Abbotsford Canucks Eliminated from AHL Playoff Contention After Weekend Sweep

The reigning Calder Cup champions are done. A 4-2 loss to the San Jose Barracuda on Sunday, March 22 completed a weekend sweep and mathematically eliminated the Abbotsford Canucks from the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs, making this the first time in franchise history the club will miss the postseason.

Abbotsford had qualified for the playoffs in each of its first four years and arrived in 2025-26 as defending champions. The fall from that peak has been steep: with a 22-36-3-3 record, the Canucks have fallen to last place in the American Hockey League and are riding a five-game losing streak. They now sit 20 points outside of a postseason spot with just eight games remaining.

The elimination came at the end of a three-game California road swing. Abbotsford closed the trip with a two-game set against San Jose, dropping Game One 4-1 on Saturday before pushing back in Game Two and ultimately falling 4-2 to complete the sweep.

Saturday's loss set an ugly tone. Chase Stillman scored the lone Abbotsford goal at 11:07 of the first period, but San Jose replied with three goals in the second and one in the third. Brendan Hoffmann, Kasper Halttunen, Anthony Vincent, and Jimmy Huntingdon all tallied for the Barracuda. Abbotsford was badly outshot, with goalie Jiri Patera making 36 saves on 40 shots in the loss. Jack Thompson was a minus-3 against his old team, and Bennett Schimek led Abbotsford with four shots.

Sunday's elimination game carried its own bitter storylines. Former Abbotsford defender Jett Woo opened the scoring for San Jose at 11:36, while Barracuda goalie Jakub Skarek stopped all 11 shots he faced in the opening frame. Abbotsford answered in the second period when Kirill Kudryavtsev fired a seeing-eye shot from the point for his second goal of the season, with Bennett Schimek collecting the secondary assist for his third in the AHL. The equalizer didn't hold. About seven minutes later, Oliver Wahlstrom scored a power-play goal for San Jose, beating Canucks goalie Ty Young. San Jose outshot Abbotsford 19-8 in the middle frame and had large stretches of the period in complete control.

Abbotsford cut into the deficit late when Jack Thompson blasted a slap shot from the point into the top corner for his sixth goal of the season and third since joining the Canucks, scoring against his former team just as Woo had done. It wasn't enough. San Jose held on for the 4-2 final.

Abbotsford ranks 10th in the Pacific Division and 31st in the 32-team AHL. The 2025-26 season has been complicated by significant roster turnover from last year's championship squad and persistent health issues throughout the year. The season will end April 19 on the road against the Coachella Valley Firebirds, with the home finale set for April 4 against the same opponent. Eight meaningless games remain for a team that, 12 months ago, was hoisting the Calder Cup.