Hull Stingrays v Edinburgh Capitals double-header preview

CANADIAN forward Eric Galbraith believes Hull Stingrays can kick on after their Christmas break – starting tonight against in-form Edinburgh.

Stingrays are currently languishing ninth in the Elite League table, having surrendered their long-held top-eight play-off place thanks to pre-Christmas defeats to Sheffield Steelers.

However, Galbraith feels his side have got what it takes to make their move into the new year.

Asked if Stingrays can kick on, he said: "Absolutely. It's only going to go up from there, as we get more players in the line-up and get healthy.

"We are gelling more and more as a team every practice and with our systems and we're gradually cutting down on our mistakes. If we can cut down those further and capitalise more on our chances we create we will be fine in the new year."

The Rapid Solicitors Stingrays' first test is this weekend's back-to-back fixtures with Edinburgh.

The Scots have made steady progress to sit comfortably mid-table and are chasing fifth-place Nottingham Panthers.

However, they are only four points in front of Stingrays, having played two more games.

So far this season, Capitals have beaten Stingrays home and away, while Galbraith's side have just the one home win.

A points split is an absolute minimum requirement if the gap between the two teams is not going to become an insurmountable mountain for Stingrays, even with half a season remaining.

"I think it will be a huge weekend," said Galbraith.

"It will be very close and competitive when you look at the standings. If we can get all four points we could be sitting pretty good going into the new year.

"Edinburgh have been playing really well, and picked up a lot of wins recently.

"We have to come in and play our game and be defensively sound and get the pucks to the net.

"When we get the opportunity to score we have to bear down."

Galbraith has shown every sign of settling into life at Stingrays since his summer arrival.

At 6ft 4in, the 26-year-old brings a physical presence to the team, and when he gets the bit between his teeth can prove difficult to shake off the puck.

So far he's netted 25 points – 11 goals and 14 assists – from his first 30 games in Stingrays colours.

Not surprisingly, he cuts a contented figure as the Elite League season heads into 2015.

"Every season has its ups and downs but for the most part my game has been pretty consistent, other than a match here and there, but that's to be expected," said he said.

"Team-wise, we have been short since the start of the season, but we have done relatively well.

"We could be sitting near 500 after this weekend ahead of playing Cardiff. It's not crazy to think we could soon be a game or two above 500, so it's been good so far."

To get above their point-a-game target, Galbraith will know full well Stingrays must start better than last weekend, where the table-topping Steelers established 2-0 and 3-0 leads before leaking a goal.

Although Stingrays were close, but it was no cigar, leaving coach Omar Pacha to cut a frustrated figure when thinking of what might have been.

"We should have full line-up with three full lines and five defencemen, so we're looking forward to having more energy," said Galbraith.

"We want to move up into fifth or sixth we want to keep on going, no matter what weekend it is and who we are playing."

IT might feel like ages ago, but it's only a week since Stingrays were suffering a double defeat to Sheffield Steelers.

The final scorelines weren't bad at 5-2 and 4-3 and gave a glimpse of what might and could have been.

However, the spirit of Christmas giving was alive and well, 2-0 and 3-0 leads neatly wrapped up for the Steelers.

Full marks for Stingrays for battling to the end, but such fits of festive generosity did not sit well with Stingrays' player-coach Omar Pacha.

He bemoaned his side's slow starts and inability to play for the full 60 minutes.

Failing to do so against the likes of Sheffield tends to only have one result.

Hopefully Stingrays will have had time to reflect on that fact ahead of Edinburgh this weekend.

Gone are the days when it could be safely assumed it was "only Capitals", who would thoughtfully trot in and prove strictly in the "tried gallantly but failed" category.

They will be a difficult and dangerous proposition in Hull tonight and even more so on their own ice tomorrow.

Stingrays cannot afford to have any post-Christmas turkey hangovers, they must be spot on from the start.

Two wins will close the current four-point gap on Edinburgh.

However, two defeats will leave Stingrays eight adrift and facing an uphill battle to bridge the gap to sixth spot in the latter half of the season.

And as for the Gardiner Conference title, well that is likely to be heading elsewhere too.

Stingrays will not want to head into the new year in ninth place.

Sure, they're only separated from seventh and eighth-place Coventry and Fife by a point or two.

And sure, too, they have games in hand on both those clubs.

However, with a full-strength squad available, now is the time for Stingrays to start making their move up the table.

Being short-benched is no longer an excuse, the summer signings have had 30 games to settle into British ice hockey and Pacha is no longer a complete rookie on the coaching side of things.

It's time to get Stingrays' bandwagon rolling.

IT might feel like ages ago, but it's only a week since Stingrays were suffering a double defeat to Sheffield Steelers.

The final scorelines weren't bad at 5-2 and 4-3 and gave a glimpse of what might and could have been.

However, the spirit of Christmas giving was alive and well, 2-0 and 3-0 leads neatly wrapped up for the Steelers.

Full marks for Stingrays for battling to the end, but such fits of festive generosity did not sit well with Stingrays' player-coach Omar Pacha.

He bemoaned his side's slow starts and inability to play for the full 60 minutes.

Failing to do so against the likes of Sheffield tends to only have one result.

Hopefully Stingrays will have had time to reflect on that fact ahead of Edinburgh this weekend.

Gone are the days when it could be safely assumed it was "only Capitals", who would thoughtfully trot in and prove strictly in the "tried gallantly but failed" category.

They will be a difficult and dangerous proposition in Hull tonight and even more so on their own ice tomorrow.

Stingrays cannot afford to have any post-Christmas turkey hangovers, they must be spot on from the start.

Two wins will close the current four-point gap on Edinburgh.

However, two defeats will leave Stingrays eight adrift and facing an uphill battle to bridge the gap to sixth spot in the latter half of the season.

And as for the Gardiner Conference title, well that is likely to be heading elsewhere too.

Stingrays will not want to head into the new year in ninth place.

Sure, they're only separated from seventh and eighth-place Coventry and Fife by a point or two.

And sure, too, they have games in hand on both those clubs.

However, with a full-strength squad available, now is the time for Stingrays to start making their move up the table.

Being short-benched is no longer an excuse, the summer signings have had 30 games to settle into British ice hockey and Pacha is no longer a complete rookie on the coaching side of things.

It's time to get Stingrays' bandwagon rolling.