Leksand entered the match series against Örebro with a third place in the basic series and home field advantage.
But after 1-6 on Sunday and 1-2 yesterday, Örebro has taken a real grip on the semi-final place and the pressure has increased rapidly at Leksand.
– I think it feels good. The group has come together well and we know what to do. I do not think we have sunk into our behavior and become depressed and started to give up, but we have a strong attitude to this and we believe in what we should do, says 19-year-old Emil Heineman.
READ MORE: Ek: Five hottest players in the beginning of the Swedish Championship play-offs
Today, about ten Leksand players trained on ice in Tegera Arena before leaving for Örebro.
– We had a voluntary ice session and many ran in the gym or something else. Now it will be lunch and we will probably have a meeting before we leave. Everything feels very good with the preparations, says Heineman.
Heineman in front of Jhonas Enroth’s box. Photo: Bildbyrån
He has been matched in the first chain together with star duo Marek Hrivik and Peter Cehlarik and now the focus will be on Leksand’s top chain in the third quarter final.
Örebro’s counterpart with Borna Rendulic, Rodrigo Abols and Robin Kovacs has scored 12 points together in two matches.
– The second match was a big boost and a message of strength after the breakthrough on Sunday. We shoot more, have the game in their zone and win back more pucks and more matches across teams. We know what we need to do, says the Leksand forward.
READ MORE: The struggle of the first chains: “We want to show how good we are too”
After the loss yesterday, he came into the locker room and got the news that he had just been traded in the NHL – from Florida who drafted him in the second round (43rd) to the Swedish team Calgary Flames with Mikael Backlund, Jacob Markström, Elias Lindholm, Rasmus Andersson , Joakim Nordström and Oliver Kylington.
– I do not have a good view of Calgary but Matt Caito said that they had good fans and a good culture there. It does not really matter that much, I have not been to Florida yet and it was more that I got to feel now how it can work. But I do not focus on it more than that now. It is the playoffs that count and I have one year left on the contract that I am set to run, says Heineman.
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