Sunday: All set for final day showdown

Photo: Panthers Images

It's the final gameday of the 2023/24 Elite League regular season, and the script for it probably couldn't have been written much better.

Four teams head into the final day battling for the two remaining places in the playoffs. Every game has a team needing to win it, and by the end of the night we'll know the Quarter-Final line-up.

The games:

• 4pm: Nottingham Panthers vs. Manchester Storm - click here to watch
• 5pm Glasgow Clan vs. Cardiff Devils - click here to watch
• 5.15pm Fife Flyers vs. Dundee Stars - click here to watch
• 5.30pm Coventry Blaze vs. Guildford Flames - click here to watch

The Scenarios:

• A win, of any kind, puts Coventry Blaze into the playoffs. 
  • A point would then depend on results elsewhere, but the Blaze's low regulation wins record could see them lose a tie-break if Glasgow Clan were to win in regulation. The Blaze would beat Glasgow in a tie-break if they get a point and the Clan can only win in OT/SO (total wins tiebreak)
• A win, of any kind, puts Dundee Stars into the playoffs.
  • Dundee cannot lose a tie-break with Glasgow. Matching Clan's result, so long as Nottingham Panthers get less points than them, will also see them qualify.
• Glasgow Clan need to better the result of either Coventry or Dundee to qualify.
  • Clan cannot win a tie-break with Dundee. Were they to be tied with Coventry, they would need to win Sunday's game in regulation to beat the Blaze on a tie-break (regulation wins), otherwise they would lose it on total wins.
• Nottingham Panthers must win, and hope that at least one of Coventry or Dundee lose, plus that Glasgow get no more than one point.
  • Were the Panthers to finish level on 49 points with Dundee (i.e. Dundee lose, Panthers lose in OT/SO), Dundee would win the tie-break on total wins
  • Were the Panthers and Stars to finish level on 50 points (i.e. Panthers win, Dundee lose OT/SO), a Panthers regulation win would see them win the tie-break on regulation wins. A Panthers OT/SO win would, however, see the teams tied on five straight tie-break points. It would come down to Point 6 - 'Away Games', whereby Dundee already have one point more and cannot be caught.
  • The Panthers cannot lose a tie-break with Glasgow