Coachella Valley Firebirds @ San Diego Gulls

Pregame Thread · Wednesday, October 21, 2026 · 7:00 PM PDT

📍 Pechanga Arena San Diego · Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Updated automatically by ahl-goalpost · v3.32.2 · Updates as the game progresses.

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🏒 Location: Pechanga Arena- San Diego CA

🎟️ Time: 7:00 PM PT

🖥️ Join the Discussion: Discord

🎥 Watch Live: FloHockey.TV

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First, a huge thank you to u/sisterthirteen and u/ersoroot for collaborating on the Flight Plan while I was out of town. It's good to have teammates you can rely on. Now, back to our usually scheduled rundown:

Four games without a win.

A shutout in Henderson. Seven goals surrendered in Abbotsford. A three-goal hole the next afternoon. Ty Nelson has been kidnapped by Seattle. It's been a rough couple of weeks.

Fortunately, tonight offers one of hockey's most restorative experiences:

Frying some Gulls.

The Firebirds head into Pechanga Arena at 2-2-2-1 with seven points, while San Diego sits at 3-3-1-0... also with seven points. Last season, Coachella Valley went 6-2-0-0 against San Diego, and we already beat them 6-3 earlier this month.

If there is a team against which to shake everything loose, take a fresh look at the lineup and rediscover what this team is supposed to be, I can think of worse candidates.

SUNDAY WAS PROGRESS.

Before we completely bury the last few games, the second night in Abbotsford deserves a little credit.

The Firebirds went down 3-0 in the first period, which was very much not the requested improvement. But instead of folding after the 7-3 disaster the night before, they fought all the way back.

Jani Nyman scored twice. Julius Miettinen scored for the second straight game. Lleyton Roed had a goal and an assist. Tyson Jugnauth added another two assists, and Jagger Firkus picked up his 100th career AHL point on the game-tying goal.

The Birds tied it 4-4, survived overtime, and ultimately lost 5-4 in the shootout.

More importantly, they outshot Abbotsford 37-25 and went 2-for-3 on the power play.

That's a huge improvement, because the previous week had become genuinely ugly. The 7-3 loss Saturday included six Abbotsford goals in the second period—the most the Firebirds have ever allowed in one period—and snapped a 135:48 Firebirds scoring drought that was the second-longest in franchise history.

Like I said, Progress.

SOMETHING BAD IS HAPPENING IN OZ

The temptation is to say we simply lost the offense, and for a few games, I certainly felt that way. But the numbers tell a slightly different (and probably more concerning) story.

Through seven games, the Firebirds are still:

8th in the AHL in goals per game — 3.71
3rd on the power play — 31.3%
4th in road power play — 33.3%

Those are pretty good numbers.

The other side?

30th in goals allowed — 4.29/game
28th in shots allowed — 31.57/game
24th on the penalty kill — 75.8%
29th on the road penalty kill — 66.7%

There it is.

The offense has become inconsistent, absolutely. But the larger problem is our defense and special teams.

Early in the year, we were fast through the neutral zone, winning races, maintaining possession and attacking in waves. Lately, there's been too much chasing, too much time defending, too many penalties, and too much pressure being placed on a small group of players to manufacture the offense.

Nyman, Jugnauth, and Firkus are doing their jobs with bringing in the points. We need more of the rest of the lineup to pull their weight.

ROSTER SHUFFLE

And naturally, while we're trying to find stability, Seattle took Ty Nelson.

Nelson was recalled after Brandon Montour went down and remains with the Kraken. He has yet to make his NHL debut and was still scratched for Seattle's game last night (congrats on the SO win BTW), which leaves us in the particularly enjoyable situation where we don't have Ty Nelson and Seattle isn't using Ty Nelson.

Development systems are fun.

And what a time to lose him. Nelson had four assists, a +4 rating and 17 shots in five games with the Firebirds. More importantly, he was a puck-moving defenseman who could help turn a retrieval into transition instead of simply surviving the defensive zone.

Coming the other direction—well, geographically—is Jakov Novak, recalled yesterday from Kansas City.

Even worse, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard appears to be out with an upper body injury, according to Heat Check Ep. 3. That removes a responsible two-way center and one of the team's best puck-movers. Coachella Valley responded by bringing Aidan Fulp and Charlie Wright back from Kansas City, but I'm not confident that will stem the bleeding.

THE LINEUP: SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE

Inside the Rink's projected lineup today is:

Šalé — Miettinen — Nyman
Avon — Morrison — Firkus
Roed — Evers — Hayden
Rehkopf — ??? — Kaplan

Olofsson — Dragicevic
Jugnauth — Hammell
Wright — Bernier
Fulp

Östman / Kokko

Yes, you read that correctly.

Their projection appears to have been based on the Firebirds' own wonky graphic from Sunday, in which one forward is eaten and replaced by a seventh defenseman (likely as a result of a last minute OFM removal.) Setting the formatting weirdness aside, if I have the whiteboard tonight:

MY FLIGHT LINES

Šalé — Miettinen — Nyman
Rehkopf — Morrison — Firkus
Avon — Stephens — Roed
Novak — Evers — Hayden

Olofsson — Dragicevic
Jugnauth — Hammell
Wright — Bernier

Östman

Here's my thinking.

Šalé — Miettinen — Nyman. I'd keep this one intact. Miettinen has earned the promotion, Nyman obviously needs no explanation, and Šalé gives that line another player who can actually create instead of forcing Nyman to manufacture everything himself. Most importantly, this avoids the temptation to put Nyman and Firkus together and leave the remaining three lines looking like leftovers.

Rehkopf — Morrison — Firkus. This is the experiment I most want to see. If Rehkopf is going to break through, give him people who can get him the puck. Morrison is a legitimate offensive center and Firkus is probably the best pure creator on the roster. Rehkopf shouldn't have to learn how to create offense from scratch while playing beside two other developing players. Give him a real opportunity. If this line doesn't generate chances, then we have something worth worrying about.

Avon — Stephens — Roed. I like this as a third line. Avon has already demonstrated that he can produce. Roed gives you speed and forechecking. Stephens gives the whole thing a responsible veteran center. This is the line I'd happily put against another team's top six without feeling like we're conceding the shift.

Novak — Evers — Hayden. This is where Novak makes sense to me. He wasnt spectacular last season, so don't pretend he's a top-six savior. Give him a straightforward assignment: Forecheck. Retrieve pucks. Play north. Be annoying. Evers has enough size and skill to handle the middle, and Hayden makes the whole line unpleasant to play against.

As for Östman...

THE GOALTENDING HAS TO SETTLE DOWN

The defense and penalty kill have absolutely made life difficult, but the goalies are not bailing this team out often enough either. Through seven games, Kokko is at 3.99/.856 and Östman at 4.16/.884. Those numbers are ugly, and while the Firebirds are allowing too many shots and too many dangerous chances, sometimes the goalie still has to erase a mistake.

Kokko has had one excellent start against San Diego, but too many rough outings around it. Östman has actually been steadier than his overall numbers suggest—he was excellent in both Ontario games before the Abbotsford disaster wrecked his season line. That is why I would start Östman tonight. Kokko handled Sunday, Östman has had time to reset, and somebody needs to take control of this crease.

The Firebirds do not need a 45-save miracle. They need a boring goalie night: make the routine saves, steal one or two difficult ones, and stop forcing the offense to chase the game from two or three goals down. Sometimes stability is the spark.

THE GULLS ARE... INTERESTING

San Diego isn't exactly setting the league on fire either.

The Gulls have scored 19 goals in seven games, or 2.71 per game, while allowing 20. They're coming off a 3-2 overtime win over Tucson, but over their last five they're averaging only two goals per game.

Their offense runs primarily through:

Anton Wahlberg — 1G, 6A, 7 points
Nico Myatovic — 4G, 2A, 6 points
Stian Solberg — 2G, 4A, 6 points
Matthew Phillips — 3G, 2A, 5 points

Solberg is the one who jumps off the page. He's a defenseman with 26 shots in seven games, more than anybody on the Firebirds—including Nyman. I would perhaps consider covering that gentleman.

The other problem is in net. If San Diego starts Damian Clara, he's 2-0-1 with a 2.28 GAA and .920 save percentage, plus a shutout. Laurent Brossoit has been more human at 1-3-0, 2.85 and .898.

So please: shoot the puck.

Twenty-seven shots a night isn't enough, particularly against a team that has been much better at keeping pucks out than putting them in.

THREE THINGS I WANT TO SEE

1. STOP PLAYING FROM THREE GOALS DOWN

The comeback Sunday was fine. Let's never do it again.

The Firebirds have enough skill to erase deficits. That doesn't mean building enormous deficits should become part of the offensive strategy.

2. GET THE OTHER GUYS INVOLVED

Nyman, Jugnauth and Firkus have been excellent. Miettinen and Roed showed real life in Abbotsford. Now I want Rehkopf, Kaplan, Avon, Šalé, Morrison and the rest of this forward group forcing defenses to worry about more than one or two combinations.

The roster is too talented to become The Jani Nyman Experience Featuring Tyson Jugnauth.

3. KILL A PENALTY LIKE YOU'VE DONE IT BEFORE

San Diego's home power play is 8.3%. Please. I'm begging you. Do something with that stat.

Drop your score prediction, first Firebirds goal, goalie call, and, most importantly, fix the lineup.

If you're Laxdal tonight, what four lines are you actually putting over the boards?

LET'S GO FIREBIRDS.