Saturday: Steelers-Giants clash could prove crucial for title race
Photo: Dean Woolley
Eight teams are in action on Saturday night, with a huge double-header taking place in Sheffield.
Six wins. That's what Sheffield Steelers need to win their first Elite League title since 2016, but it could be five wins if they win out before facing Cardiff Devils later this month. A big step in that path to league title glory comes this weekend against defending grand-slam champions Belfast Giants. The Giants have had their hands on the league trophy for the past three straight seasons, and if they're to stop the Steelers winning it this time around they're going to have to pull off a pair of wins in this weekend's double header. The Steelers have yet to loose back-to-back games this season and a victory in Dundee got them back in the win column after a surprise home defeat to Manchester. The Giants won the league title on Steelers ice two seasons ago, but were thrashed 5-1 on their only visit so far in 2023/24. They'll need their first wins of the season against the Steelers over the next two days if they're to make the title race interesting. Sheffield will be wearing retro game jerseys for both clashes.
Click here to watch Steelers vs. Giants.
Hoping that Belfast can do them a favour will be Cardiff Devils, who need to take care of their own business if they're to stay in the title race too. The Devils play hosts to Nottingham Panthers, a team they've lost three of four games to this season including one at the Vindico Arena. The Panthers need to make up five points to get themselves into the playoff places, with two games in hand, as they play 12 games between now and the first weekend of April. The Devils will be in their retro jerseys for this game.
Click here to watch Devils vs. Panthers.
Manchester Storm are looking to make it five wins on the spin when they host Glasgow Clan at the Storm Shelter. Storm have also won their last four games at home, plus took an excellent win in Sheffield last weekend. They now find themselves in the unique position of being within a pair of wins of fourth, but only two losses above eighth place. Clan traded overtime wins with Fife last weekend to move up into seventh. Over the last five games, they're one of the league's top four teams - a stat jointly-led by Manchester.
Click here to watch Storm vs. Clan.
Fife Flyers' chances of making the playoffs will depend heavily on how they perform over their next two games, starting tonight with the visit of Coventry Blaze to the Auld Barn. With more games played than any other team in the league, Fife are running out of runway to make up the three-point gap to eighth. They are five points shy of tonight's visitors, Coventry, before heading to Nottingham on Tuesday. The Blaze snapped a losing run with an impressive 1-0 win over Cardiff midweek, but are one of the league;'s poorest teams over the last 15 games with a return of just 11 points. A win here would go a long way towards cementing their place in the post-season.
