It may still be mathematically possible for Ed Courtenay's men to knock Coventry Blaze off the top, but five successive defeats has ended any realistic chance there was of holding onto their crown.

And it's not just those defeats that are hurting the Giants. Twice in the last two weekend's they have been unable to take advantage of Coventry losing games and rather than cutting their lead it has now grown to seven points, with a game in hand still to play.

Indeed the Giants have now slipped back to third in the league after being leapfrogged by the Sheffield Steelers following losses to the Nottingham Panthers and Edinburgh Capitals in another disappointing weekend road trip.

That third place is also under threat with Nottingham now level on 55 points and the Cardiff Devils being just a single point behind, with the Welsh side having a chance to take points off the Giants in two games between the sides coming next week.

The 3-2 defeat in Edinburgh last night - the first time the Giants have lost to the Capitals - came after they led 2-0 and that will have been even harder for the players to take.

Jeff Hutchins got back among the goals after failing to score in the last four matches as he bagged a brace in the first period. That really should have been enough to send the team on their way to victory, but Edinburgh rallied and hit back with two goals of their own in the second period before grabbing the winner in the closing stages.

Coach Courtenay ditched his suit in favour of a Giants shirt this weekend as he returned to the ice after committing himself to full-time coaching at the end of last season when the team lost in the Play-off semi-final to Newcastle.

Despite scoring 26 times last season, Courtenay was unable to lift his troops over the weekend as he didn't manage to get onto the scoresheet in either game.

On Saturday night George Awada equalised after Ryan Shmyr had given the Panthers an early lead.

The Giants were then put to the sword by five unanswered goals in the space of 40 minutes as the Panthers raced into an unassailable 6-1 lead.

There was at least some fight left in the Giants as Mark Dutiaume and Jason Ruff scored in the final period, but by then it was too little and far too late to get anything from the match.

And now it is too late for the Giants to salvage anything more than pride from the league campaign as their attention switches to preparing for another assault on the Play-offs after losing out in that semi-final last season.