V
Saturday 21st March: Excel Hull Stingrays (9th) v Cardiff Devils (5th) @ Hull Arena, F/O 5.30pmSunday 22nd March: Excel Hull Stingrays (9th) v Edinburgh Capitals (8th) @ Hull Arena, F/O 6pm
Form
Stingrays: L W L W W
Cardiff: L W W W W
Edinburgh: W W L W W
Last 3 Meetings
v Cardiff
01/02/09 1-2 W A
21/02/09 1-7 L H
14/03/09 7-1 L A
v Edinburgh
08/11/08 1-6 L H
16/11/08 3-7 L A
14/12/08 3-2 L A
Season Series
v Cardiff: 1-5, 3 points, 8 GF, 26GA
v Edinburgh: 2-3, 4 points, 13 GF, 20GA
Man of the Moment
Stingrays: Konstantin Kalmikov (46GP 25+23) Scored two of the Stingrays five goals against Manchester and added a further two in the game winning shootout. Has fourteen points, including nine goals, in his last ten games and has been at the forefront of the Stingrays push for their first ever playoff berth.
Cardiff: Brad Voth (46GP 14+26) His recent run of form has mirrored the Devils recent good run in the league, and during which he has scored nine points and four goals in the Devils last three games.
Edinburgh: Mark Hurtubise (58GP 30+61) Leads the league in assists and sits second in points, has 30 points in the Capitals last 14 games and he has lead the Capitals charge for that final playoff spot from the front.
Absentees
Stingrays- Stuart Kerr (knee), Paul Moran (shoulder), Jamie Thompson (concussion)
Cardiff- Lee Cowmeadow (elbow), Marc Fulton (knee), Derek Campbell (knee)
Edinburgh- Brad Bonello (personal reasons)
Other News
-After 54 regular season games, the Stingrays playoff fate comes down to the final two Elite League games.
-The Stingrays win and two points in Manchester became their first points over the Lancashire side in eight games this season and came at a time when they had to win to keep their hopes alive.
- The only sequence of events that would see the Stingrays qualify for their first ever Elite League playoffs would be a victory in both of this weekends home games against Cardiff and Edinburgh, coupled with an Edinburgh regular time loss to Manchester in Scotland on Saturday. In that event the Stingrays would finish in that craved eighth place with a match up against the Sheffield Steelers in the quarter final of the Elite League playoffs.
- To qualify for the playoffs, the Stingrays need to continue their run of two games in a row and extend that run to four games, something they have not done all season. In fact the Stingrays longest winning streak this year stands at two games, something they have done just four times so far this season.
- The Cardiff Devils have beaten the Stingrays 7-1 in both of the sides previous games and will prove a stern test for a Rick Strachan's side who are desperate for two points.
- The Capitals face the Manchester Phoenix on Saturday in a game they must lose should the Stingrays hope to qualify. So far this season the Scottish side have a 0-6 record against Manchester and have claimed just one point in those six games, however former Edinburgh coach and Murrayfield legend, Tony Hand, is currently coach of the Phoenix and that could complicate matters.
- The Capitals import forward Brad Bonello was forced to return home to Canada after a family grievance but will return to Edinburgh this season.
Predictions
Stingrays 3-4 Cardiff
Stingrays 3-2 Edinburgh
