Cardiff Devils head coach Pete Russell said: “Some of the games against them have been unbelievable this year. Even the two pre-season games against them were close.
“They’re a great team, my good friend [Adam Keefe] coaches that team. He’s a winner, he’s driven.
“When you get good goaltending and you’re collectively good with and without the puck – as we have been against them at times – you have a chance against any team.”
Devils will be encouraged by their head-to-head record this season against Giants, winning four out of the six league games including three away wins in Belfast.
Cardiff Devils forward Justin Crandall said: “All six games this season were really tight and intense. They are a really well-coached team, they play hard.
“Belfast have been a big rival for us for the last couple of years and they beat us and ended our season [in the Play-off final] last year, so we’d like to return the favour.”
The 2023/24 campaign has been a season of almost for Devils, but it is not for the want of trying.
With pre-season games and competitive fixtures in the league, Challenge Cup and the IIHF Continental Cup, Cardiff have now played 80 matches since late August.
Crandall, who appeared in every one of those 80 games, said: “It’s not an excuse, but it was tough. When you have no time to rest it felt like Groundhog Day.
“You’d come to the rink, ask ‘what day is it?’ and you’ve got another game. I think that hurt us a bit and took us out of the title race earlier.
“We had a stretch in December where there were some games that we’d like back. But credit to Sheffield, they just never lost.
“We played 80 games this year and it comes down to you gotta bring it for one game, so the intensity, the nerves, everything ramps up.
“It’s unique and it’s a special weekend. There’s so much on the line.
“When you get to play in front of a sold-out crowd against a team like Belfast it’s a really fun three hours, it really is.”
With Belfast also wanting to avoid a trophy-less season, in their case for the first time since 2017, both sides will be going all-out to win their Play-off semi-final.
“It’s the hardest to win and they say it’s the easiest to win,” Russell said.
“We’ve got to be disciplined, we’ve got to want it more and do what it takes to make it happen.
“I believe in this team. I think they’ve played really, really well this season.
“It’s not easy to play the way we do, it takes a lot of energy and they’ve bought into it.
“We want to bring our identity this weekend and see where it takes us.”
