Tonight: Devils and Blaze aiming to stay in chasing packs

Photo: Scott Wiggins

Coventry Blaze and Cardiff Devils go head to head in Premier Sports Elite League play at the Skydome for the third time this season on Saturday night.

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The Blaze stepped in at less than eight hours notice to face the Devils before Christmas when fixtures needed to be changed due to teams sitting out in COVID-19 protocol, and left with a 4-3 win, but were then beaten by the same score on their own ice on Boxing Day in a shootout. Cardiff followed that up wit ha 7-2 win 24 hours later, and, coupled with a 2-0 win in Coventry in November, hold the edge over the Blaze in league action so far this season.

Both teams head into this game trying to keep pace with teams above them. Coventry got an important 5-0 win midweek to go seventh - having played some three games less than the teams they're chasing down, the Blaze will have ambitions of finishing in the top five, if not higher, this season. They are, however, only five points clear in a playoff place.

Cardiff have only 13 regular seasons games left, and will need to win the vast majority of them - and hope for slip-ups elsewhere - if they're to lift the league trophy in April. They remain five points off the top but have now only played three games more than Sheffield.

The teams split the pair of Challenge Cup games at the Skydome with a win each.