SAT, DEC. 20, 2025 | 6:00 PM PT | TOYOTA ARENA | ONTARIO, CA

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CHANCE OF REIGN: The Barracuda wrap up their five-game road trip with a pair of games in Ontario beginning Saturday and will start a stretch of four straight contests against LA’s top affiliate to close out the season series. San Jose is 2-1-1-0 against Ontario this season and 0-0-1-0 at Toyota Arena.

WEDNESDAY WOES: The Barracuda had their three-game road winning streak snapped Wednesday in Coachella Valley, falling 4–2 to the Firebirds. San Jose twice erased one-goal deficits with third-period power-play goals from Oliver Wahlstrom and Filip Bystedt, but Oskar Fisker Molgaard restored the Firebirds’ lead at 16:44, and Logan Morrison sealed the win with an empty-net goal. Nikke Kokko made 38 saves as the Barracuda outshot Coachella Valley, 40–30. San Jose went a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill and 2-for-5 on the power play.

MOST RECENT MEETING: In the most recent matchup on Nov. 4, Akil Thomas scored once and set up the overtime winner by Taylor Ward 1:03 into the extra frame as the Ontario Reign edged the San Jose Barracuda, 2–1, at Toyota Arena. After a scoreless first period, Thomas opened the scoring at 5:53 of the second, but the Barracuda answered on the power play midway through the third when Igor Chernyshov netted his first regular-season AHL goal to tie the game. The contest went to overtime, where Ward finished a feed from Thomas to seal the win. Erik Portillo made 26 saves for Ontario, while Gabriel Carriere stopped 18 shots for San Jose in the overtime loss.

FIL THE THRILL: Filip Bystedt buried his second overtime winner of the season last Saturday, recording the third multi-goal game of his career. The sophomore center leads the Barracuda in assists (14) and plus/minus (+6). He also posted a career-long eight-game point streak (3–7—10) from Nov. 15 to Dec. 5, 2025. Against the Reign, Bystedt has a goal and an assist in three games.

CHERN AND BURN: Igor Chernyshov was recalled by the Sharks on Monday and made his NHL debut Tuesday against Calgary, picking up an assist in the Sharks’ win. He added another helper on Thursday. 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. 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 fifth in AHL scoring (21), tied for third in assists (14), power-play goals (5), and power-play points (11).

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 (18), and tied for third in goals (5). He is also tied for fifth in assists (13) and power-play assists (7). 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). He finished among the top six defensemen 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 on Dec. 12 but bounced back last Saturday in Texas and has now won seven of his last eight starts. Skarek recorded just five wins in 22 games last season with Bridgeport and already has nine victories 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. The Czech-born netminder is tied for fourth in the AHL in wins (9).