SHL roundup: Farjestad and Brynas grab quarter-final tickets as Orebro reach playoffs

Farjestad celebrate finishing fifth after Lulea win
Farjestad celebrate finishing fifth after Lulea winPär Bäckström / Bildbyran Photo Agency / Profimedia

The final day of the regular season in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) saw Farjestad and Brynas seal the two remaining places in the top six, as they head straight to the quarter-finals, while Orebro did enough to hold onto the 10th and final playoff spot.

A mid-season slump had seen Farjestad drop out of the top-six picture, but three wins in regulation in the last week set up a winner-takes-all showdown with reigning champions Lulea, who had lost three of their last four.

Jack Berglund had kept Farjestad's run going last time out, and he got the ball rolling again this afternoon, as he scored to put the visitors ahead by dancing his way through Lulea defenders and applying the finish.

That's how things stayed until the final minute of the second period, when Filip Eriksson found a way through on a powerplay to draw Lulea level. However, the visitors restored the lead seven minutes into the third, when Axel Bergkvist's effort flew into the top corner.

Lulea pulled the goaltender in hope of a late equaliser, but that only served to wrap the game and the quarter-final place for Farjestad, as Berglund scored his second of the game with the empty-netter, making the final score 3-1.

That ensured Lulea finished seventh and must now negotiate the eighth-finals if they are to retain their title, while Farjestad finished third as Brynas were beaten 4-3 after overtime against HV 71, but that was still enough to take the sixth and final automatic quarter-final position.

Justin Kloos had given HV the lead in the opening 20 minutes, but Brynas looked to have finally got going six minutes into the second period when Axel Andersson equalised, only for the visitors to score two in a minute before the midway point, through Martin Johnsen and Axel Rindell.

The Gavle side not only fought back, but scored to in a minute of their own in the third period, as Anton Rodin and Michal Kempny stepped up to send the game to overtime.

However, they failed to complete the turnaround, as Lukas Rousek won it nearly five minutes in to see HV end their regular season with two wins in a row, but it's four consecutive losses for Brynas, three of which came after 60 minutes.

But by the time they were heading to overtime, Brynas and their fans knew they had finished one point inside the top six, as they were done a huge favour by Frolunda, who crossed the 100-point mark with a 4-1 win at home to Malmo that ended the visitors chances of taking sixth place.

Jere Innala and Max Friberg put the home side ahead in the opening period, and after Carl Persson halved the deficit in the second, Frolunda secured just a fourth league win in 15 thanks to strikes from Samuel Johannesson and Jacob Peterson in the final seven minutes.

It's a missed opportunity for Malmo, who finish eighth with that loss after winning three of their previous four to keep their fight alive.

HV 71's win helped them secure home advantage in the relegation play-out, as they overtook Leksand on goal difference, as a 6-2 loss away at Rogle sent Leksand back to the foot of the table and ended their faint hopes of a last-day escape to survive.

The visitors took the lead, but five goals unanswered put Rogle in full control by the midpoint. Leksand pulled one back, but Leon Bristedt's second of the game in the final period sealed it for the Angelholm once and for all, as Leksand finish the regular season with successive losses.

But a third win in a row to end the regular season wasn't enough for Rogle to take a top-three place and qualify for the Champions Hockey League. Instead, that honour went to Vaxjo, who won 3-1 away at Timra to snap a two-game losing run just at the right time.

Timra's seventh loss in a row to end their season not only saw them plummet out of the playoff places, but saw them finish in 12th, just four points clear of the play-out.

Overtaking them were Linkoping, who came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 after overtime against Orebro, as Eskild Bakke Olsen's two goals started the comeback and then won the game in overtime.

But Timra's loss meant Orebro were guaranteed to finish 10th and take the final place in the postseason, finishing two points clear of Linkoping in 11th. 

Orebro, Lulea, Malmo and Djurgarden will play in the eighth finals - the Stockholm side were the only team assured of a place in that round ahead of today's games, which saw them go down 3-2 at home to Skelleftea, with all five goals coming in the final period.

By winning their final two matches, Skelleftea finished the regular season on 108 points, maintaining their seven-point lead over Frolunda on the final day.

View the final SHL regular season standings on Flashscore.

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