Preview vs Giants & More

League Record So Far; 3 – 0 – 0

CARDIFF, WALES – Devils head on the road to first face Belfast Giants, then Guildford Flames in a tough road schedule that could promise continuation of an early start that has pleased many fans, leaving others second guessing what the team can bring this season.

Many have slept on the Devils, with plenty expecting a repeat of domination by Yorkshire tangerines Steelers and a return of domination that saw Giants steal a grand slam two season ago, despite suffering poor form early on.

Early predictions would see Devils sit third or even fourth against their league rivals, yet, quietly and charismatically, they have proven to be one of the top teams to beat already.

Tale of the Tape

Devils are undefeated in the league so far, posting three from three, as well as being unbeaten in regulation. Much like their hosts this Saturday. Both of their goalies are in hot form, presenting a tense but mouth watering challenge.

The game vs Steelers was nearly too boring to watch, as both them and the Giants refused to make a mistake, with Goalie McCollum floundering his way to a shoot out, revealing that Steelers aren’t so clinical, but neither were Giants.

Devils have scoring depth throughout, so with the re-signing of Sanford, they have added firepower whilst star forward Shinkaruk remains out with injury. However, both teams top 5 scoring players have netted 17 points.

It won’t be an easy game and would very well come down to goal tending or flashes of offensive brilliance.

Bowns sits atop the league so far in the early campaign at 96.81 SV% and 1.00 GAA. The main difference in these teams goal tending is the depth of options. Whilst Giants can run a full tandem, Devils are reliant on STC signing Maxym Duve whilst Carruth remains out.

Law of Averages

Devils have the best goal averages, scoring 11 so far and conceding just three. Giants are 9:6. As far as the power play goes, after three games, Devils theoretically sit on top with 25%. Giants are not far off with 22%.

Both teams have issues with the PK%, scoring a below average 71.43.

Only half the league has played more than twice so far in regular fixtures, from Giants with 2GP to Clan with 4GP, meaning that to judge the average discipline early on is slightly more difficult.

Based on these games played so far, Devils have the best PIM/G record at 6.7, with Giants at a whopping 19. They have only played twice in regular season though, with the top 5 at 2GP and over making an average of 10.3 PIM/G.

Once again, discipline will be a key feature, as both teams are likely to get a PPG so far.

Preview vs Flames

Having already out battled and dominated their rivals this season, their start has shocked most of the EIHL viewership. Until last weekend, they had no cohesion, extremely poor discipline, awful defence and woeful goal tending.

The opposite of what was to be expected.

Devils ran riot against the Flames in their last meet, frolicking at 6:2 down the Spectrum, but after a 4 game losing skid, they [Flames] hit back in style the past couple of games, earning max points, scoring 10, conceding just one.

Again, they have full use of a tandem in net, with really good goalies. However, will their discipline get the best of them vs the Devils once more?

Review from Last Weekend

Devils had their perfect run ended in OT vs Storm at home on Friday night before hitting the road vs Clan, earning a dominant win and maintaining their perfect league record.

Devils failed to match the energy brought by the visiting Storm at home, succumbing to a gruelling 5-2 deficit, until they took advantage of the ill discipline from their opponents, which resulted in a lot of penalty minutes, DOPS first video review of the season and a night to remember for the Sanford household.

The comeback was in full swing after they tied a mis-structured game to 5 a piece, leading to a woeful call by an official on the face off dot, that returned an advantage to the visitors, who capitalised on OT at 4 on 3 hockey to steal a win that they should have secured long before the final buzzer.

Despite a disappointing game, they got a point and proved that when they are down, they have enough to take it back and push to the end. Great resilience and the following game, perfect response, as they completely dominated their hosts again, returning home on a 3 point weekend.

Here were my three stars from last weekend;