SHL Playoffs: Advantage Lulea and Djurgarden as Eighth-finals get underway

[p]Five defeats in their last six regular season matches had cost [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lulea/0QhOwF1e/"]Lulea[/a] an automatic place in the Quarter-finals, [b]but their chances of reaching the last eight were renewed with a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/hockey/lulea-0QhOwF1e/orebro-Y3RLgQQn/?mid=YiUM7qA6"]6-2[/a] success away at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/orebro/Y3RLgQQn/"]Orebro[/a].[/b][/p][p]After a goalless first period, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/puistola-patrik/nqWpkFgA/"]Patrik Puistola[/a] scored the opening goal of the series, but that was as good as it got for the side who finished 10th in the regular season, as Lulea hit back with four straight goals in the next 11 minutes.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/koivistoinen-eetu/WfGXzdV5/"]Eetu Koivistoinen[/a] levelled the scores before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/andreasson-pontus/b3kuqqnB/"]Pontus Andreasson[/a] put the reigning champions in front midway through the game, and his goal was quickly followed by strikes from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/brome-mathias/CYL8qow3/"]Mathias Brome[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hedqvist-isac/tjQztRYE/"]Isac Hedqvist[/a], as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/omark-linus/S6wlygb1/"]Linus Omark[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/laaksonen-oskari/EyuZPdSS/"]Oskari Laaksonen[/a] grabbed two assists each.[/b][/p][p]Orebro stopped the rot through [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kossila-kalle/GzteoiMq/"]Kalle Kossila[/a] late in the second period, but another two goals in quick succession late in the third from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gustafsson-erik/dYDXE4Fc/"]Erik Gustafsson[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/levtchi-anton/dvVa6x9C/"]Anton Levtchi[/a] put Lulea in full control of this tie and needing to win one of two home games to progress.[/p][embed guid="d3740fb6-18f7-4c3c-9db4-09d5cf4a9c80" url="https://x.com/SHLse/status/2033985014250025075" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]They needed over nine minutes of overtime, but [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/djurgarden/Q7UY6Hrs/"]Djurgarden[/a] ensured they picked up the win in their only home game of their three-game series against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/malmo/pO1SCzgR/"]Malmo[/a].[/b][/p][p]Both sides came into this on the back of a loss in their respective final game of the regular season, though Malmo's was seen as more damaging, as it cost them an automatic place in the Quarter-finals.[/p][p]There was no sign of a hangover for the Redhawks, as they broke the deadlock late in the opening period, courtesy of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ikonen-joona/SIuqPXs8/"]Joona Ikonen[/a], but after having too many men on the ice for the second time, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sissons-colby/zmsCFRVO/"]Colby Sissons[/a] punished them with a powerplay equaliser.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/persson-carl/8WJLUQ4D/"]Carl Persson[/a] put the visitors ahead again with a powerplay strike of his own late in the middle period, but the Stockholm side hit back again - [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bjorck-viggo/pQJ0LsfE/"]Viggo Bjorck[/a] made it 2-2 in the first minute of period three.[/p][p][b]That sent the game to overtime, and over 28 minutes of play after Bjorck's goal, he played his part in setting up [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/frondell-anton/O42JSyWP/"]Anton Frondell[/a] to win it [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/hockey/djurgarden-Q7UY6Hrs/malmo-pO1SCzgR/?mid=KUN6BRAs"]3-2[/a] for Djurgarden with 09:08 on the OT clock.[/b][/p][embed guid="2ccf903c-7d85-46ae-b924-56ff3afb481e" url="https://x.com/SHLse/status/2034008671244455978" social-type="twitter" /][p]The four teams meet again for game two of each series on 19th March.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/hockey/sweden/shl/"]Follow the SHL playoffs on Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]