Sheffield Steelers 1-3 Edinburgh Capitals

Quick skating, slick passing Capitals thoroughly deserved this win as Jason Silverthorn and Darius Pliskauskas danced round Sheffield all night long whilst Stephen Murphy kept Sheffield out during a frenetic opening period.

Jason Silverhill jinked down the left before finding Gregor Slak in space out front and he roofed the puck (5:10). Then with only 8 seconds of Scott Ricci's holding penalty remaining, the puck was threaded from right to left where Dino Bauba picked out Silverhill on the back post for a simple tap-in (12:56). Darius Pliskauskas slotted in the third driving the net at speed (36:25) only for Phil Hill to whip home a reply from the right (38:03).

4632 saw Sheffield pay a heavy price for failing to beat Murphy from 17 attempts in that opening period. The tone was set when just 23 seconds in Capitals Mathew Craig took a slashing penalty, but Steelers powerplay was woeful and only Ricci tested the keeper.

Hill fired in from wide on the left, before Rod Sarich stick-handled from end-to-end only to see his back-hander gloved over the bar by Murphy.

Capitals showed their quick responses when Jody Lehman was forced into a double save after Neil Hay jumped onto the rebound from evergreen Dino Bauba's right wing shot.

On 5 minutes, Murphy stacked the pads to blank Jonathan Phillips at his left post after Regan Darby's shot deflected across the goal and just 10 seconds later Capitals were on the board. Pavel Kowalczyk's pass released Silverthorn down the left and his pass inside was roofed form close-range by Gregor Slak.

Shaun Sutter lead the response with 3 shots. The first went wide, then Murphy again stacked the pads to block a shot from low on the left, before saving at his left post.

Ben Gustavson arrived down the right to hit a first-time rocket but Murphy made the stop. Then Jason Hewitt and Sutter agin forced further saves as the home side threw everything but the proverbial kitchen sink at the visitors.

In a rare Edinburgh attack Kowalczyk's shot was padded aside and Sutter broke away down the right but Capitals picked off his pass and on their counter attack Ricci took a holding penalty. Capitals patiently passed the puck around, Lehman making a great save from Slak. But just as it seemed the penalty would end Pliskauskas picked out Bauba from the right. He returned the puck to the far post and Silverthorn poked it home.

Sheffield went at it again and Dan Tessier twice shot from the left but Murphy stood tall each time. Another 2 minutes and Brett Clouthier found Tessier at Murphy's left post but the young Scot was not going to be beaten.

Slak tested Lehman from the left then Shawn Maltby wriggled through but couldn't beat the keeper.

The middle session started in similar vein, Phillips' right wing pass/shot being poked aside by Murphy then Sutter being blanked on the doorstep by the keeper. But Darius Pliskauskas gave everyone a taste of what was to come as he skated across the Sheffield goalcrease at speed from the left and Lehman did well to turn the puck aside.

Mark Thomas released Sutter but he hurried his shot from the right and Murphy made a routine save. The Capitals immediately launched their own counter-attack and Pliskauskas repeated his move from the opposite flank, Lehman again making the stop. But as the puck ran loose the Capitals forward whipped the puck back in and somehow Lehman got something in the way to deny a goal.

Another 2 minutes and Cingel went down the right and Pliskauskas again got there with Lehman making an acrobatic sprawling stop before the defence cleared the danger.

Cingel, Silverthorn, Anderj Rajcak and Daniel McIntyre all tested Lehman as Capitals ripped Sheffield apart.

Patrik Luza's interference penalty saw some Sheffield pressure, but Murphy didn't have a save to make. Silverthorn did it for him blocking a fierce Sarich blast, then Ricci went on a mazey skate but the puck ran off his stick at the net and the chance was gone.

Unsurprisingly Pliskauskas showed them how to do it, his third dance across the crease finally producing the goods.

Just when it seemed Sheffield had no idea how to get a goal, Hill whipped the puck into the far top corner from 8 feet and suddenly the home side realised they could score.

However Clouthier's holding penalty prevented the home side from building any momentum.

That man Pliskauskas forced saves from distance either side of the second interval and young Thomas did well to stop the puck reaching him on another breakaway, the Steelers' defencemen ploughing into the net at full stretch.

Darby went end-to-end but again there was no finished product, before Murphy finally had to make a save as Tessier shot from the halfway line.

Steelers ran into penalty problems and were thankful not fall further behind, before Clouthier burst down the left with 7 minutes left and played a 1-2 with Tessier, but Murphy stood tall at his right post to block Clouthier's effort. Capitals called a time-out at that point and although the home side huffed and puffed, the shots were all from distance and Capitals got everything they could in the way.

Lehman was pulled with 70 seconds remaining, but Capitals held out with ease.