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.
ICYMI – @JoeyHaddad27 named EIHL player of the week 😈 https://t.co/vcqAQFULrC
— Cardiff Devils (@cardiffdevils) December 26, 2018
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 |