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5TH APRIL 2026: PANTHERS 1-4 DEVILS

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A depleted Nottingham Panthers were beaten 4-1 at home by Cardiff Devils in the final game of the regular-season.

With Sheffield losing in overtime on the road at Glasgow Clan, it means Panthers secured a third-placed finish by virtue of their superior record against the Steelers in the six league matches.

Panthers were without injured defenceman Zsombor Garát and Jakob Stridsberg as well as forwards Matt Alfaro and Matt Marcinew, so Jordan Kelsall dropped back to play on defence.

The injuries problems got worse for the Panthers with the loss of Brendan Harris and Nolan Volcan during the game.

Kevin Carr started between the pipes with Jason Grande as back-up.

No goals in quiet first period
There were no goals in a first period devoid of any clear-cut chances but Carr had to be alert to make two saves in quick succession to deny Tyson Helgesen and Kristoff Kontos.

For the Panthers, Ross Armour's deflected shot was saved by the pad Christian Stoever.

All-square at second intermission
The game stepped up in intensity in the second session with Helgesen and Nolan Volcan dropping the gloves, before Panthers lost Harris and Volcan to injury by the end of the second period.

Tim Doherty and David Noël had chances on the powerplay while at the other end, Carr turned away close-range efforts from Sam Duggan and Brett Ferguson.

Doherty on target but Devils secure two points
Devils scored twice in just under two minutes as former Panther Kristoff Kontos reacted first to a loose puck after a goalmouth scramble (41:30) and Jimmy Oligny's shot beats Carr with the aid of a deflection (43:19).

Josh MacDonald scored from close-range on the powerplay after a well-worked move by the Devils (45:17), before Doherty got Panthers on the board with a lovely finish over the shoulder of Christian Stoever (51:01).

Another former Panther, Brett Perlini, scored from the slot with Cardiff's fourth of the night (53:21) to ensure a second-placed finish for Paul Thompson's side.