Head coach Andrew Lord says his Cardiff Devils team have ‘tons of belief’ in their Elite League title potential.
Devils stand top with 18 fixtures left and it looks a three-team race to be crowned champions with Belfast Giants and Sheffield Steelers the main rivals.
Both Fife Flyers and Nottingham Panthers will argue they can still gatecrash the chase, but they have a lot of catching up to do and Lord’s men are focusing on their own form.
“We have tons of belief in our room,” he says. “Yes, we could keep looking at the standings, but where does that get you. It’s about breaking games down into little segments and making sure we get better in those segments and improve performances overall.
“We need to find more consistency and ensure we play to our potential.”
They play Panthers at Ice Arena Wales in Saturday and that match is already a 3,000-plus sell-out. That will be a sixth successive capacity attendance for Devils, who will then head to play Fife Flyers in Kirkcaldy, Scotland the next evening (6pm).
Devils will hope Chris Culligan and David Brine are fit to return after missing last weekend’s matches against Coventry Blaze away and Sheffield at home.
“Cull had a great week of training, but on Saturday morning we had a call saying he was sick as a dog,” said Lord. “Briner not being available affects things because he has an an Eu pass and when he is out that jams things up a little.”
Devils are offering a buy-back scheme to season ticket holders who are unable to attend this Saturday’s home match against Nottingham.
All tickets have now been snapped up and club spokesman Todd Kelman said: “If you are unable to use your normal season tickets on Saturday, please notify us via email on tk@cardiffdevils.com and if we are able to sell your tickets, we will pay you £5 per ticket.
“This buy-back scheme will only be in affect for games that are sold out in advance.”
The Elite League department of player safety are to review incidents involving two Devils players from their matches against Coventry and Sheffield.
Forward Joey Martin was thrown out for checking to the head against Blaze, while Steelers have have requested a review on a challenge by Andrew Hotham.
The results of both reviews will be announced over the next day or so.
Panthers and Steelers renew their heated rivalry for the eighth time this season on Wednesday night in the first leg of their Challenge Cup semi-final at Nottingham’s National Ice Centre.
Steelers have beaten Panthers four times in their seven clashes so far.
“Sheffield are good team though, they are skilled and fast,” says Panthers coach Corey Neilson. “We’ll have to do a great job in the neutral zone to disrupt them.”
Panthers could again be troubled by injuries with Geoff Waugh and David Clarke still suffering, while Chris Lawrence will have an X-ray after he was struck by a puck in Sunday’s defeat at home against Fife Flyers.
They are hopeful Stephen Schultz will be back on Wednesday or against Cardiff on Saturday, having missed the last three fixtures.
Elite League table – top five only
All teams play 52 matches
Pl Pts
1 Cardiff Devils 34 51
2 Belfast Giants 35 50
3 Sheffield Steelers 33 47
4 Fife Flyers 33 38
5 Nottingham Panthers 32 38