Ice Hockey: Defenceman Sean urges Capitals mates to blow Cardiff away

Published on Friday 13 February 2009 08:58

SEAN PERKINS may have failed to catch a trout when he went fishing on his day off this week – but the 22-year-old defenceman hopes to put the bite on Cardiff Devils when the Welshmen come to Murrayfield on Sunday evening (6pm).

It's a crucial Elite League game for Edinburgh Capitals who have slipped to ninth place in the table. The Capitals travel to the Principality on Wednesday for the return.

The play-off race is hotting up and Perkins remains optimistic that Capitals can squeeze into the eighth and final place. Points are of vital importance for the Edinburgh outfit at present, with resurgent Hull Stingrays sneaking ahead of Capitals in the play-off race courtesy of a run which has seen them collect 13 points from 13 games.

The Humberside men don't play a league game this weekend. Instead, they play a British Knockout Cup, quarter-final, second-leg tomorrow against Manchester Phoenix.

However, Perkins is not concerned about Hull, who have 29 points from 43 league games, two more points than Edinburgh, who have two games in hand.

The man from Detroit is focused entirely on Capitals. He said: "What Hull do is out of our control. What we do is in our control.

"The extra day off this week helped us recover. I went fishing to some trout ponds around 40 minutes away from here (Edinburgh]. It was cold and I didn't get a bite, but I enjoyed it.

"The guys needed the break and we got back to work on Wednesday. We've got training every day going into Sunday and it is our job to re-focus.

"We've had a tough stretch playing some of the best teams in the league and it's hard at the moment as we're not winning regularly.

"It's also frustrating as we have what it takes to win games. However, our job is to keep working and things will come round. We've been playing some of the top teams but there is no excuse about losing games. It is up to us to make chances and finish them off."

The accomplished defenceman, who has settled in well since arriving just before Christmas, is happy with his form – apart from his goal scoring.

He said: "Goals are not the top priority in my job but I like to help the guys out."

Cardiff are one of the sides in the ten-strong league that Perkins has not faced.

But he'll know all about them before Sunday as Capitals will do their homework. "There are a number of quality teams in Britain," he said.

"Cardiff, from what I hear, have some good players but we need points and it is our job to get them on Sunday.

"You must win at home in this league and if we do that it will set us up for Wednesday's trip to Cardiff.

"However, we need to win as many games as we can in the run-in to control our own situation.

"We don't want to rely on anybody else. Hull have had a really good run but we have to win games and we'll take it from there.

"Hull have some time off right now and that could work out for them as it gives their guys time to recover.

"However, it might not and we have to remain optimistic and to re-focus on the job."

Among the items Capitals have been working on this week are their five-on-three and the power play.

It takes time for the special plays to click and Perkins hopes their work in training earns a reward on Sunday.

Cardiff were on duty at seventh-placed Newcastle Vipers last night where they lost 2-1 after a shoot-out and face the Tyneside team in a repeat tomorrow. That means they don't have a long journey to Edinburgh when they go in search of their third straight win over Capitals this term.

A 9-0 scoreline on October 26 in Cardiff was followed by a 6-2 win at Murrayfield on November 9.

Cardiff returned on November 29 and won again, 4-1 on that occasion, but, surprisingly, they have scored less goals than Edinburgh – 115 against 120.

Cardiff have, however, only conceded 110 goals, the third-lowest total in the league, against Edinburgh's 196. Basingstoke Bison have already broken through the 200 barrier.