As happy as I'm sure Randy Murphy was with his team's performance Saturday night, he was probably hoping that it wouldn't take a dismal effort like Friday's to motivate his troops. Now comes time for arguably the most important stretch of the Scorpions' season, with 9 of their next 11 games on the road. That swing includes double-headers at Rocky Mountain, Amarillo, Rapid City and Colorad0, with a home-and-home series against Odessa. It may be a blessing in disguise for the Scorps, who can't seem to find any consistency at home. Still, it's going to be a very difficult schedule, especially with two of their three plus-rated defensemen watching from the stands in Tyler Fuller (+2) and Adam Blanchette (+4).
I know that Randy Murphy likes to break the season up into 10-game segments, but this next road trip should almost be a six-game segment in itself. With the playoff race officially getting started, the Scorpions need to take points whenever they can get them. That means no more falling behind early and playing catchup for the last 40 minutes. Too often this season, the Scorpions have wasted decent periods of hockey by digging themselves too deep of a hole. Of the 12 points up for grabs on this road swing, I don't think the Scorpions can afford to come away with any fewer than 8 points of their own. Those points in Amarillo are without a doubt the most critical, and you know that Murphy is going to be pushing for his guys to take both of those games in regulation.
One of the things to watch during this stretch is how Murphy handles his line combinations. He completely shook things up after the Rocky Mountain game, and the lines he put together against Rio Grande Valley worked extremely well at both ends of the ice. If you didn't pick up on it, here's the forward lines looked Saturday:
Robertson - Herrington - Leonard
Delforte - Stephens - C. Macdonald
Trimm - Mazzei - M. MacDonald/Smale
That top line seemed to click right away (22 shots between the 3 of them) but they couldn't quite finish -- that will soon follow I imagine. Delforte adds a little more grit to that second line and gives Stephens and Macdonald someone who can win some battles in the corner and free up those offensive lanes. I was also pleasantly surprised with Macdonald's two-way play on Saturday as well as Stephens' willingness to throw the body. If those two can be a little more physical and buy themselves more time, the offensive potential will skyrocket. As for the checking line, Murphy seemed the recognize the instant chemistry between Mazzei and Trimm during the third period on Friday, as he paired up the two alongside the speed-or-size complement of MacDonald and Smale.
It feels like deja vu saying this, but hopefully the Scorpions can carry the momentum from a very solid performance and use it to build a little confidence. They'll definitely need it in the month of January if they want to stay in the playoff hunt
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