League Record So Far; 23 – 8 – 4, 50pts, 2nd Place
L10GP; 6 – 4 – 0
CARDIFF, WALES – Devils ended the weekend in a lacklustre, unfocused manner, disappointing fans as league leaders and those around them closed very minimal gaps to paint an all too familiar cloud over the south Wales club.
Here are some key takeaways from the weekends’ results;
1. Disjointed lines created moments that went punished
It is a matter of fact for even this league that no matter who you are playing, the bottom of the table or title pretenders, if you make a mistake, you will go punished.
Devils were taken to OT in Dundee, where they battled back in a yo-yo game that saw neither team take over the match up. It was an unexpected line up, that saw Perlini on the 4th line, with Lacroix still favoured in a top 9 role.
Sanford returned, icing out with Kontos and Barrow. Between them, they bagged 2 goals and 2 assists, with the top line matching the output.
Estes had one of his best nights since the start of the season (3 assists), with some good support from Oligny and Fournier.
So, why did it seem so indifferent?
The goals came from a lot of hard work, but as mentioned before, no team should be written off before playing. Stars skated hard, played direct, isolated the puck carriers and took their chances.
Goals from the point through traffic were sent in, because of puck watching, along with players out of position and the giveaways were almost criminal.
Similar trends seeped in, as Devils couldn’t produce any puck control, instead, opting to chip and chop at the puck, whilst scrambling to shut down zone entries.
A team without focus or a belief.
More of the same was produced at home, despite a rest day, where they awaited a team they have beaten already this season, which was in their doom and gloom cycle post-triumph in the IIHF Continental Cup.
This time, Sanford was scratched, with Perlini restored to the top 6 and Caponi added in. The differences were more physicality, which eventually lead to a lot of scuffles and scrums.
What remained the same, was no answer for player marking, lack of back checking, zone awareness and especially a clinical finish.
The lack of pace was crushingly evident, even a 40 year old ex NHL’er blew past the most veteran players in the group.
With the expected return of Yaremko next week, all eyes are on the game sheet to see what changes would likely be made and who would be cut.
2. Powerplay still missing, even as February begins
With less than 20 games to go, the state of the power play or offensive options, cannot be excused because a player has been missing most of the season.
A player that is no way close to being attributed to adding up to 40 goals.
Since Yaremko was injured, they brought in Brett Ferguson and have tried many combinations for the special teams.
Devils still languish in 9th overall for the PP with 15.79%. With only 3 players amassing 3 goals each as the top producers, it hardly defies logic at this point.
The question is, why hasn’t more been done to analyse the clear elements that frustrate the system?
Slow build up, staggered zone entries, heavy passing, lack of shot generation, with the same back door feed tactic used to exploit a goalie that hardly gets moved out of position.
Not enough movement and pace with the puck on the PP allows defending PK’ers to clog up the middle ice in the slot, coupled with a slow, unsteady build up for passes, players easily get boxed out or pinched cross ice, which often leads to breakaways.
The issue with this play is the higher chance it will become predictable, lowering a shooting mentality within the team and compromising key chance opportunities to fit the system and role given.
In their last 10GP they have scored 3PPG’s, in consecutive games, from 23 power plays, which is lower than their average, outlining a system-enforced decline at 13%.
They haven’t scored in 9 PP attempts since playing Fife at home.
3. Is adding another forward the answer?
A revisit to some options happened this weekend, which drew more ire from the seething frustration amongst the fanbase, as well as rising calls for a new forward with more expertise.
The issue is, the club are not ones to just drop a contract, especially if players want to stay. The more pertinent issue is that at this stage of the season, finding that higher end goal scorer to rip them in for fun is less likely to happen at this stage of the season.
With the IIHF transfer deadline closing in fast (15.02.2026 if extended), supporters should remember the players brought in last season and the team they are on now. If it isn’t extended due to international tournaments, then it is already too late.
The irony is that one of them (Schoonbaert) scored twice to his overwhelming delight to have a say against his former team, yet, he is quite far off being one of the top players on one of the leagues’ worst clubs.
With Yaremko returning, this adds flexibility and another physical presence which the club and fanbase thrive on. The more pressing work is to restore confidence.
Open nets, clear chances and rebounds are sluggishly missed. The squad have collectively played the least amount of hockey the majority of its core have had since the return from lockdown in the 2021/22 season.
That was their last domestic (relevant) triumph, a patch job to claim the Playoff title.
The numbers also do not stack up. They are joint 3rd in scoring with 124, just one behind the Panthers, 6 from the Giants and the 2nd best GA for the league with 79, just -10 from the league leaders.
The ingredients are there to win more games. The experience within the squad and coaching is there. Unless the likes of Steven Maclean was let go, with a considered scratch for one more forward, there isn’t a realistic need for adding more to the roster, especially if not done by the 31st of January.
There is still the option to call up Harewood. Which should have been used in recent weeks to have flexibility with Mosey and Perlini across the roster.
Ultimately, getting the confidence back is key and that is where the leadership group needs to step up and bring the accountability.
There is still a lot of hockey left and the season is far from over.
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