Skellefteå were favourites as they took on Rögle on home ice in the first quarter-final of a best-of-seven series. Then they lost 3-2.
SVT Sports expert Håkan Loob:
"It was thought that Rögle would be a bit exhausted when you go up to such a difficult opponent as Skellefteå. But I think Skellefteå plays practice hockey. It was full speed ahead, but the pointed and hefty wasn't there. It became easier for Rögle to defend himself. There were far too few of the top players in the form of Joakim Lindström, Oscar Möller, Jonathan Johnson and Rickard Hugg.
Rögle knocked out Leksand in the round of XNUMX, while Skellefteå has not played since the regular season ended.
"Number one, I think training pace is one thing and match is another thing. Rögle can't say hello because they win the first game, but I want to see the stars in Skellefteå sacrifice themselves even more to create a sharper hockey. They circle very much and go around, around," Loob said.