As the final games of the season approach, the race for the playoff intensifies. However, a series of new outbreaks throws some uncertainty into the mix and the post season start date remains unclear.
After last weeks lack of games, this week was supposed to be a return to fuller game days in the SHL. Both Tuesday and Thursday did feature six matchups each and featured some exciting games, however the matchups on Saturday were interrupted by new outbreaks of COVID. Växjö and Linköping both reported new cases of the virus before Saturdays games and the league was forced to postpone those matchups. Växjö was supposed to be playing Rögle, their game against Brynäs on Tuesday has also been affected. Linköping was excpecting to face off against Luleå and HV71's matchup against Luleå tonight has also been postponed. These postponements add to a growing list of games that still need to be played before the end of the regular season.
On Friday the league announced another extension of the regular season. It planned on finishing on March 25th, however, due to the number of games still needing to be played, the regular season has now been pushed back to March 31st. We are still waiting on an announcement pertaining to the start date of the post season. In the extension announcement Sports Manager and Vice President of the SHL Johan Hemlin said "Since we have an ongoing infection within two teams and any further changes may be required, a final decision will be made regarding these new playing dates next week. As with all match moves, we have had a close dialogue with the clubs and even at today's sports managers' meeting, all sports managers agreed on this proposal". This announcement was made before the infection in HV71 was known.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the post season all teams are remaining focused on the push to the playoffs as points races throughout the standings are neck and neck. The postponement of the Rögle/Växjö matchup on Saturday could have huge implications on the race for the top stop in the standings. After this weeks action, Växjö was able to narrow the gap, grabbing a full six points from their pair of matchups this week. Rögle started off the week strong with a big 5-1 victory over Oskarshamn, but fell 5-3 to Linköping on Thursday, allowing the Lakers to pull within one point of the top spot. The Lakers also now have a pair of games in hand against Rögle and, as previously mentioned, the postponed match between the top two teams could prove to be the most important game of the season for both clubs.
Skellefteå and Örebro are also in a tight battle for the third and fourth spot in the standings. Having both played 49 games so far this season, Skellefteå sits just two points ahead of Örebro in the standings. Örebro had a chance to pull past them this week, but a pair of victories for Skellefteå and two wins and one loss for Örebro keeps them chasing a top three finish, something they have never accomplished as an SHL team.
The middle of the pack race is as tight as it could be with three teams vying for the final two spots in the top six. With their recent struggles, including a tough loss to Skellefteå on Thursday, Frölunda now find themselves on the outside looking in. Despite losing both their matchups this week, Luleås overtime loss against Skellefteå on Tuesday gave them the single point they needed to move past Frölunda in the standings. Leksand, on the other hand, had a fantastic week as they came away with five out of a possible six points, including a shutout victory against Brynäs on Thursday evening. Frölunda now find themselves at a disadvantage as Luleå have a game in hand, Leksand has two and the Indians are at risk of finishing outside the top six for the second year in a row.
Perhaps the only team not involved in a tight race right now is Färjestad as they sit eight points back of Frölunda and eight points ahead of Djurgården. However this will probably be considered a dissapointing season for the team from Karlstad as they are poised to have their worst finish in the standings since 93/94. With five games remaining in their schedule they do still have an opportunity to improve in the standings, but at the moment they are the one team in the top ten most likely to remain where they are.
The final playoff spots are currently occupied by Djurgården and Malmö as The Redhawks sit just one point back of Djurgården. However Linköping is not yet out of the playoff picture. Their recent success, including three point victories against Brynäs and Rögle this week have them sitting just one point back of Malmö. However, the Redhawks have five games in hand against both Linköping and Djurgården whose fourth and final matchup of the season happens on March 25th.
Finally we come to the bottom of the standings and the push to stay out of the relegation series. Unlike previous seasons there will be no inter-league play between the SHL and Allsvenskan and only one team will be relegated. The bottom two teams will play a series and the loser will move down. At the moment Brynäs and HV71 occupy the bottom two spots and both teams had less than stellar weeks. HV71 lost both of their matchups and Brynäs lost two out of the three games they had this week. Oskarshamn also sits just 3 points ahead of Brynäs in the standings, however they both have a game in hand against HV71 and three games in hand against Linköping, who is not yet out of the woods.
This weeks top performers:
- Carter Ashton (Leksand) 3G 2A
- Rodrigo Abols (Örebro) 3G 2A
- Borna Rendulic (Örbero) 3G 2A
- Rhett Rakhshani (Djurgården) 2G 2A
- Nick Ebert (Örebro) 2G 2A
- Daniel Zaar (Rögle) 0G 4A
Jhonas Enroth (Örebro) lead the way with two wins and 60 saves on 61 shots faced. Viktor Fasth (Växjö) also posted a pair of victories with 61 saves on 64 shots faced. And Axel Brage (Leksand) posted a shutout victory with 30 saves. Jhonas Enroth also posted a pair of assists this week.
Erik Gustafsson (Luleå) once again lead the way for time on ice, averaging 26:33 over two games played.
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