Coventry Blaze Head Coach Chuck Weber says Cardiff are ‘the most talented team’ in the Elite League after his side were beaten by the Devils on Saturday.

Joey Martin (3) topped the scoring for Devils in their 5-2 victory, leaving Weber casting an envious eye over the Welsh club’s roster.

He said: “There were a lot of positives and I thought we showed a lot of character in the second period with those two huge penalty kills.

“Cardiff have three leading candidates for the league’s MVP in Martin, (Andrew) Hotham and (Ben) Bowns. They block shots and do the ugly stuff well from top to bottom.

“They have arguably the best roster in the league – they are certainly the most talented team.

“Losing Lauzon really hurt us and with Bruton coming in we had a little disconnect with our lines, but it has been a whirlwind few days for Chris and he did what we asked of him.”

Blaze face Sheffield Steelers at the Skydome on Sunday night when they bid for a fifth successive win over Paul Thompson’s side.

Weber added: “With Fife beating Edinburgh and Manchester beating Dundee we have to get some points in our own Conference.

“We want to close in on Fife and keep Manchester in our rear view mirror so every point is crucial.”

(Image permission: Adrian Rapps)