Pacific Division playoff positioning is at stake when the Abbotsford Canucks visit the San Jose Barracuda this Saturday in the FloHockey AHL Game of the Week (6:00 p.m. ET).

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A 5-1 win at San Jose on Friday night, the Canucks’ eighth in a row, moved them to just one point behind the Ontario Reign for second place in the Pacific Division. Phil Di Giuseppe supplied two goals while Nikita Tolopilo took care of 38 shots for the Canucks (36-23-2-1). Abbotsford has a two-point lead on fourth-place Coachella Valley and fifth-place San Jose in the Pacific Division race. The top seven teams in the division will qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

San Jose (32-22-5-4) is also trying to fend off the sixth-place Calgary Wranglers, who are two points behind. Three Abbotsford goals in the opening 11:08 on Friday ended Barracuda starter Gabriel Carriere’s night before Aaron Dell finished in relief. 

Abbotsford Canucks at San Jose Barracuda

Saturday, 6:00 p.m. ET* – Tech CU Arena

Where to Watch: Subscribers can continue to watch via FloHockey.tv or the FloSports app.

Free Streams: Follow the game across FloHockey's social channels including YouTube, Facebook and X. More details below.

Abbotsford Canucks (Vancouver Canucks)

Abbotsford now has two eight-game winning streaks this season. Going back to Jan. 10, the Canucks have won 22 of their past 31 games (22-8-1-0).

They have been on this roll despite a string of recalls to the Vancouver Canucks. Defensemen Victor Mancini and Elias Pettersson are on recall and joined by forwards Nils Åman, Linus Karlsson, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Aatu Räty, and Max Sasson, plus goaltender Artūrs Šilovs. In addition, veterans Mark Friedman (Milwaukee Admirals) and Carsen Twarynski (San Diego Gulls) departed in separate trades. 

With Šilovs in Vancouver, the Abbotsford net belongs to Tolopilo and rookie Ty Young. Tolopilo, 24, went undrafted before signing with Vancouver in March 2023 and has become a workhorse for Abbotsford, playing 67 games in his first two seasons. He is 16-14-2 | 2.66 | .901 in 31 games this season. Young, a 20-year-old who has divided his season between Abbotsford and the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings, was a 2022 fifth-round pick by Vancouver.

Christian Wolanin, who won the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s top defenseman in 2022-23, is up to 3-32-35 in 48 games. Rookie Kirill Kudryavtsev and fellow prospect Cole McWard have had strong seasons while Jett Woo offers an ornery presence on the Abbotsford blue line. Rounding out the group is veteran Guillaume Brisebois, an organizational mainstay who has been in the Vancouver organization since the 2017-18 season.

Forwards on recall to Vancouver or since traded account for 75 of Abbotsford’s 205 goals this season. Leading the team with 22 goals is prospect Danila Klimovich, who struck seven times in a recent nine-game span. Veteran Sammy Blais has provided 12 goals in 41 games while Arshdeep Bains (35 points) and rookie Ty Mueller (34 points have given additional offensive support. John Stevens has been out since mid-February.

Abbotsford is 13th in the AHL on the power play (18.9 percent) and also has the 12th-ranked penalty kill (82.9).

Stops at Bakersfield (Tuesday) and San Diego (Wednesday) will conclude Abbotsford’s six-game road trip before a match-up with the league-leading Laval Rocket next weekend starts a four-game homestand.

San Jose Barracuda (San Jose Sharks)

After Saturday’s contest, the Barracuda are down to just three regular-season home games, all against Ontario. Five of their final seven games will be on the road.

With Yaroslav Askarov out since Feb. 19, the Barracuda have been going with a Carriere-Dell tandem. Carriere, 24, had spent most of his rookie season with the organization’s ECHL affiliate, the Wichita Thunder, and had only played five games with the Barracuda before being pressed into regular action. He is 8-6-3 | 2.93 | .901 in 17 games this season. Dell, a 35-year-old veteran of 130 NHL games, has made eight appearances with the Barracuda and had 29 stops Friday.

With the Sharks playing out the string in their season, top rookie Luca Cagnoni is on recall. He had 13-34-47 in 56 games for the Barracuda. Captain Jimmy Schuldt is back following a brief NHL recall. The Barracuda picked up defenseman Noah Beck on an amateur tryout agreement Friday after he had 33 points (five goals, 28 assists) in 37 games at Arizona State. The 24-year-old, named to the All-NCHC Second Team, also signed a one-year deal with the Sharks that will start next season.

The duo of perennial top point producer Andrew Poturalski and prospect Danil Gushchin have powered much of one of the AHL’s top offenses. Poturalski, who twice has won the AHL scoring title, is pulling away with 30-43-73 for the Barracuda; his 30 goals are already an AHL career-best. Gushchin, a 2020 third-round pick by the Sharks, was just named the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week after he had 4-3-7 in three games last week. He is up to 25 goals and has 44 points through 47 games. Ethan Cardwell (11-36-47) is tied with Cagnoni at 47 points, and Walker Duehr, who began this season in the Calgary Flames organization, has provided help since coming to the organization on waivers.

San Jose’s power play (25.0 percent) is number-one in the AHL; Poturalski and Gushchin have accounted for 25 of San Jose’s 62 goals on the man-advantage this season. Their penalty kill is 18th at 81.9 percent.

How To Watch AHL Free Stream On YouTube

On Saturdays throughout the season, the AHL and FloHockey will present a free Game of the Week on YouTube. The home team's broadcast will be shared as a free stream on FloHockey's YouTube page. The free broadcast will begin shortly before puck drop. Check FloHockey and AHL social channels to see which game will be streaming each week.

WATCH HERE

How To Watch AHL Free Stream On X

On Saturdays throughout the season, the AHL and FloHockey will present a free Game of the Week on X (formerly known as Twitter). The home team's broadcast will be shared as a free stream on FloHockey's Twitter page. The free broadcast will begin shortly before puck drop, posted on FloHockey's X feed. Check FloHockey and AHL social channels to see which game will be streaming each week.

WATCH HERE

How To Watch AHL Free Stream On Facebook

On Saturdays throughout the season, the AHL and FloHockey will present a free Game of the Week on Facebook. You can access the game multiple ways on the Facebook. FloHockey will stream both home and road (if available) broadcasts on its Facebook page. The game can also be found live on the AHL's Facebook page.

WATCH HERE

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The AHL is streaming on FloHockey and the FloSports app. Live games, replays, highlights and breaking news will be on both platforms. 

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