SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (22-33-9-4, 57 pts.) vs. TEXAS STARS (32-30-4-2, 70 pts.)

FRI, APR. 12 | 7:00 P.M. | Tech CU Arena | San Jose, CA

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Sparkling Finish: The Barracuda close out their 36-game home schedule with a pair of games versus the Texas Stars (Dallas Stars), beginning on Friday night at Tech CU Arena. The Barracuda are 1-1 versus the Stars this season after splitting a pair of games on the road in early March. Entering Friday, the Barracuda are 14-9-1-0 all-time against Central Division foes and 2-2-1-0 this season.

Home Cookin’: The Barracuda and Henderson Silver Knights exchanged leads five times on Wednesday night at Tech CU Arena, but a late shorthanded goal from Ethan Cardwell turned out to be the difference in a 6-5 Barracuda win. In the victory, Cardwell notched his first multi-goal game of his career and is now up to a team-high 23. Nathan Todd (1+2=3) and Danil Gushchin (1+2=3) each finished with three points and rank first and second on the team in scoring. 

Star Bright: The Stars have locked up a postseason berth and are coming off a win on Sunday versus the Milwaukee Admirals (3-1 W). Stars sophomore forward Mavrik Bourque is first in the league in scoring (73), first in shots (238), and T-second in assists. His counterpart, Matej Blumel, is T-seventh in the AHL in points (58) and T-fifth in goals (28). Stars rookie Logan Stankoven, who’s now up with Dallas in the NHL, still ranks T-eighth in the league in points (57) and first among freshmen, despite not playing with Texas since Feb. 21. He is also T-second in rookie goals (24). Among league blueliners, former Cuda defenseman Derrick Pouliot is third in scoring (44), T-second in power-play assists (19), and T-third in power-play points (19). The Stars are averaging the fewest penalty minutes per game (9.06) entering Friday and are first in the AHL on the power play (22.4%).

Fil the Thrill: Sharks 2022 first-rounder Filip Bystedt collected three points (2+1=3) last Wednesday, becoming just the third player in franchise history to score three points and two goals in his AHL debut (Dylan Gambrell ’18-19, Evan Weinger ’18-19). The 20-year-old is the youngest to accomplish the feat. On Wednesday, he picked up an assist and now is averaging a point-per-game through his first four games (2+2=4). Before joining the Barracuda, Bystedt skated in 47 games with Linkoping of the SHL, recording 17 points (8+9=17) and a plus-six rating.

Tommy Gun: Among league rear guards, Cuda defenseman Jack Thompson is second in the league in power-play assists (20) after picking up a pair on Wednesday, his first multi-point game as a member of the Barracuda. Among AHL defenders he is first in power-play points (23) and power-play assists (20), and T-fifth in scoring (38). 

Full Deck: Ethan Cardwell scored twice on Wednesday, his first multi-goal game of his career, and in the process matched the franchise record for goals (23) in a season for a rookie. Among AHL freshmen, he is T-third in goals and T-eighth in points (42). 

Gush Going: Danil Gushchin picked up three points (1+2=3) on Wednesday, his fourth three-point game of the season and fifth of his career, and now has points in nine of 10 (4+9=13). Despite missing 13 games with an upper-body injury from Jan. 27 to Feb. 28, he ranks first on the team in shots (201), T-second in power-play goals (5), second in points (51), and fourth in assists (33).

Todd’s Time: Nathan Todd potted his 50th career AHL goal on Wednesday and added a pair of assists. It was his sixth three-point game of the season and 11th of his career. The 28-year-old has set personal bests this season in goals (19), assists (35), points (54), power-play goals (6), and shots (178). Among Cuda skaters, he is first in scoring, first in assists, and T-first in power-play goals.