Weekly Recap: Push to the Playoffs

The Home Stretch

With just six or seven games remaining before the end of the season, the standings could still change quite a bit. Unfortunately, however, there is one team whose fate is almost guaranteed.

Oskarshamn has struggled all season and is on pace to have one of the worst SHL campaigns in recent memory. They currently have just just 11 wins, 7 of which were regulation time victories, and just 32 points. They are currently 21 points behind the 12th placed Malmö Redhawks with 7 games left. Even if they were to win all 7 remaining games in regulation, it's extremely unlikely they will avoid playing in the relegation round. Who will be joining them, however, is still very much up in the air. At the moment HV71 currently sits in 13th with 50 points, Malmö has 53, and Rögle rounds out the bottom four with 57. 

MoDo, the SHL's newest team, currently sits on the bubble spot in 10th with 58 points and Örebro sits 9th with 60. So with just 3 points separating three teams at the moment, it's going to be a tight race for the final two playoff spots over the next month. This is where we get a bit of seperation in the standings as 8th placed Luleå currently sits 9 points ahead of Örebro, so barring a major collapse, it is likely that Luleå will be making a post season appearance for the 14th straight year. They also do still have a chance to push back into the top six before the end of the season as they currently sit 3 points back of Leksand in 7th and 7 points back of Timrå who is holding onto that last quarterfinal spot in 6th with 76 points. 

PÄR OLERT / BILDBYRÅN

One team that has surprised many people with their play this year is Linköping. After finishing in 11th or 12th for five consecutive seasons, LHC has remained in the top six for the vast majority of the season. With the help of new captain Oscar Fantenberg and led offensively by the trio of Ty Rattie, Broc Little and Patrick Russell, they are looking for their first top six finish since 2017. 

This season marked the start of a new era in Frölunda as it was their first season without longtime Captain Joel Lundqvist, who had been their leader since the 2009/10 season. Despite the big shoes to fill, Max Friberg has had a very successful first season wearing the C. He has scored 12 goals and added 23 assists in 44 games played. Not only that, but it is more than likely he will lead his team to a top six finish in the regular season. Frölunda currently sits 5 points ahead of Linköping in fourth and are looking for their third straight top six finish.

The top three in the league are no surprise to anyone who is familiar with the SHL. It seems like Skellefteå, Växjö and Färjestad are almost always battling at the top of the standings. Skellefteå has finished in the top four for the past four seasons, Växjö has finished first in the regular season in two of the last three seasons, having lifted the LeMat trophy in both of those seasons and Färjestad has been at or near the top of the standings all season. However, how the top three will look after game 52 is still very much up in the air. Skellefteå and Växjö are tied with 85 points each and Färejstad has a small 5 point cushion in first. March 5th will be a massive game as Skellefteå plays host to Färjestad and March 9th sees Skellefteå and Växjö facing off in the second to last game of the season. So who will finish on top this year is yet to be determined. 

FREDRIK KARLSSON / BILDBYRÅN

Jakobsson

It was a quiet week off the ice with just one major signing to report. Linköpings GM Peter Jakobsson has signed a contract extension. His current contract saw him signed until 2025 but it has now been extended until 2028. 

- It feels fantastically good. Really exciting to be able to continue this journey in Linköping Hockey Club that we have started. I am humbly grateful and proud to continue to be trusted in the club, says Jakobsson

LHC's club director Carl-Johan Stålhammar had this to say:

- Peter is in many ways an important piece of the puzzle to get us where we want to be. With Peter, we get continuity, a picture of requirements and professionalism in the organisation, but above all an incredible winner's brain. The cooperation between us has worked excellently since day one and we look forward together to what the future has to offer