SHL Round-Up: Linkoping Win Relegation Battle, Frolunda Hit Six

Linkoping win relegation scrap as Frolunda keep Djurgarden in trouble

Linkoping boosted their SHL survival hopes with a 3-2 penalty shootout win over fellow strugglers HV71, while Frolunda closed in on the top of the table with a commanding 6-2 victory over Djurgarden.

Linkoping down HV71 as Frolunda deepen Djurgarden's troubles...

The clash between the bottom two in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) went to a shootout, with Linkoping eventually overcoming HV71, while in the big-city showdown, Frolunda defeated Djurgarden.

After three straight defeats without a point, Linkoping had slipped to the bottom of the table. Although they remain last, their 3-2 penalty shootout victory away at HV71 moved them within three points of safety and kept HV71 in the relegation zone alongside them, one point ahead.

Jonathan Ang twice put the hosts in front in the first and second periods, but Linkoping hit back just over three minutes later on each occasion, through Linus Hultstrom and then Brendan Shinnimin. Neither side could capitalise on a powerplay opportunity apiece in the third period and overtime, before Theodor Lennstrom netted the visitors' third penalty of the shootout to seal the win and condemn HV to a third consecutive defeat.

The team both are chasing in 12th place is Djurgarden, who were convincingly beaten in the battle of the Gothenburg and Stockholm sides, as Frolunda secured a third successive victory with a 6-2 win to move within two points of leaders Farjestad, albeit having played one game more.

Isak Heens and Erik Thorell gave the hosts a commanding lead inside 10 minutes, before Henrik Tommernes extended the advantage in the second period. Oliver Wahlstrom got Djurgarden on the scoresheet, only for Samuel Fagemo to restore the three-goal cushion just past the halfway mark.

Two goals in as many minutes from Max Lindholm and Max Westergard sealed an emphatic victory long before Charles Hudon's consolation strike.