A horror start saw the Belfast Giants fall to a 4-1 loss to the Cardiff Devils at Ice Arena Wales as they conceded three goals in the first 9:03 on their way to back-to-back Elite League defeats.
Stefan Fournier grabbed the Devils' first just 2:33 into the game before Josh Brittain added the second at 5:47 and Joey Martin grabbed another on the powerplay at 9:03 to put the Giants in a hole that they would never climb out of.
Giants defenceman Will Cullen got their only goal of the game at 32:10 when he roofed one from a tight angle, but that was as good as it got for the wasteful Giants as Trevor Cox fired the puck into the empty net to ensure there would be no late comeback.
When allied with last week’s 4-3 shoot-out defeat to the Nottingham Panthers, which snapped an 11-game winning streak, Adam Keefe's side now boast a 23-9-1 record and remain six points behind League leaders the Guildford Flames, but they have now played a game more, while they have also dropped below the Devils in the table into fourth.
Cardiff goalie Taran Kozun was in inspired form, turning away 40 of the 41 shots he faced to constantly thwart the Giants, but equally, the visitors had no shortage of chances in front of goal and could have easily got another couple to at least force overtime in Cardiff Bay.
And they also had to thank Jackson Whistle for an inspired performance, the Great Britain goaltender bouncing back from his rough start with a dazzling 21-save display that included a string of highlight reel saves, including a particularly impressive stacked pad stop on Cole Sanford early in the third.
But in the end, it was the Giants' slow start that cost them, as they were always climbing up a mountain after conceding three times so early, and chasing the game, they always seemed to have too much to do in Wales.
They were unfortunate to some degree that they went behind so early as Fournier’s goal saw a Brittain shot deflect up and over Whistle and the winger was there to provide the finish into the yawning cage at the crease, but for the other two goals it was a defensive horror show from Keefe's men.
Both the second and third goals came off Devils players getting to rebounds around the net faster. Brittain afforded so much space he was able to get two shots away before he found the net before Martin wrapped in the finish from in close for the third on the powerplay, with Matt Foley in the box for holding.
An incensed Keefe called a timeout to try and turn things in their favour, but it looked to have been for naught as things stayed on the same course, Whistle was required to deny Joshua Waller on a breakaway, while a Riley Brandt tripping minor went unpunished by the visitors.
But they were much improved after the restart as Cullen produced a delightful finish to pop the water bottle over Kozun’s shoulder to make it 3-1 midway through the middle frame and the chances continued to fall their way, including a two-on-zero break for Josh Roach and Steve Owre, but Kozun proved too good.
And while Belfast had no shortage of chances in the third, too, it was the Devils who came closer to scoring, Sanford denied by Whistle, Ryan Penny ringing the crossbar on a breakaway and Gabe Bast breaking up a three-on-one, but eventually Cox slid in the empty-netter to seal it late on.