Grabbing 29 of a possible 30 points in their last 10 games, Skellefteå finished off the week and the month with a bang.
Team of the Week
Coming into this week Skellefteå had strung together an impressive 7 game win streak, dropping just a single point with an overtime victory against Oskarshamn. That success would continue this week as they continue to fly up the standings.
Their first game of the week came at home against HV71. Both teams came out hard and registered plenty of shots and opportunities on target. The only two goals of the game for Skellefteå would come in the second frame and both would come from the back end as Jonathan Pudas scored both markers for his team. Despite heavily outshooting Skellefteå in the third period, HV71 managed just a single goal in the frame and were unable to complete the comback. With the win, Skellefteå extended their streak to eight.
Game number two of the week found Skellefteå hitting the road to take on Brynäs. This game did not start so smoothly for Skellefteå as they allowed three goals in the first frame alone and scored just one of their own. Heading into the second intermission down by two didn't seem to faze them as they answered back with a pair of their own to tie the game heading into the final frame of regulation. Another pair of goals in the third helped Skellefteå to extend their win streak to nine. Robin Alvarez, who already had a pair of goals in the game, completed the hat trick in the third period with the teams fifth and final goal, securing the win.
The third and final match of the week was the biggest showing of Skellefteås offence this season as they welcomed Leksand to Skellefteå Kraft Arena. The first period started fast and didn't slow down as both teams exchanged goals, a total of five in all were scored in the opening 20 minutes wth Skellefteå coming out on top 3-2 heading into the first intermission. Despite sticking close to Skellefteå in the first, the second and third would not be as pleasant for Leksand. Three more goals in the second and two in the third gave Skellefteå the massive 8-2 victory and completed a perfect month.
Their last loss came back on January 30th and the lone blemish on the month for Skellefteå was a single dropped point in an overtime victory against Oskarshamn. With the win, Skellefteå now sits second overall in the league, but still find themselves nine points back of the league leaders, Luleå. Skellefteå will look to continue their win streak this week with matchups against Frölunda, Malmö and Linköping
Game of the Week
Our game of the week this week was another highscoring affair on Saturday evening as HV71 played host to Brynäs.
The first period was a bit slow paced and neither team managed many chances. Brynäs managed just 5 shots on net and HV71 could only muster 4 of their own. However, despite the lack of shots, Brynäs was able to open the scoring with exactly 60 seconds remaining in the frame as Greg Scott was able to ripple the mesh and give his team the 1-0 lead heading into the second period.
The second was a mirror opposite of the first as both teams came alive on offense. HV71 responded with a pair of goals in quick succession to put them on top by one. Brynäs, not to be outdone, responded just 26 seconds later to tie the game at two goals apiece. HV71 responded with another pair of goals in quick succession and, once again, Brynäs responded just 48 seconds later with one of their own. The Brynäs goal also came with just 7 seconds remaining in the frame as the game would head to the third period 4-3 in favour of HV71.
The third period continued the theme of quick goals as the teams exchanged a trio of goals in just 62 seconds. Jacob Blomqvist was able to tie the game with just over eight minutes elapsed in the frame. Christoffer Törngren restored the lead for HV71 just 42 seconds later. Then Jacob Blomqvist, once again, tied it back up just 20 seconds after the Törngren goal. Despite the quick trio of goals, that would be all the scoring the game would see in regulation as an overtime frame would be needed to decide the outcome of this 5-5 game.
Despite the frantic nature of the second and third periods, just one shot would be needed in overtime to find the winner. Just over three minutes into the extra frame, Emil Molin was able to ripple the mesh and give Brynäs the 6-5 victory, securing a very important extra point. With the win, Brynäs now sit 4 points back of a playoff spot with just 5 games remaining in the regular season.
Standings
With just five games remaining in the regular season, Luleå sits comfortably in 1st with a nine point lead over 2nd placed Skellefteå. Färjestad and Rögle both got bumped down one spot this week to 3rd and 4th respectively. Djurgården moves into 5th with a solid showing this week and HV71 round out the top six. Frölunda now find themselves sitting two points back of a top six finish and Örebro, Malmö and Växjö remain in 8th, 9th and 10th. Brynäs is not out of playoff contention just yet as they remain in 11th, four points back of the Lakers. Linköpings playoff hopes are not yet over either, but with a seven point defecit to overcome, they might be looking at their second season in a row without a post season appearence. Although not mathematically eliminated just yet, both Leksand and Oskarshamn will more than likely find themselves in the relegation tournament at the end of the season.
Check out this weeks top goals:
And saves: