Blades of Teal
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San Jose Barracuda Back In Playoffs By Thinnest Of Margins

By Patrick Leiva

Sep 21, 2015; Victoria, British Columbia, CAN; San Jose Sharks forward Bryan Lerg (11) skates against Vancouver Canucks forward Nicklas Jensen (46) during the third period at Q Centre. The Vancouver Canucks won 1-0 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 21, 2015; Victoria, British Columbia, CAN; San Jose Sharks forward Bryan Lerg (11) skates against Vancouver Canucks forward Nicklas Jensen (46) during the third period at Q Centre. The Vancouver Canucks won 1-0 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Barracuda find themselves back in the Calder Cup playoff mix after splitting a pair of overtime contests last week.

With only 10 games remaining, the San Jose Barracuda eeked themselves back into the final position in the Calder Cup playoff mix after picking up three out of a possible four points last week. San Jose improved to 27-21-7-3 with a points percentage of .552. Currently, they lead the Charlotte Checkers who have a points percentage of .546 as things are really tightening up as the postseason approaches.

If the playoffs were to begin today, the Barracuda would find themselves matched up against the Ontario Reign, top affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings, whom San Jose dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to last Wednesday night.

San Jose would look good early on, outshooting Ontario by a 12-2 margin in the opening frame, and they would get on the board first as Jeremy Langlois scored his 10th goal of the season off a rebound from a Jeremy Morin shot.

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However, the Reign would strike back with single tallies in the second and third to hold a one-goal advantage late in final period. But the Barracuda wouldn’t go away as captain Bryan Lerg scored his 17th of the year with Joel Rumpel on the bench for the extra attacker to send things into the extra session.

Unfortunately, Ontario would take just 23 seconds to end this one as Vincent LoVerde beat Rumpel, who was making just his second start with the Barracuda, to give the Reign the 3-2 victory.

Three nights later, San Jose would be on the right side of an overtime decision as they were able to outlast the Iowa Wild, top affiliate of the Minnesota Wild, by a 3-2 margin on Saturday night.

Once again, the Barracuda would jump out to a great start behind a pair of goals from Trevor Parkes and Ryan Carpenter. First off, Parkes would deposit his 14th of the year just 2:15 into the opening 20 minutes.

Then, Carpenter scored his 14th of the season with the man advantage off a nice feed from Mirco Mueller as San Jose took a 2-0 lead into the locker room. However, Iowa would strike back with a pair of tallies past Aaron Dell in the second to even things back up at two.

After a scoreless third period, Morin (14th) would net the game-winner 3:28 into the overtime session to give the Barracuda a crucial extra point for their playoff hopes.

Next: Sharks Miss Big Chance In Shutout Loss To Blues

After a week off, San Jose returns to the ice for a big two-game series against the San Diego Gulls, top affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks, this weekend at SAP Center. The Barracuda need all the points they can at the moment, and they will have their hands full against the second-place Gulls who claimed a 5-2 victory the last time these two teams met back on Feb. 27.

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