Cardiff Devils go into the first of five crunch Elite League fixtures against Belfast Giants in Northern Ireland this evening (Sunday, 5pm).
It’s the Elite League leaders Giants against a Devils team aiming to be crowned champions for a third successive season.
They have met once this season with Belfast winning by an astonishing 8-1 in Cardiff Bay, while they still have to play each other five more times.
Devils are third, behind Nottingham Panthers with four games in hand, and are three points adrift of Giants with two games in hand.
Belfast have been one a mega-run of 15 successive away fixtures – winning 12 of them – and are a team hitting good form, but their Canadian winger David Rutherford insists they have a lot of respect for Cardiff.
“I am never going to underestimate Devils,” says Rutherford.
“They are on a tough run and yet they are only three points out of first place with games in hand. I’d hate to see them at a good time!
“It’s a grind, they’ve played a lot of hockey and have been good for two or three years now. They are still good.
“Devils are probably laughing when they see some people think they’re out of things.
“I’m not going to take them for granted and I don’t think anybody in our dressing room is going to either.”
Giants won 3-1 at Guildford Flames on Saturday, while Devils had a game free evening.
“It’s a marathon, we have to keep playing the right way and keep playing well for our goaltenders too, Besko (Tyler
Beskorowany) has been the backbone of our team this year and we need that.
“It’s fun when you’re winning, things are more enjoyable when you’re winning.”
Rutherford has formed a strong partnership with captain Blair Riley and Darcy Murphy in a top line that has been firing on all cylinders.
The trio are the Giants’ top three points scorers this season, combining for 91 in the league, and Rutherford is full of praise for his skilled line partners, saying: “This is the third year I’ve played with Blair.
“He works his tail off and is one of the most under-rated players in the league, when he’s on form it makes the game so much easier for me.
“Murph is just a pure scorer – you give him the puck, he’s fast, makes plays, opens up. We all feed off each other, they’re great players to link with and they make the game easier for me.”
Devils have a full contingent of import players for the Belfast match despite the departure of Justin Faryna last week.
Q&A with @MarkLoui5 and Bryce Reddick at the @TheHealthHut1 with @JBCNutrition on Wednesday the 12th – food and drink included in the ticket!
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— Cardiff Devils (@cardiffdevils) December 7, 2018
Sean Bentivoglio, who had sat out a couple of games with a minor injury problem, returned to the team.
Despite their mini-slump last month, Cardiff’s away form is pretty good with five straight wins – and the last time Cardiff were in Belfast they clinched the league title.
“I expect Cardiff to come out and absolutely make sure we’re up to the test,” said Belfast coach Adam Keefe. “Cardiff are a team that keep coming at you and they’ve won back-to-back championships for a reason.”
Devils won against Guildford in midweek and head coach Lord says: “This is a massive game.
“After a difficult few weeks and Faryna leaving, we put in a great performance against Guildford and I just want the guys to keep that going.
“We know how good Belfast are, Keefe has built a team totally in his image – full of passion and grit. We need to put the 8-1 loss from earlier this season firmly behind us and a solid performance on Sunday night is the first step.”
Other Sunday fixtures: Glasgow Clan v Manchester Storm, Dundee Stars v Sheffield Steelers, Coventry Blaze v Nottingham Panthers, MK Lightning vs. Fife Flyers.
ELITE ICE HOCKEY LEAGUE 2018/19
| TEAM | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | PCT | GF | GA | PIM | STREAK |
| Belfast Giants | 25 | 19 | 6 | 0 | 38 | .760 | 96 | 53 | 346 | 1-0 |
| Nottingham Panthers | 27 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 36 | .667 | 87 | 76 | 445 | 0-1 |
| Cardiff Devils | 23 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 35 | .761 | 95 | 64 | 241 | 1-0 |
| Fife Flyers | 25 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 32 | .640 | 90 | 83 | 331 | 2-0 |
| Guildford Flames | 24 | 13 | 10 | 1 | 27 | .563 | 82 | 76 | 321 | 0-2 |
| Sheffield Steelers | 25 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 24 | .480 | 77 | 85 | 377 | 0-1 |
| Glasgow Clan | 22 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 23 | .523 | 67 | 77 | 282 | 1-0 |
| Dundee Stars | 24 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 23 | .479 | 66 | 83 | 266 | 6-0 |
| Coventry Blaze | 23 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 21 | .457 | 74 | 87 | 340 | 0-7 |
| Manchester Storm | 24 | 9 | 12 | 3 | 21 | .438 | 65 | 85 | 703 | 1-0 |
| Milton Keynes Lightning | 24 | 7 | 15 | 2 | 16 | .333 | 58 | 88 | 505 | 0-1 |