GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA AT REIGN
Apr 11, 2021
SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (8-8-4-2) at ONTARIO REIGN (9-14-3-0)
SUN., APRIL 11 | 3:00 P.M. | Toyota Sports Performance Center | El Segundo, CA
LISTEN | WATCH | GAME NOTES
Back to back: The Barracuda wrap up a two-game road trip on Sunday afternoon against the Ontario Reign, the first matchup against the Kings affiliate since Feb. 28. The Barracuda are 2-0 against Ontario this season and boast a lifetime record of 20-21-5-1 against the Reign. Sunday’s game will mark the third meeting on the four-game season series.
Players to watch: The Reign are littered with highly touted prospects including Quinton Byfield (RD 1, PICK 2 – ’20), Alex Turcotte (RD 1, PICK 5 – ’19), Arthur Kaliyev (RD 2, PICK 33 – ’19) and Akil Thomas (RD 2, PICK 51 – ’18). Byfield and Kaliyev are tied for fourth in the AHL in points (18) among rookies. Kaliyev (67) and Thomas (58) rank second and third in shots among freshman.
Maxed Out: Barracuda forward Maxim Letunov scored twice in the Barracuda’s come-from-behind win over Henderson on Wednesday, 4-2, and then scored the Barracuda’s only goal on Saturday in a 4-1 loss at Bakersfield. The third-year pro is now up to six goals on the year and has four over his last four games.
Blistering Blichy: Despite not scoring in his last six games, sophomore forward Joachim Blichfeld still ranks tied for seventh in the AHL in goals (10) and tied for second in the AHL in shots (83). The second to last pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft is one of just three players from his draft class who were selected in the seventh round to play in at least one NHL game.
Head-to-head: The Reign (12.8) and Barracuda (14.5) rank 28th and 27th on the power-play entering Sunday. Ontario’s six shorthanded-goals-for and five shorthanded-goals-against rank first in the AHL. The Barracuda are averaging 2.73 goals-for-per-game (25th) and 3.41 goals-against-per-game (3.41). Ontario is 12th in goals-for-per-game (3.23) but last in goals-against-per-game (3.92).