The Smith Recycling Milton Keynes Lightning face the Fife Flyers at Planet Ice MK Arena and will be looking to earn back-to-back wins at home for the second time this season.
The Lightning return to Milton Keynes after suffering a 5-2 loss against a rejuvenated Dundee Stars side, with hopes that home ice will produce a more favourable result.
Player-coaches Tim Wallace and Ryan Lannon will no doubt be aware of the task facing their side, with the Flyers sitting fourth in the league with a 14-7-4 record.
The bottom-ranked Lightning (7-15-2) must hope their power-play unit, which currently ranks ninth in the league with a 17.9% success rate, can overcome the Flyers’ league-best penalty kill (86% success).
The Flyers also sport the fifth best power-play in the Elite League, something the Lightning will need to keep locked down to ensure they have the best chance at competing with the Scottish club.
Tim Wallace and Andreas Valdix lead the home side in total points this season, with Wallace sitting at 23 (7G-16A) and his linemate having 21 (5G-16A) so far.
The emergence of Robbie Baillargeon as a legitimate offensive threat this season, with eight goals and 13 total points in just 14 games, has seen the Lightning become a dangerous beast on offence in recent weeks.
A free-flowing, aggressive style of hockey is now being seen in Milton Keynes and the results are starting to work out far more evenly.
Paul Crowder will be the biggest threat for the Flyers, with an impressive 14 goals and 34 total points from just 24 games this season.
Brett Bulmer, Evan Bloodoff and Mike Cazzola will also prove difficult for the home side, with each player already having double-digit goals alongside Crowder.
The Lightning have started to see goals come from all areas of the ice in recent weeks, with defencemen Nelson Armstrong (four) and Martin Mazanec (three) both contributing more goals – with the former earning a hat-trick in last week’s 5-2 win over the Manchester Storm.
These two teams will battle hard for the win, with the Lightning hoping to ride a strong atmosphere at home, seeking to edge out a win against a very strong Flyers side.
If recent games are to be believed then no team should underestimate the Lightning, especially on home ice.
The two teams go head-to-head today, Sunday 9th December, with face-off at 5:15pm.
