Cardiff Devils Secure Second Place in Elite League
Cardiff Devils concluded the Elite League regular season in second place following a 4-1 victory against rivals Nottingham Panthers.
The Welsh team will face seventh-seeded Coventry Blaze in the quarter-finals next weekend, with the first leg scheduled in the West Midlands on Saturday, 11 April, and the second leg hosted by Cardiff the following day.
Entering the final regular-season match, Cardiff held a one-point advantage over Nottingham, who needed a win in regulation time to claim second place.
The score remained tied after two periods, but Cardiff gained momentum when Kristoff Kontos opened the scoring, followed by goals from Jimmy Oligny and a power-play goal by Josh MacDonald.
Tim Doherty scored for Nottingham to reduce the deficit; however, Brett Perlini quickly extinguished any hopes of a Panthers comeback.
Finishing second grants Cardiff the opportunity to avoid facing the already-crowned league champions, Belfast Giants, until the play-off final.
Nottingham maintained their position above fourth-placed Sheffield, who lost in overtime in Glasgow, based on head-to-head results after both teams were level on points and wins.
