(Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars) |
If you'd believe it, this is the second to last road trip of the season for Texas. A lengthy stint that will see them visit Colorado and San Jose over the course of two weeks nearly completely wraps up the road schedule for the club. All that remains on the road is three games to end the season in Des Moines.
Based on the numbers this year, Texas shouldn't mind an extended roadtrip. At home, they're sub-.500 at 4-6-2, but on the road they've shined bright at 6-3. Their road record is what is keeping them afloat so far this season, oddly enough.
So they drop into Colorado looking to avenge some nasty home losses on their recent homestand. The Stars are 1-1-2 this season against Colorado and have not had good luck against them overall in their franchise history, hitting a 2-3-2 mark since the Eagles entered the league.
The Eagles are a club that is, again, underwater on the standings as Texas comes to town. They sit a game below .500 at 7-8-2 and have lost two of three since leaving Cedar Park. Of course, those losses did come to the red hot Henderson Silver Knights. Regardless, they come in having lost their last two. Texas is not much better, having lost their last three, but the Stars are on a 2-6-2 skid and need to pull out of it quickly to finish the year on a positive note.
One big way they can do it is to score on the power play. The once red hot power play is mired in an 0/24 slump going back five games. Both Cleveland and Iowa were able to stymie an otherwise potent attack. As a demonstration of how stark the divide is, Texas is third worst in home power play (7.7%) owing to the recent cold streak and sixth best on the road (28.2%). The Stars are two different teams on the road and at home. Their combined PP+PK, which most coaches benchmark to 110 for a good team, is 120.9 on the road. At home, it's 86.5. On the whole, it's 103.
Look this week to see if Texas is able to add Jordan Kawaguchi to the lineup. The collegiate free agent forward is not the only possible addition, however, as Adam Scheel could man the pipes somewhere across these eight games. Both players traveled with the team to Colorado. Tonight's game starts at 8 PM Central.
Injuries and callups
None.
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