Devils out to end the shocks at Play-Off Finals

Cardiff Devils last won the Elite League Play-Offs in 2022 and were beaten finalists 12 months ago [Rebecca Brain] In a season of surprises, Cardiff Devils will hope the final weekend of the 2025-26 Elite League goes to plan. Seeking their first domestic trophy in four years, the Welsh club go into the Play-Off Finals weekend in Nottingham as top seeds after league-winning Belfast Giants' shock quarter-final defeat by Glasgow Clan. Manchester Storm also upset the odds to turf out 2025 Play-Off winners Nottingham Panthers, and will face Sheffield Steelers in Saturday's second semi-final.

First up though is Clan - who finished eighth in the regular season - against a Devils side who have won nine of their last 10 games, including their two-legged 6-2 last-eight win over Coventry Blaze. "Everybody will look at the second leg that got the job done but I thought we played a very, very good game up in Coventry," said Cardiff head coach Paul Thompson. "I felt that we could have been going into the second leg with a three, four goal lead, and then I thought on Sunday we were just clinical in what we had to do.

"We were energised, we were physical... I'm proud of the boys and the efforts they gave. " Devils beat Blaze to reach Play-Offs semi-final Ice hockey duo retire after more than 1,600 matches There is a certain irony that Cardiff will now face Glasgow - since it appears it was a 5-3 loss on the road to Clan on Friday, 13 March that sparked the Devils' late-season resurgence.

It was a defeat that angered Thompson so much that his patience with the squad throughout the season had clearly run out. "Thommo was really not happy on how we were performing, we had already had a few meetings this year and he always gave us a second chance," said defenceman Jimmy Oligny. "And then that day he was just like, 'I'm done with all the babysitting'.