Djurgården Stockholm and Adler Mannheim battled it out in a tense game of attack-minded hockey - and sixty minutes and six goals later it was Djurgården who came out on top.

The game got of to a very quick start as just 5 minutes into the first period Djurgården’s Michael Haga broke the deadlock and gave his side the upper hand with a powerplay goal awarded for Sinan Akdag’s game delaying penalty. Throughout the course of the next 15 minutes teammates Olle Alsing and Patrik Berglund both added a goal each to finalise the score at 3-0 for Djurgården at the end of the first period.

Adler, who were second best in the game so far, were motivated to turn the course of the game around and after penalties on Niclas Bergfors and Olle Alsing in close succession, they found themselves with a 5 on 3 powerplay. Chadd Billins scored Adler’s first goal on the night 30 seconds later. Adler were gearing up for a second period comeback, but after a holding penalty for Denis Reul and Djurgården’s lethal penalty killing line-up on the ice, the goal difference went back to three thanks to Henrik Eriksson’s goal. They managed to slowly crawl back into the game and before both teams left for the locker rooms, the scoreline was at 4-3.

Djurgården’s Michael Haga stepped up in the final period and gained back a healthy two-goal lead for his team seven minutes into the third period. He added his third goal, Djurgården’s sixth, on the night with a solo effort from the half-way line but took a heavy blow to the face from a defender in the process. Mannheim were unable to get back into the game from there on and the 6-3 scoreline stood until the final buzzer.

The three points were vital for Djurgården who doing secured their place in the Playoffs with a decisive win over biggest group rivals Adler, and also went top.