Swedish Elite League 2004/05 Final Standings

[Doktor Kosmos]

I saw an interview with Theo the other day (in a newspaper I believe - ah yes, the Metro) and he said he doesn't focus on anything but the playoffs right now.

[Doktor Kosmos]

A great thing is that games 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the semifinals and finals will be broadcast on TV4, a public channel, so even us poor suckas will be able to watch some hockey on TV. :idea: :-^

[Doktor Kosmos]

I'm watching the game between Frölunda and Djurgården. Frölunda leads 1-0 after the first period, but like the previous games, their lead would be even bigger if it wasn't for Theodore. I think the shots is like 15-5 in Frölunda's favour. Theo or no Theo, it's only a matter of time before Djurgården can go golfing.

[Doktor Kosmos]

In the early minutes of the second, Djurgården got a "free ticket" into this game when they tied it 1-1. No way in hell did they deserve it, but the got the goal never the less. It changed the flow of the game dramatically. Djurgården scored the go-ahead goal a while later. Then Marcus Nilsson had a golden opportunity to extend the lead to 3-1, but Frölunda keeper Henrik Lundqvist made an incredible stick save. Frölunda later tied it 2-2, which is also the score after two periods.

[Edited on 2005/3/25 by Doktor Kosmos]

[Doktor Kosmos]

Djurgården actually did win the game, 4-3. To be honest I cannot say that they really deserved it, not only could this game have gone either way but I think with the kind of hockey Frölunda played in the first period, Frölunda should have won it. It was a close game and I think that if you look at the whole series maybe it was fair that Djurgården won this game, but it doesn't change the fact that Frölunda is the better team, the best team in Sweden.

I tried to keep an eye on Penguins prospect Daniel Fernholm (Djurgården defender), and I think he handled himself nicely. I can only think of one situation when he made a really bad play; towards the end of the game when Djurgården had a powerplay (think there was about 90 seconds left of the game) he had the puck in the neutral zone, but instead of dumping it into the offensive zone along the boards, he tried to play the puck up the middle. Frölunda picked it up and created a counter attack, which led to a Djurgården penelty. It didn't cost Djurgården anything this time, but it was a horrible play to make that late in the game. But like I said, overall, if you look at the whole game, Fernholm played well.

The Swedish commentators ripped a lot on Dan Boyle, who made the mistake that costed Djurgården Game 3. I got the impression they think Boyle is very good as an offensive defender, but in the defense he sucks. He also looked really shaky out there tonight, so I think the mistake from the previous game has affected him more than he'd be willing to admit.

Despite my being a Canadiens fan and despite the fact that Theodore has been outstanding, I have rooted for Frölunda all the time. The good thing about Djurgården winning tonight is that I will get to see another game on Sunday. Djurgården won tonight, but in the end I have no doubt Frölunda will prove why they are the best team in Sweden.

Färjestad disposed of Södertälje in the other semifinal matchup. It will be Färjestads fifth consecutive final.

I'll post scores later.

[Psycing]

Thx for the updates.

Good to hear that Theo will get at least one win outa this round for the team.

With Färjestad winning, guess that means Souray is through to the finals... good for him . Wish they televised some of this stuff here in Canada.

[Doktor Kosmos]

Frölunda–Djurgården 3-4 (1–0, 1–2, 1–2)

First period:

1–0 (13.03) Daniel Alfredsson (Per-Johan Axelsson).

Second period:

1–1 (3.18) Marcus Nilson (Daniel Tjärnqvist)

1–2 (8.06) Nils Ekman (Daniel Tjärnqvist)

2–2 (13.16) Niklas Andersson (Joel Lundqvist, Jan-Axel Alavaara)

Third period:

3–2 (4.24) Daniel Alfredsson (Niklas Andersson) shorthanded

3–3 (5.44) Patrick Thoresen (Nils Ekman, Marcus Nilson)

3–4 (12.07) Daniel Tjärnqvist (Nils Ekman) shorthanded

Shots: 27–23

Game played in Gothenburg

Frölunda leads the series 3-1

- - - - -

Färjestad–Södertälje 4-3 (2–2, 1–0, 1–1)

First period:

0–1 (3.18) Anders Burström (Timmy Pettersson)

0–2 (5.39) Anders Burström (Erik Norbäck, Jörgen Bemström)

1–2 (7.37) Jonas Höglund (Christian Berglund, Janne Grönvall)

2–2 (14.02) Radek Hamr (Marcel Jenni, Mathias Johansson)

Second period:

3–2 (17.45) Pelle Prestberg (Jonas Höglund, Zdeno Chara) 5-on-3 powerplay

Third period:

4–2 (2.31) Oscar Steen (Janne Grönvall)

4–3 (18.51) Petri Liimatainen (Mikael Samuelsson) powerplay

Shots: 22–31

Game played in Karlstad

Färjestad wins the series 4-0 and are through to the finals

Notes: For some reason Södertälje's coach Mats Hallin was thrown out of the game in the second period.

[Edited on 2005/3/25 by Doktor Kosmos]

[Doktor Kosmos]

Frölunda–Djurgården 4-0 (1–0, 0–0, 3–0)

First period:

1–0 (16.05) Daniel Alfredsson (Per–Johan Axelsson)

Third period:

2–0 (9.14) Sami Salo (Daniel Alfredsson, Samuel Påhlsson) powerplay

3–0 (11.57) Magnus Kahnberg (Jari Tolsa, Tom Koivisto)

4–0 (14.40) Magnus Kahnberg (Jari Tolsa, Joel Lundqvist)

Shots: 29–16

Game played in Gothenburg

Frölunda wins the series 4-1 and are through to the finals.

[Doktor Kosmos]

I wasn't able to watch the game live last night, but I taped it and I just finished watching it. I have to say that is looks like Dan Boyle will have to live with being the scapegoat. About 8 minutes into the third period he took a very stupid and very obvious slashing penelty (the ref was standing like 10 feet away) in the offensive zone. Frölunda scored the very important 2-0 goal on the following powerplay. To make matters worse for Boyle, he lost the puck on the offensive blue line, which lead to a Frölunda counter attack and Magnus Kahnberg scored the 4-0 goal. I admit I don't know that much about Boyle, but one thing is certain: just because you have been successful before in your career doesn't necessarily mean you can keep on shining like a star unless you are willing to work your butt off and right now, Boyle sure as hell don't look like a clutch player.

[bombTHEice]

It seems like Boyle isn't really a defencive first guy, though he had quite a good season last year. But as you said, it doesn't matter what he has done before, he also has to show it in a "lower" league.

I can see it here in Austria, nearly all the NHL players think they're the stars. For e.g. Eric Chouinard and Mike Pandolfo in Salzburg - Chouinard was fired after some weeks because of his bad attitude, Pandolfo was kept but really wasn't that good. Eric Weinrich always complained about the refs, Dan Cloutier showed how "good" he can be in the playoffs, though surprisingly his team moved on to the finals yesterday. Brad Isbister (Innsbruck) was the one I really liked ... he was all over the ice in every game and played a great team game.

[ch_nl]

And we had Brian McCabe here in Sweden.

[bombTHEice]

Originally posted by ch_nl

And we had Brian McCabe here in Sweden.  

I've heard about that ... a -12 in 10 games, typical Laffs player.

[ch_nl]

Hmmm... It's a bit strange.

Elitserien has been the second best leauge in the world for many many years and still Brian McCabe think that defendig champions HV71 will treat him different because he plays with Toronto Maple Leafs?!

I have said it before and I will again, this years Frölunda is one of the best european teams ever. I can only think of two other that can match them: Brynäs during the 70's and CSKA Moscow during the 80's. They're that good and I wish that every hockeyfan could get the chance to see them play.

About Dan Boyle, even if he did some stupid thing in the end of the game, Djurgården had to take some chances. They was down by two and they had to go all out of attack. Boyle did. First he tried to get the puck back in the offensive zone but was penalized for the slashing wich lated led to a Frölunda goal. Im not sure if a NHL referee would have made that call that late in a deciding game. Later he tried to deke a man on the offensive blue line. Anybody who plays hockey knows that's a no-brainer but since Djurgården had nothing to lose, why not?`

And finaly, Dan Boyle won the price called "Årets Järnkamin". Same thing as Molson Cup, so he aint that bad.

[Doktor Kosmos]

Färjestad–Frölunda 4–2 (2–0, 1–1, 1–1)

First period:

1–0 (4.59) Jesper Mattsson (Jonas Höglund)

2–0 (7.06) Jonas Höglund (Jesper Mattsson) powerplay

Second period:

3–0 (11.41) Christian Berglund (Jesper Mattsson, Jonas Höglund)

3–1 (18.19) Niklas Andersson (Jonas Johnson)

Third period:

3–2 (17.18) Tomi Kallio (Jonas Johnson)

4–2 (19.07) Jörgen Jönsson (Mathias Johansson) empty net

Shots: 26–31

Game played in Karlstad

Färjestad leads the best-of-seven series 1-0.

It may interest you guys to know that Souray played a lot better than Chara, who has been getting more attention in the media, or at least the media seems to think Chara is the better one of the two. Well not this time. Chara took a bad penelty towards the end of the game and he was on the ice on both of Frölunda's goals, and the truth is Frölunda had more chances that could have made Chara's +/--stats look even worse, whereas Souray played very well throughout the game. Daniel Alfredsson was Frölunda's best player. He hit the post before Färjestad scored their first goal, and Frölunda forward Kallio managed to miss a wide-open scoring chanc after about 20 seconds. Frölunda were not playing the hockey they can play, so if you are expecting Souray can bring home a medal already you are mistaking. If Kallio and Alfredsson had scored instead in the beginning of the game, the whole thing could very well have ended differently.

[Edited on 2005/4/3 by Doktor Kosmos]

[Psycing]

Souray will come back with a medal... dont worri... hehe

... i can dream can't i? ...

GO Souray!... lol

[ch_nl]

First period over in the second final.

Frölunda are dominating. They're playing like the team they are. Färjestad had one chance. Frölunda could have scored a lot more.

[Doktor Kosmos]

I'll post scores later, but I have to say a few things about a couple of Färjestad players:

Sheldon Souray: eh... Is he as easily distracted in the NHL? In game 1 he played tough and smart, today he let himself get carried away I think, he allowed himself to get aggravated. Some of the tough Frölunda players got Souray to lose his cool. He needs to get his head on right and smarten up next time, or else Färjestad will have a tough time winning this series. They need him to play much better/smarter than he did tonight.

GK Martin Gerber: does he stink up the place as badly in the NHL? He was god-awful tonight. Is he the most overrated goalie you've seen in ages or what?

Zdeno Chara: Do NHL refs allow him to do nothing but skate around cross-checking his opponents? Is that all he can do or can he actually play hockey? I mean come on, if I was seven feet tall and weighed 250 pounds, I could also just stand out there in front of my own net and cross-check whoever gets within my reach.

[Doktor Kosmos]

Frölunda–Färjestad 5-0 (2–0, 2–0, 1–0)

First period:

1–0 (0.38) Daniel Alfredsson (Christian Bäckman, Samuel Påhlsson)

2–0 (16.52) Samuel Påhlsson (Per-Johan Axelsson, Daniel Alfredsson)

Second period:

3–0 (4.03) Daniel Alfredsson (Samuel Påhlsson, Sami Salo) powerplay

4–0 (5.19) Niklas Andersson (Tomi Kallio, Jonas Johnson) powerplay

Third period:

5–0 (10.30) Tomi Kallio (Jonas Johnson, Niklas Andersson)

Shots: 34–33

Game played in Gothenburg

Series tied 1-1.

[Psycing]

All I can say is... Ouch.

[Doktor Kosmos]

Färjestad-Frölunda 1-4 (1–3, 0–0, 0–1)

First period:

0–1 (1.04) Christian Bäckman (Daniel Alfredsson, Samuel Påhlsson)

1–1 (7.31) Jesper Mattsson (penelty shot)

1–2 (10.20) Tomi Kallio (Niklas Andersson, Jonas Johnson)

1–3 (17.57) Daniel Alfredsson (Per-Johan Axelsson, Sami Salo)

Third period:

1–4 (13.22) Samuel Påhlsson (Christian Bäckman)

Shots: 25–29

Game played in Karlstad

Frölunda leads the series 2-1.

Notes: Färjestad's only goal in this game came on a beautifully executed penelty shot, but the ref should not have called a penelty shot in the first place. Aside from this penelty shot goal, Färjestad hasn't scored for two whole games. Frölunda has outscored Färjestad 9-1 in these two games. The score was 3-1 after two periods, and Frölunda controlled the game in the third. Frölunda was clearly the better team. Of course Frölunda still needs to win two more games to claim the championship, but right now there is nothing at all that leads me to believe that Färjestad can turn this series around. Frölunda now has two consecutive home games, and if Färjestad does not win game 4 on Saturday, they're pretty much screwed. In my opinion Chara continued to suck tonight and Souray was on the ice on three of Frölunda's four goals.

[Psycing]

now all i can say is... oucher

[Doktor Kosmos]

Daniel Alfredsson might be Frölunda's MVP so far. Either him, goalie Henrik Lundqvist or perhaps Nicklas Andersson. But my money is on Alfredsson; he's on fire! :-^

[Doktor Kosmos]

Frölunda-Färjestad 4-0 (2–0, 2–0, 0–0)

First period:

1–0 (6.14) Samuel Påhlsson (Per–Johan Axelsson)

2–0 (16.08) Christian Bäckman (Samuel Påhlsson) powerplay

Andra perioden:

3–0 (2.05) Jari Tolsa (Joel Lundqvist, Magnus Kahnberg)

4–0 (17.13) Daniel Alfredsson (Jari Tolsa, Arto Tukio) powerplay

Shots: 45–34

Game played in Gothenburg

Frölunda leads the series 3-1

Notes: Färjestad played a lot better in this game than the previous two, but they had nothing to show for it. They lost their self controll and stepped over the line in the end when Peter Nordström (who earlier in the playoffs were suspended two games for crosschecking Peter Forsberg so bad that Forsberg got a season-ending concussion) speared Frölunda defenseman Sami Salo in the groin. Nordström was sent off: he got a 5-minute major and a game misconduct. He will be allowed to play next time though. During Frölunda's powerplay Sheldon Souray was penelized for slashing or roughing or something and he then behaved disgracefully when he was in the penelty box and was also given a game misconduct. Which was a shame for Färjestad because Souray did play a lot better in this game than earlier. Same thing can be said about Zdeno Chara. He played more conservatively/defensively tonight, but he kept slashing, roughing up and cross checking his oponents every chance he got. He could have, no should have, spent more time in the penelty box. You'd think that when you're the tallest and heaviest guy in the NHL you'd be able to take a hit, but oh no, not Chara. He puts his hands and stick up all the time. He's a dirty rotten bastard.

Frölunda's goalie Henrik Lundqvist was outstanding tonight. He is easily winning the goalie matchup. Lundqvist makes impossible saves. He has not allowed a single goal during play for nine consecutive periods (only the penelty shot goal in the last game), whereas Färjestad's Martin Gerber have had to see 13 goals slip by him during the same strecth. Here is one of the biggest differences between the two teams: Färjestad creates a lot of good scoring chances - Lundqvist stops every puck - Frölunda creates even more chances that are even better - Gerber can't win the games for his team. Frölunda is the better team, no question about that, but even if Gerber has to face a bombardment of great shots that under normal circumstances are impossible for a goalie to stop, he still has to stop those pucks. It's asking a lot, maybe even the impossible... but Lundqvist has been making those impossible saves when called upon to do so. Gerber has been playing fairly well, but it isn't nearly enough.

Furthermore, Frölunda's offensive game is better than Färjestad's. Daniel Alfredsson's line is wreaking havoc in the Färjestad defensive zone. Tonight when Alfie scored his 12th goal of the playoffs, he broke the Elite League record. He was on the ice on three of Frölunda's four goals. But Frölunda is more than just Alfie's line (he plays with P.J. Axelsson and Samuel Påhlsson); Frölunda has four great lines with guys like Nicklas Andersson, Jonas Johnsson, Martin Plüss, Jari Tolsa, Magnus Kahnberg (best goalscorer in the Elite League last season) and goalie Henrik Lundqvist's twin brother Joel, just to name some of them. I've been especially impressed with Joel Lundqvist, who have played tough and physical against Chara and Souray and he has clearly won the battles so far.

Frölunda still has to win one more game, and the Swedish TV commentators seem to think this is not over yet, but I wonder if they don't say that only because they have to (they want to see more games). In my opinion, nothing short of a miracle will turn this around for Färjestad. Frölunda is simply too good a team. And the fact is that not one single time all season have they lost two consecutive games - Färjestad has to win three in a row to win the championship now.

[puck7x]

No league championship for Souray it looks like... although he can still win a world championship for Canada (1f/when he is named to the team)

Markov/Sundstrom are the only habs to win top league championships this year. (Well, for Sundstrom the TOP league in Italy. lol)

[Psycing]

Anyone else read the weekly article on/by Souray in the Gazette today?

I found it really interesting. He seems to really be getting into the game. I'd love to see him playoff time for the habs when he's in top condition. (and of course deep into the playoffs... hehe)