The preparatory play-off phase in the North American ice hockey league, seeding qualifiers and playoff games, will end on Sunday and the night before Monday, Swedish time.

The top four teams in the Eastern and Western NHL conferences, respectively, have had three games each to hone their playoff form, when they met in a group game to get a ranking that determines their quarterfinal opponents in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

In the last two seeding matches, the battle was for third place, and to avoid becoming four and thus end up last among the top teams.

In Edmonton, the reigning Stanley Cup champions St. Louis, who were number one in the Western Conference when the regular season ended prematurely, faced off against Conference Three Dallas. Also in the Eastern Conference, it was the conference setter, Boston, who was also St. Louis' final opponent in the Stanley Cup last year, who had to face the Conference Three, Washington.

And it was the teams that ranked worse on paper that pulled the longest straw.

Swedish assist

However, it was St Louis who had the advantage against Dallas during most of the game. The team, with the Swedes Carl Gunnarsson, Alexander Steen and Oskar Sundqvist, made it 1-0 already in the fourth minute - and that result seemed to stand the match. St. Louis seemed to have taken the victory in advance - but with just under 30 seconds left, Dallas' Joe Pavelski finally got in 1-1, thanks to a play by John Klingberg.

- We did not play well in the last period. We tried to win with a goal lead. We did not try to score and did not play aggressively, says St Louis coach Craig Berube, according to nhl.com.

The match went to a goalless extra time. In the penalty shootout, Dallas then won, as the St Louis players failed to upset Anton Khudobin in the Dallas goal once.

Thanks to the victory, Calgary, who beat Winnipeg 3-1 in the best of five games in the playoffs, will be the quarterfinals for Dallas in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

- We have watched Calgary's latest matches, and they are playing very, very well right now, says Dallas coach Rick Bowness, according to nhl.com

St. Louis, in turn, faces Vancouver, who beat Minnesota 3-1. The quarter-finals are played in the best of seven matches and start in just a few days.

No Swedish points

In Toronto, the game between Washington and Boston was about avoiding Carolina, who beat the New York Rangers 3-0 in playoff games.

Washington Capitals, with Nicklas Bäckström and Carl Hagelin in the lineup, won 2-1 without the Swedes accounting for any points. Now the New York Islanders are waiting, who beat Florida 3-1 in matches.

Washington's assistant team captain TJ Oshie scored there 1-0 on a goalkeeper return from Boston's Tuukka Rask, 16 seconds from the end of the first period, and Tom Wilson made it 2-0 2.49 into the third.

Boston's Jake DeBrusk created nerve at the end of the match with his 1-2 goal after 10.30 in the final period. But the Bruins - with Swedish Joakim Nordström on the ice at both Washington goals - never came closer than that. For Boston, Carolina is now waiting in the round of 16 in the best of seven games.

The night before Monday, the playoff game ends with Toronto and Columbus meeting in a fifth and decisive match to take the last place - and face Tampa Bay - in the round of 16, which begins the night before Wednesday Swedish time.