its last three (2-0-0-1), wins in its last two, and are just three points behind the Calgary Wranglers for the top spot in the Western Conference, with five games in hand. Coachella Valley boasts the league’s best winning percentage at .750 (33-9-4-2), having played a league-low 48 games. Despite dropping its last two at home (0-1-0-1), the Firebirds also have the AHL’s best home winning percentage at .750 (14-4-0-2). CV will play 16 of its final 24 games at Acrisure Arena. The Firebirds are second in the AHL in goals for (3.63), third in goals against (2.63), and fifth in shots against (28.29). Coachella Valley is just one of two teams with two 20+ goals scorers (Max McCormick & Jesper Froden) and have six skaters with double-digit goals this season.
About the Barracuda: San Jose enters Monday six points behind the Tucson Roadrunners and Bakersfield Condors for the final two playoff spots in the Pacific Division. After Monday, the Barracuda will have 11 more road games left on its schedule and 21 in total. The Cuda are 30th in the league in goals for (2.69) and 26th in goals against (3.41). Against the Firebirds, the Barracuda have been outscored 23-6, but did earn a point in the last meeting on Jan. 10 (2-3 SOL).
Head-to-head: In the last matchup on Jan. 10, the Barracuda erased a two-goal deficit to force overtime, eventually falling in the bottom of the seventh round of the shootout, 3-2, at Acrisure Arena. Jesper Froden and Kole Lind each scored in the first for the Firebirds before Luke Johnson cut the lead in half in the second, and Danil Gushchin leveled the score with a minute left in regulation. Aaron Dell made 33 saves in the loss, while Joey Daccord made 20 stops in the win. Lind scored the only goal in the shootout. In five games versus CV, the Barracuda are 1/19 on the power play (5.3%) and 19/25 on the penalty kill (76%). Lind leads all skaters with 10 points (five goals, five assists) in five contests.