Josefin Bouveng and Lara Stalder have been vital for Brynäs during the start of the season.
But Stalder, SDHL's points queen, was missing due to personal reasons and illness forced Bouveng to throw in the towel.
Add team captain Rosa Lindstedt, who has undergone surgery for a lower body injury and is out for three months.
Then the wounded Brynäs - who is SDHL's most dangerous team - did not have the same crackling offensive as usual.
Instead, it was Linköping who took the lead through Jessica Adolfsson in powerplay five minutes into the match.
In the middle period, another of Brynäs' strong players would present themselves in the goal record.
Katerina Mrazova has been injured in the beginning of the SDHL, but in her third match of the season, her first goal came when she shot in a return for 2-1.
But Brynäs could not increase the lead and the match eventually went to extra time followed by penalties after Justine Leanne Reyes equalized in the third period.
Once in the penalty shootout, Linköping was the strongest.
At the same time as Brynäs missed their attempts, the Linköping players were the safety themselves.
Jessica Adolfsson offered a "Foppa penalty" and Sydney Brodt put the nail in the coffin.
It is also noteworthy that Mina Waxin made her debut for Brynäs.
The 20-year-old finished for the club earlier this week after leaving Modo.