After a long drought, San Jose fans will finally get to experience the playoffs in person again. Neither the San Jose Sharks nor the San Jose Barracuda has played a playoff home game since 2019. That’s six years without the postseason for San Jose fans. That changes on May 2, when the Barracuda are back home to play the Colorado Eagles in the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs.
The opponent
The Eagles are the top-ranked seed in the Pacific Division and had a first-round bye, which means this is the first playoff action the team will see.
Colorado finished the regular season with a 43-21-5-3 (W-L-OTL-SOL) record and locked up a playoff berth well before many of the other teams in the league.
Matthew Phillips leads the team in points with 57 in 65 games. Colorado’s leading goal scorer is defenseman and former Shark Jacob MacDonald, who has 31 goals this season and a total of 55 points.
There are a few players on the Eagles who play with an edge. 26-year-old Tye Felhaber has 108 penalty minutes in 67 games this season. He can score, too. He has 44 points, 22 goals and 22 assists.
33-year-old T.J. Tynan is also a scoring threat who isn’t afraid to drop the gloves. The forward has 49 points in 52 games and 74 penalty minutes.
Another player to keep an eye on is Taylor Makar, the younger brother of star Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar. Taylor plays left wing and just joined the team out of the University of Maine. He’s played five games with the Eagles and has one goal.
In the net, Trent Miner has done the majority of the heavy lifting for Colorado. Miner has a 22-10-6 record. He has a 2.12 goals against average and a .918 save percentage.
The season series
The two teams played eight games against each other in the regular season. The Eagles won the season series 5-3 and outscored the Barracuda 30-25 in those eight games.
| Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 11/9/24 | San Jose | Eagles | 2-3 |
| 11/10/24 | San Jose | Barracuda | 5-3 |
| 1/4/25 | San Jose | Eagles | 2-4 |
| 1/5/25 | San Jose | Barracuda | 4-3 |
| 2/11/25 | Colorado | Eagles | 6-3 |
| 2/12/25 | Colorado | Eagles | 5-2 |
| 4/4/25 | Colorado | Barracuda | 3-6 |
| 4/5/25 | Colorado | Eagles | 1-3 |
If Barracuda fans are looking for the most important game of the series, it might be the game on April 4. Not only did the Barracuda beat Colorado 6-3, but the team snapped a nine-game losing streak in Colorado’s Blue Arena.
It’s that win that will be the most important. The Barracuda will have two games at home before heading to Colorado for the final three games of the best-of-five series. In other words, San Jose will have to win at least one, and likely more than one, in Colorado if the team wants to advance to the next round of the playoffs.
The matchup
Both teams have high-powered scoring. The Colorado Eagles led the entire AHL in goals for this season with 250. The Barracuda were third in the league with 244. They can both find the back of the net.
Where Colorado surpasses the Barracuda is in goals allowed. The Eagles were tied for fourth in the league for the fewest goals allowed, with 185 goals allowed this season. The Barracuda, on the other hand, were 22nd and allowed 221 goals. Some of this was due to the inconsistency in the net. Yaroslav Askarov was called up to the NHL for a spell and then had to recover from an injury. Georgi Romanov was also in the NHL for a while.
In total, three different goalies played more than 1,000 minutes for the Barracuda this season, and one, Aaron Dell, logged 578 minutes. There were a lot of changes in the net.
That said, Askarov is back and he appears to be healthy. The Barracuda will need to lean on him if the team hopes to get past the Eagles.
Special teams
If there’s a place where the Barracuda excel, it’s on special teams, specifically the man advantage. The Barracuda led the AHL in power play goals this season, scoring 69. It was good enough for a 24.0% power play success rate, the best in the AHL.
The Eagles weren’t shabby on the power play either, operating at a 20.1%. Colorado scored 53 power play goals this season.
On the flip side of the coin, the penalty kill isn’t the Barracuda’s strongest asset. The ‘Cuda were middling this past season, 16th in the league on the kill with an 82.5% success rate. Meantime, the Eagles were sixth in the league with an 84.9% success rate.
For the Barracuda, the key will be to stay disciplined. While the ‘Cuda drew the most penalties in the league at 287, the team also took the most penalties in the league at 280. That’s a plus-seven differential. Compare that to the Eagles’ more disciplined differential of plus-19 (264 penalties drawn to 245 taken). The Barracuda will need to stay in control if the team hopes to win the special teams battle.
San Jose’s x-factor
While the addition of rookies like Igor Chernyshov and Quentin Musty could pay dividends, the real x-factor for the Barracuda is Andrew Poturalski. Poturalski is the AHL MVP this season. He’s also the team’s top scorer with 73 points in 59 games, including 30 goals. He’s a leader on and off the ice and will be essential if the Barracuda hope to go on a long run.
The trouble is, Poturalski is injured. He hasn’t played a game for the Barracuda in more than a month, since March 28, and at that time, he was considered week-to-week. According to San Jose Hockey Digest, he’s now considered day-to-day, but as of now, there’s no timeline for his return.
If Poturalski is healthy enough to return to the lineup, the Barracuda could get a boost in a series in which it’s the underdogs.
Calder Cup round 2 playoff schedule
For fans looking to get tickets to the San Jose Barracuda’s first two playoff games, here’s the schedule:
Playoff Hockey is coming to San Jose🔥
— x – SJ Barracuda (@sjbarracuda) April 27, 2025
Round 2 tickets against the @ColoradoEagles are on sale now! The Barracuda will play at @TechCUArena on May 2nd and 4th.
🎟️: https://t.co/M3uI4k5Tmi pic.twitter.com/6QXGoR5XmU
Game one is Friday at Tech CU Arena. The puck drops at 7 p.m. Game two is Sunday at Tech CU Arena at 6 p.m.
After that, the series shifts to Colorado for the final three games.
- Tuesday, May 6 at 6:05 p.m.
- Wednesday, May 7 at 6:05 p.m. (if necessary)
- Sunday, May 11 at 2:05 p.m. (if necessary)
