Linköping's top line of Haruka Toko, Sara Hjalmarsson and Lova Blom put on a clinic, while Ebba Svensson Träff posted a shutout in a win over Djurgården.
Monday evening’s rematch between Linköping and Djurgården was a speedy affair, with both teams showing improvement in transition. The goaltenders, Linköping’s Ebba Svensson Träff and Djurgården’s Ida Boman, were solid once again, shutting down many high quality scoring chances by each team in the first period.
The story of the night, however, was Linköping’s line of Haruka Toko, Sara Hjalmarsson and Lova Blom, who led Linköping to a 3-0 win.
The Japanese forward Toko, now in her fourth season with the club, presented a mesmerizing figure all evening. Her vision and passing ability allowed her to possess the puck under pressure, and create scoring chances out of nothing. With the powerful Sara Hjalmarsson and the young and promising Lova Blom, the line was a was a sight to behold as Toko darted her way around the offensive zone, often with the puck on her stick, and always with her head up, looking for open lanes. Though the first period ended in a scoreless deadlock, Linköping looked primed to score first.
LHC began the second period on the power play. Djurgården elected to play a very aggressive penalty kill, which paid off as Linköping had trouble establishing themselves in the offensive zone. The teams would exchange shots throughout the period, but few solid chances until the Toko line’s magic created the first goal of the game. Standing behind the Djurgården goal line with her back to the play and a defender hounding her, Toko found Hjalmarsson with a no-look pass to the slot. Hjalmarsson’s initial shot was kicked out by keeper Boman, directly onto the blade of a driving Blom, who scored. 1-0 Linköping.
In the third frame, the line would click again. Defender Lindsay Agnew’s piercing saucer pass found a streaking Hjalmarsson, who split two DIF D and went in alone on Boman. The goalie stopped the initial shot, but the rebound flew into the slot, where none other than Haruka Toko grabbed it, pulled the puck to her backhand and scored. A minute later, the line would tally again, this time on the power play, when a Blom shot from the right circle created a rebound that was hammered in by Hjalmarsson.
The line’s chemistry was clear for all to see, and will need to be replicated soon; Frölunda, a team built to score, visits on Wednesday.