Advantage for Barracuda To Start Playoffs at Crypto Arena? Cuda Lines + Injury Updates

The San Jose Barracuda are back in the Calder Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2019…but it might not feel like it.

The San Jose Sharks’ AHL affiliate is opening the post-season in an NHL arena, facing the Ontario Reign for the first two games of their three-game series at Crypto.com Arena.

An AHL playoff game in an NHL arena? Barracuda head John McCarthy knows all about that.

McCarthy, Cuda captain from 2016 to 2019, played plenty of Barracuda home games at SAP Center, the home of the San Jose Sharks, including their last Calder Cup playoff contests there in Apr. 2019. That’s where the Cuda played their home games until Tech CU Arena opened in 2023.

For McCarthy, that could mean playing before 500 people, if the Barracuda were lucky, in an arena with a capacity of 17,562.

A similar atmosphere seemingly awaits the Barracuda on Thursday and Saturday at the even more cavernous Crypto.com Arena.

“Might be some flashbacks,” McCarthy joked.

That said, this almost neutral site game could be an advantage for the Barracuda, who don’t have a wealth of playoff experience.

“Hopefully, that helps us. It’s their home game, but I’m assuming it’s not going to be 18,000 people there, so it could feel empty,” captain Jimmy Schuldt said.

Schuldt, on the other hand, has seen plenty of playoff action, especially the last two years with back-to-back Calder Cup finalist Coachella Valley Firebirds.

“It’s going to be the same for them as us,” he said, about the possible negation of what should be Ontario’s home-ice advantage. “The message is always, you have to create your own energy.”

Another advantage for the Barracuda? For McCarthy, it might be the biggest.

“The whole theme of the last couple days, it’s a new season, right? It’s a fresh start, and it’s a new building.”

Barracuda Lines/Injuries

These are the lines that the Barracuda ran Wednesday morning at Tech CU Arena, before their flight to Los Angeles this afternoon.

Gushchin-White-Graf
Regenda-Bystedt-Duehr
Ostapchuk-Giles-Cardwell
Sabourin-Vanroboys-Vincent

Cagnoni-Frisch
Schuldt-Keane
Hache-Thompson

Famously, AHL lines and starters can be evasive, there are no rules or norms governing their disclosure, so all this might not be confirmed until the drop of the puck.

Notably though, McCarthy did share that Lucas Carlsson (personal reasons) and Thomas Bordeleau (upper-body) won’t travel for Game One, but could join the team later in the series.

San Jose Hockey Now had previously reported the expectation that Bordeleau would be available for Game One.

Also, top San Jose Sharks prospects Igor Chernyshov and Quentin Musty weren’t part of line rushes, but McCarthy didn’t rule them out from playing in this series. Even without Bordeleau and Andrew Poturalski, however, that’s a deep-looking forward group.

The AHL’s leading scorer and No. 1 center Poturalski remains out with a week-to-week injury and will not be available for Game One. He sounds doubtful for the entire first-round series.

Schuldt did note that the alternate captain is still making an impact on the team: “He’s here as much as he can be. He had a bunch of young guys over last night for dinner, make his presence felt a little bit more.”

Schuldt also shared that the Poturalski family will have an addition soon: “Another thing is, even if he was healthy, he’s gonna be called any day to go back and be there for the birth of his third child.

“Our goal is just to keep playing, and once we get him back, that’ll be a huge boost for us.”