WED, DEC. 17, 2025 | 6:30 PM PT | ACRISURE ARENA | PALM DESERT, CA

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FIRED UP: After back-to-back wins in Texas, the Barracuda continue their five-game road trip before the Christmas break on Wednesday in Coachella Valley against the Firebirds, the Seattle Kraken’s AHL affiliate. The Barracuda fell 6–3 in the only prior meeting this season on Oct. 22 at Tech CU Arena. Last year, San Jose went 3–1 at Acrisure Arena after posting just a 1-4-1-2 record there over the previous two seasons. Overall, the Barracuda went 7–1 against Seattle’s affiliate last season after earning just one win in the first two years of the rivalry.

TEXAS TWO-STEP: The Barracuda never led Saturday in Texas against the Stars but erased three separate one-goal deficits before Filip Bystedt ended it in overtime with a power-play goal at 1:52 for a 4–3 win. Bystedt finished with two goals, while Igor Chernyshov recorded a game-high three assists. Egor Afanasyev and Cam Lund also scored, and Jakub Skarek earned the win with 26 saves.

MOST RECENT MEETING: The Barracuda were handed a 6–3 loss by the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Oct. 22 at Tech CU Arena. After Coachella Valley opened the scoring on a first-period power play, San Jose responded with three unanswered goals early in the second period, including tallies from Anthony Vincent, Lucas Carlsson, and a power-play marker by Kasper Halttunen to take a 3–1 lead. The Firebirds answered quickly, striking three times in the middle frame, highlighted by the eventual game-winning goal from Jagger Firkus. Coachella Valley added an insurance goal from Kaden Hammell midway through the third period and sealed the win with an empty-netter from Logan Morrison, who finished with two goals and an assist, as the Firebirds outshot the Barracuda 34–27.

FIL THE THRILL: Filip Bystedt buried his second overtime winner of the season on Saturday, recording the third multi-goal game of his career. The sophomore center leads the Barracuda in assists (14) and plus/minus (+7). Bystedt also posted a career-long eight-game point streak (3–7—10) from Nov. 15 to Dec. 5, 2025.

MILESTONE MOMENT: Ethan Cardwell recorded a pair of assists Friday to reach 100 career AHL points. It marked his third multi-point effort of the season and the 20th of his career. On Monday, he was recalled to the Sharks. This season, he has one goal in four contests with the big club.

CHERN AND BURN: Igor Chernyshov was recalled to the Sharks on Monday and made his NHL debut Tuesday against Calgary. The 20-year-old was named Upper Deck AHL Rookie of the Month for November after posting 10 goals and six assists for 16 points with a plus-8 rating in 13 games, helping San Jose to a 10-1-1-1 record. Among AHL rookies, he ranks fourth in points (20), is tied for third in goals (11) and power-play points (11), and ranks second in power-play assists (8). He leads the Barracuda in both goals and points. Last season, the Sharks’ 2024 second-round pick tallied 55 points (19 goals, 36 assists) in 23 games with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit.

MUST BE THE MONEY: Among rookies, Sharks 2023 first-round pick Quentin Musty is tied for sixth in AHL scoring (20), tied for third in power-play goals (5), and ranks fifth in power-play points (10).

YOU CAN DO IT: Among AHL defensemen, second-year blueliner Luca Cagnoni is tied for second in power-play goals (3), tied for fifth in points (17), and tied for third in goals (5). He is also tied for sixth in assists (12) and tied for fifth in power-play assists (6). Last season, as a rookie, he led the league in power-play points (32) and ranked in the top five in both power-play goals (10) and assists (22). Among defensemen, he finished top six in goals (14), points (49), and assists (35), and was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team.

LUCAS LIGHTNING: Among AHL defensemen, Lucas Carlsson co-leads all blueliners in goals (7) and is tied for second in power-play goals (3). The two-time AHL All-Star led all AHL defensemen in goals (20) during the 2022–23 season with the Charlotte Checkers.

JAK OF ALL TRADES: Barracuda goaltender Jakub Skarek saw his career-long six-game winning streak snapped two Fridays ago but bounced back Saturday in Texas and has now won seven of his last eight starts. Skarek posted just five wins in 22 games last season with Bridgeport and already has nine wins through his first 12 games this year. He has allowed three or fewer goals in nine straight starts, including a shutout on Nov. 11 at Abbotsford.