TWO impressive winning streaks are on the line at Murrayfield tonight, with Edinburgh Capitals looking for their eighth consecutive home ice victory when they host Elite League-leading Nottingham Panthers, who are without a loss in their last five. The teams also meet again tomorrow and one – or even both – winning runs will not survive the weekend.
Braehead Clan travel to Manchester tomorrow but will be without winger Chris Bruton who is serving a two-match ban for slashing. New signing Devin Didiomete will make his debut for the Storm. He is a gritty forward who scored just two goals but averaged a whopping 6.75 penalty minutes per game over 25 appearances during his only previous extended EIHL stretch with Cardiff Devils.
After edging a home win over Devils on Wednesday, Sheffield Steelers will take to the ice at Cardiff Arena to try and narrow the gap even further – they currently sit in fourth place, three points behind the Devils.
The Fife Flyers and Belfast Giants will meet for the first time this season, swiftly followed by the second, when they face off for home and away Challenge Cup matches this weekend. Fife have the opportunity to leapfrog Cardiff into second place in Group A.
Top-four defenceman Kevin Noble returns from a five-game suspension on Sunday to help Coventry try to string a pair of wins together in a basement battle with Manchester Storm.
In Sheffield, Braehead will get the chance for redemption against the Steelers after being edged out 9-8 last week. With a crop of 10 gripping Elite League match-ups last weekend, the best of the bunch was their wild clash at Braehead Arena last Saturday night.
In an unbelievable rollercoaster of a game, Clan fell by the odd goal in 17 to the defending league champions, with a shootout needed to separate the sides. On a crazy night which saw both teams lead twice, there was a glut of breathless action, which – after a late three-goal Steelers comeback and a near-miss for Braehead in the closing seconds of regulation – ultimately left a bitter taste for the home side.
While both coaches will be looking for improvements on the defensive performances which led to last week’s bloated scoreline, fans will be surely be hoping for a repeat of the madness.
Last weekend’s league action also saw Nottingham Panthers secure four points to go top of the table, while cellar-dwelling Coventry Blaze finally bagged a win to end a five-game slide.
This weekend’s EIHL matches will conclude in Dundee with the Stars looking to even up the season series against the Devils, who grabbed a late winner at Cardiff Arena last month.
Over the Pond, one of the choice cuts of NHL action in the next few days sees the Pacific Division-leading LA Kings heading to Detroit tomorrow morning to take on the Red Wings.
Sitting on a roughly .500 record, Detroit haven’t got off to a great start and have only won by a goal-margin greater than one on three occasions this year.
But with magician Pavel Datsyuk back in the line-up and teenage rookie Dylan Larkin starting to make waves, the Red Wings could be close to turning things around.
Pittsburgh Penguins host San Jose Sharks on Sunday morning, with both teams looking to climb their divisional tables.
Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin put on a show earlier this week against Minnesota Wild, scoring a beauty with some highlight-reel stick handling and registering two assists and two goals on the night. If he is on his game again on Sunday, it should be another night of jaw-dropping hockey.
Watch out for next week’s clash between Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers on Thursday. With both heading up their leagues, they will be out to prove they’re the best in the east.
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