Färjestad was boosted by the large audience and managed to reduce the quarterfinal series to 2–3 in matches. If Linus Johansson's wish to return to home ice is to come true, Färjestad needs to win the next match in Skellefteå on Monday evening.
Now we have a chance to turn 1–3 into 4–3, and who says it's harder to win three in a row than three out of ten matches, says Johansson to TV4 Play.
An undisciplined Färjestad took numerous penalties in Skellefteå on Thursday and conceded five goals while being numerically inferior.
Now it was a matter of reducing the number of penalties and taking command directly to avoid being eliminated from the SM playoffs already in the quarterfinals for the third season in a row.
"A different playing joy"
Färjestad made a strong start and took command, and the 1–0 lead – thanks to veteran Per Åslund – could have been even greater after the first period if not for Linus Söderström's excellent play in the Skellefteå goal.
We come out with a completely different playing joy, we take charge and dare to really play with the puck, said Åslund to TV4 Play.
The Västerbotten team came back in the second period, and Max Lindholm was able to capitalize on the home team's mistake. Defender Axel Bergkvist made a mistake, and Lindholm thanked him, received the pass, and scored 1–1 with a backhand.
Quick revenge
Bergkvist would take revenge. In numerical superiority, he made a perfect pass to Joel Kellman, who could direct the shot to 2–1.
In the third period, Skellefteå pushed for an equalizer, but the home team managed to hold on.
I think our effort is good, they don't score on powerplay, which gives us confidence. We've been better than them in five-on-five, so we have to try to stick to that, says Linus Johansson.
