Skelleftea were well beaten by Vaxjo last time out and looked set for another tough afternoon when they found themselves 3-1 down in the 11th minute against Malmo, as Linus Oberg and Carl Persson netted for the hosts after Valter Lindberg had cancelled out Kalle Hemstrom's opener.
But the league leaders were back level again four minutes later, as Jonathan Johnson and Rickard Hugg both found the net within a minute of each other.
However, no sooner had Skelleftea restored parity were they behind again, as Linus Oberg struck another goal for the Redhawks, and there was still time for an eighth goal in a crazy opening period, as Jonathan Davidsson made it 4-4 in the final minute.
Victor Stjernborg gave the visitors the lead for the first time just over three minutes into the second period, only for a Robin Hanzl strike and a second for Persson turn the match back in Malmo's favour come the midway point.
That's how things stayed until the third period, in which tripping calls would be Malmo's undoing - when Oberg was sent to the box, Johnson scored his second goal on the powerplay, and when Persson committed the same offence, the powerplay ended with Hugg completing his brace with just over five minutes left.
Skelleftea conceded penalties of their own in the final minutes, but their defence stood tall and held on for a 7-6 away win, their eighth win in their last 10. In contrast, it's eight losses in the last 10 for Malmo, who remain two points outside the top six with three games to play.
The leaders saw their advantage remain at four points as Frolunda earned just a second SHL win in eight, as Jere Innala scored twice in a 3-1 win over Timra, whose four-match losing streak is the current worst in the league, while they are now clinging onto the final playoff place by one point.
Having looked destined for relegation a month ago, Leksand are now off the bottom of the standings with a 4-3 win at home to HV 71, sending the Jonkoping side down to 14th in their place.
Goals in quick succession from Gabriel Fortier and Anton Johansson put Leksand in control before Kalle Ostman added a third before the first period was over, but HV hit right back in the second, as goals from Justin Kloos, Andreas Borgman and Joanthan Ang levelled the scores.
But after Borgman was penalised for delay of game in the final six minutes, Leksand made full use of the powerplay, and Max Veronneau struck to win it, sealing the hosts' sixth win in seven after just 11 in their first 38. They go two points clear of HV who have lost six of their last eight.
Leksand are now three points shy of 12-placed Orebro, who came from 2-0 down before falling 3-2 in overtime against Vaxjo, for whom Brogan Rafferty eventually sealed the two-point victory. Skelleftea's win means Vaxjo are out of the race to finish top of the regular season standings.
Heaping pressure on Timra and trying to pull clear of the relegation scrap are Linkoping, who scored three minutes into overtime through Oscar Fantenberg to beat Brynas 4-3 and move within a point of 10th place. Brynas remain fifth and go further clear of seventh despite a first loss in four.
Brynas didn't slip a place because Lulea lost for the fourth time in a row in all competitions, going down 4-1 away at Djurgarden, who picked up a much-needed first win in three to put five points between themselves and Linkoping in 11th.
Finally, Per Aslund scored a hat-trick and Viktor Lodin netted twice as Farjestad won 6-2 away at Rogle to close the gap on the top six to three points, as results elsewhere sealed a top six place for the home side despite a third defeat in four.
