The San Jose Barracuda are on the brink…and they might have lost their star goalie.

The Barracuda dropped Game Three to the Colorado Eagles in overtime, 3-2. They’re now down 2-1 in the five-game series. But that may not have been their biggest loss.

2:08 into OT, Yaroslav Askarov, who had stopped 25-of-27 shots, left the game with what head coach John McCarthy called “minor cramping”. Back-up Gabriel Carriere, put in a tough spot, would surrender the game-winning goal to Matthew Phillips less than three minutes later.

“It was a odd-man rush, and he kind of held it for an extra second, and then he was able to pick the far side there,” Carriere said.

McCarthy expressed confidence that the top San Jose Sharks prospect would be available to play in a decisive Game Four on Wednesday, but we’ll see.

If not, McCarthy asserted, “We trust Gabe.”

Carriere filled in ably this season when Askarov missed the last two months of the season.

Askarov’s exit certainly took the wind out of the sails from the Barracuda’s momentum. They had come back from a 2-0 first period deficit because of a Filip Bystedt power play strike and a last-minute Pavol Regenda goal to force OT.

Power-Play BEAST-edt 🚨
Filip Bystedt cuts the Colorado lead in half!@sjbarracuda | @SanJoseSharks | @LockedOnSharks#AHL #CalderCup #TealBitesBack #BarracudaHockey #TheFutureIsTeal pic.twitter.com/wn4Hmfd5mB

— FloHockey (@FloHockey) May 7, 2025

Pavol Regenda ties it up!#Tealbitesback
2-2 pic.twitter.com/Eb0pYbaIzF

— JD Young (@MyFryHole) May 7, 2025

Game Four is 6 PM PT on Wednesday at Blue Arena. If the San Jose Sharks’ AHL affiliate can force a decisive Game Five, it will be on Sunday at 2 PM PT.

Turning Point

Askarov’s injury might have happened here:

This Phillips-Jayson Megna connection just misses. Afterwards, you can see Askarov flex his right leg, which is what he did continuously during the next stoppage before he departed the game.

Quote of the Night

Regenda spoke on the mood or message in the room going into Game Four: “We’ll be ready. We’re not losing the series…We’re going to beat their ass tomorrow.”

Key Stats

4,997 feet: That’s the altitude of Loveland, Colorado.

That’s not an excuse, the Eagles have to deal with it too. But that almost mile-high altitude, coupled with Askarov’s cramping and back-to-back playoff games, is obviously some challenge to both sides.

Overtime

Whatever happens in this series, Regenda has been arguably the Barracuda’s best player in the playoffs, this side of Askarov, tying Bystedt for the team lead with three goals each. He’s played with force and conviction, sounding as ready as anybody to back up his bulletin board quote.

Colin White leads the Cuda with six points this post-season, one goal and five assists, but he left the game in the first period and didn’t come back.

White (16) gets hit twice here in slot, maybe a knee from Aamodt (5), then a collision with his own man Graf (51).

No penalty called, White helped off, didn’t return in period pic.twitter.com/o1ga9Suge9

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) May 7, 2025

McCarthy had no update post-game.

So the Barracuda could be down their No. 1 center, AHL MVP Andrew Poturalski, their de facto No. 1 center, White, and their superstar goalie, Askarov, tomorrow.

This isn’t counting the absences of prolific scorer Thomas Bordeleau and top defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin.

Of course, Colorado is banged up too, missing No. 1 defenseman Jack Ahcan, who left Game Two early.

No doubt, the San Jose Sharks’ AHL affiliate is walking wounded into a do-or-die Game Four.

“We just got to clean up a couple things,” Scott Sabourin said. “I liked our compete, liked our resilience, and I think we just got to come in with some swagger tomorrow.”