Morissette’s Devils Blazing Trail Towards Elite Top Spot

Captain Jake Morissette and his Cardiff Devils will go top of Elite League if they win at Coventry Blaze this evening (Boxing day, 6pm).

The reigning champions go into their Skydome Clash with Coventry standing one point behind leaders Belfast Giants, who don’t play until Thursday.

Devils have won their last four matches to move within a point of Giants with two games in hand.

Blaze have slipped out of the play-offs places and are two points adrift of the top eight on a run of two defeats. 

Blaze haven’t beaten Devils at home in a competitive match since November 2015, but did win on their last visit to Cardiff this season.

https://twitter.com/cardiffdevils/status/1077909275043876864

Coventry Blaze v Cardiff Devils (Tickets | Webcast)

Other Boxing Day fixtures in Elite League

3pm Nottingham Panthers vs. Sheffield Steelers (Tickets | Webcast)

A capacity crowd is expected at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham.

Panthers and Steelers clash twice in two days and both teams need two wins from two matches. 

Panthers are battling to stay in touch with top two Belfast and Cardiff, while Steelers must ensure they stay in the play-off places. 

Each team has a pair of wins against the other this season. Panthers won both of their home games 5-2.

 5.30pm Manchester Storm v Glasgow Clan (Tickets | Webcast)

Three straight league wins have moved Glasgow into the six, while Manchester have earned only one success in four fixtures – and was that in a shootout in Belfast. 

6pm MK Lightning v Guildford Flames (Tickets | Webcast)

MK Lightning and their fans were in fine spirits before Christmas as the team won a shootout in Coventry. Now they return home to face Guildford, a team inside the top five but with only one win in their last five games. The Lightning have won three over that period, and generally have been much better at home of late – if they’re to make a charge at the playoffs, these wins on their own ice will need to keep coming. Guildford have won the three meetings between the teams this season so far, and on three of their last five visits to Milton Keynes.

7.30pm Dundee Stars v Fife Flyers (Tickets | Webcast)

The Scottish derby pits these two close rivals against each other, and both needing points for different reasons. Having lost last time our again the other Scottish side in the league, Glasgow, Fife need to avoid being pulled back out of the top four and into a bigger fight for playoff positions. For their part, Dundee’s revival saw them go into the top eight, but they currently occupy the last playoff play with just a two-point cushion after just one win in their last four. The Stars have won all four of these teams’ meetings so far this season, and three out of five in 2018 until now.

ELITE ICE HOCKEY LEAGUE 2018-19

TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	PCT	GF	GA	PIM	STREAK
Belfast Giants	30	22	7	1	45	.750	113	66	433	1-0
Cardiff Devils	28	20	4	4	44	.786	113	73	345	4-0
Nottingham Panthers	32	18	8	6	42	.656	104	92	526	2-0
Fife Flyers	28	15	9	4	34	.607	97	91	363	0-1
Guildford Flames	28	14	13	1	29	.518	93	88	400	0-2
Glasgow Clan	26	14	11	1	29	.558	82	88	304	3-0
Sheffield Steelers	29	14	15	0	28	.483	86	97	417	0-1
Dundee Stars	30	10	12	8	28	.467	79	101	322	0-2
Coventry Blaze	27	10	11	6	26	.481	86	100	364	0-2
Manchester Storm	29	11	15	3	25	.431	78	104	784	0-1
Milton Keynes Lightning	29	10	17	2	22	.379	72	103	588	1-0