Pavel Vorobyev believes Edinburgh Capitals‘ elimination from this season’s Elite Challenge Cup could be a blessing in disguise.

The Capitals were knocked out at the quarter-final stage by Sheffield Steelers on Saturday, but bounced back in stunning fashion against Braehead Clan in the league the following day.

Vorobyev’s four-goal salvo was the highlight of game as the Capitals recorded a 6-4 success to edge closer to their Glasgow rivals in the table.

“That was a very important win for our confidence – we were so bad on Saturday, that’s us out the cup now and all we have to focus on is the league,” he told the Edinburgh Evening News.

“Every home game we need to be putting in strong performances and looking to win – that was a very important two points against a team who’ve played more games than us.

“I don’t know what to think about the game. There were times when both teams played well, but there were others when we were so bad, especially defensively in our zone, losing players in front of the net, and again we didn’t help out our goalie.

“We’ve got a long way to go this season, and it’s so important we keep working hard every practice because we need to keep getting better.

“On Saturday we’re at Cardiff – the number one team in the standings. If we work hard for each other every shift we will give ourselves chances.

“If we get our mental preparation right before the game, the fans have seen how well we can play. This will be an important week in practice for us.”