HIGHLIGHTS: Sheffield Steelers 5 Edinburgh Capitals 2 - Steelers slowly close gap on title rivals

But, as you would expect from a Paul Thompson side, they seem determined to push title rivals Cardiff Devils and Belfast Giants all the way to the end, closing the gap on the top two at Ice Sheffield on Wednesday night with victory over bottom club Edinburgh Capitals.

It means the Steelers are just three points adrift of second-placed Belfast with two games in hand. The distance between themselves and leaders Cardiff is slightly more imposing, with the South Wales club eight points clear of Thompson’s team, having played two games more.

But, with 23 games remaining for the Steelers there still is all to play for – particularly when you factor in that they have to play both their main rivals three more times.

Playing Edinburgh – despite their lowly status – is never a simple proposition and so it proved again.

A goalless first period may have caused alarm for some home fans, but six minutes after the restart their team were ahead through Mathieu Roy.

John Armstrong doubled the advantage just over two minutes later before Colton Fretter made it 3-0 at 33.01.

But the hosts didn’t have it all their own way, with powerplay goals from Jaroslav Hertl and Michael D’Orazio reducing the deficit to just one goal with a little over 10 minutes remaining.

However, just under two minutes after D’Orazio’s strike had restored nervousness among the hosts, Mike Ratchuk struck his eighth goal of the season.

Despite being outshot in the third period, the Steelers held back the Capitals, with Armstrong adding an empty net marker to make it 5-2 with just 39 seconds remaining.