Cardiff Devils 0 – 1 Edinburgh Capitals

A frustrated Cardiff Devils side slipped to a 1 – 0 defeat to Edinburgh Capitals last night, effectively ending their chances of mounting a title challenge.

The team now sit 19 points adrift of leaders Coventry Blaze in the Elite League standings after a winless weekend, which included a 4 – 1 away defeat to Newcastle on Saturday.

The home side dominated for most of the game but could not score against Edinburgh net-minder, Cody Rudkowsky, and player-coach Gerad Adams was visibly frustrated with the Devils’ inability to convert their chances.

“Their goalie played well however we had our chances and guys have to execute,” he said, “we need a calmness and alertness when we are out there.”

And a misfiring offence was not the only problem for the Devils, as they continued to struggle with discipline, racking up 73 penalty minutes in total, including two 10-minute dismissals for misconduct.

There were several flashpoints when the game looked as if it could boil over and Voth seemed to be looking for a fight from the first face-off.

Cardiff signalled their intent to play a physical game against the defensively tight Capitals, earning 6 two-minute penalties in a scoreless first period.

If there were any positives Adams could take from the game it was that the Devils’ penalty kill kept the Edinburgh from capitalising on the man advantage.

The second period began where the first ended, although Cardiff had lost their captain to a 10-minute misconduct penalty for a scuffle after the buzzer.

The home side soon established their dominance, with good work from the busy Ryan Finnerty and Max Birbraer, who returned from suspension to give the Devils an extra physical dimension.

Cardiff net-minder Stevie Lyle did well when called upon, saving 25 out of 26 shots, but the Caps failed to really make the Devils pay for their ill-discipline.

It was when both teams were at full strength though that the Capitals managed to break the deficit on 28:20, Owen Fussey netting the puck after Cardiff struggled to clear their lines.

Soon after the breakthrough, the Caps nearly scored a second when Dan Welch found himself in space but Lyle saved to keep the Devils in the game.

Edinburgh suffered from their own lack of discipline towards the end of the second, but the home side could not make the most of a golden opportunity when on a 5-on-3 for just under two minutes.

After some more pushing and squaring up, the third period started with Cardiff desperate to recover the deficit. Finnerty and defenceman Mark Smith used Rudkowsky’s pads as target practice as the home side again had the better of the play.

The Edinburgh minder produced a stellar performance, stopping a total of 38 shots to shut the Devils out.

Edinburgh began to feel the pressure and mistakes gifted the Devils chances in front of the net. But as Cardiff looked likely to level they conceded a two-minute penalty for having six skaters on the ice with just under seven minutes left to play.

Much to the disapproval of the crowd, Finnerty was then called for a two-minute delay of game penalty with 2 minutes 19 seconds remaining, to effectively end any hope of a score for the Devils.

Adams was brooding after the defeat and conceded the Devils’ chances of a push even for third looked slim after a disappointing weekend.

He said: “We are in limbo and I don’t think we should be looking forward at the moment. There are guys coming up on us.

“We are working hard but we are not working smart. We looked a little bit tired tonight for some reason but things are going to get uncomfortable this week.”

Cardiff man of the match Stevie Lyle said: “We had our chances, out-shot them and it’s just been one of those weekends. We came across two hot goalies.”

Three Stars:

#1 – Cody Rudkowsky, NM (Edinburgh Capitals) 38 shots, 38 saves

#2 – Stevie Lyle, NM (Cardiff Devils) 26 shots, 25 saves

#3 – Mark Smith, D (Cardiff Devils) busy in both offence and defence, would have scored a hat-full had it not been for Rudkowsky.