SDHL Playoff Preview: Brynäs vs Djurgården

Brynäs' defense could struggle against patient, speedy Djurgården. Here's a look at the opening round SDHL playoff match up.

It's one of the most even SDHL playoff series' you'll see this season. Here's a look at how Brynäs and Djurgården match up

Brynäs has spent an entire season searching for its identity. Only five games into the year, star defender Maja Nylén Persson announced that she would depart the team early to prepare for her move to North America and the PWHL. Weeks later, American import Kaitlyn O’Donohoe left to try out with the Minnesota Frost and never returned. After dressing for only three games in two years due to injury, legendary Danish defender Josefine Jakobsen announced her retirement. The team gained players too: Sanni Vanhanen joined from Finland’s Auroraliiga and finished the regular season as Brynäs third leading scorer behind Jenniina Nylund and Hanna Thuvik. Fanni Garát-Gasparics returned to Gävle after a season in the PWHL, while import defender Maude Poulin-Labelle scored 16 points in 17 games to take some of the sting off the loss of Nylén Persson. Brynäs proved that they can score: Nylund and Thuvik ranked among the top ten players in the league in points, and the team collectively scored 96 goals, behind only Luleå and Frölunda. Where Brynäs needs to improve if they are to have any hope of a long playoff run is in the defensive zone. Time and time again this season, the entire team has been caught puck watching. They allow players to go unchecked in the slot, and they do not obsessively block shots and take away passing lanes as a team needs to do to win in the playoffs. Some mistakes can be attributed to the team’s relative youth, while others point to an almost inconceivable lack of a defensive game plan. When Brynäs does regain possession in their own zone, they give the puck away with such an alarming frequency that one would be forgiven for wondering if they should have gone to Specsavers. Brynäs can win this series, and they could win more, but they need to figure out how to keep the puck out of their net. Goaltender Ena Nystrøm, who finished fourth in the SDHL in wins with 15, will need to be at her very best.

Djurgården had a tough start to the season, losing six straight before finally defeating Leksand 3-0. During that stretch, the team scored only five goals, a harbinger of things to come. Indeed, DIF tallied only 78 goals this whole season, third worst among playoff-bound teams, and ahead of only Skellefteå (66 goals for) and anaemic Linköping (63). That they managed to finish the season in fifth place despite their lack of production can be attributed to good defending and the at times otherworldly play of goaltender Ida Boman. Boman, who entered the final game of the season on a four game shutout streak, accrued a total of seven clean sheets in 29 starts, tied for second in the league with Luleå’s Frida Axell. That Boman and Brynäs counterpart Nystrøm started the same number of games, but Nystrøm faced 100 more shots over the course of the season, speaks to the fact that Djurgården’s defense has been excellent. DIF boasts the league’s second-best penalty kill, with an 86% success rate, setting up what could be an entertaining clash with Brynäs’ imposing power play, also the SDHL’s second best behind Luleå. If Djurgården is to succeed, it will with scoring from their young Czech Terezas: leading scorer Plosová and electric playmaker Pisteková, who combined for 50 regular season points. Brette Pettet had a career year in this, her third SDHL season, notching 14 goals and 26 points in 35 games. Pettet, like many Maritimers before her, is a Captain — both literally (she wears the C) and figuratively (she steers the proverbial ship). Pettet won 58.8% of her faceoffs this season, owing largely to her tendency to bark orders at her teammates before the drop. She puts her charges where she wants them to be, and then she gets them the puck. The importance of faceoff wins cannot be overlooked: hockey is a possession game, and having the puck provides a huge advantage, both offensively and defensively. Emerging D specialist Emma Forsgren improved her plus/minus considerably this season, and may have earned a spot on Sweden’s team at the upcoming Women’s World Championships with her strong play at the recent Olympic qualification tournament in Gävle. Expect Djurgården to play a patient, steady series, led from behind by Ida Boman. Djurgården beat Brynäs by a convincing score of 6-3 in the final game of the regular season.

Fearless Prediction: Brynäs wins series 3-2