AIK trails Modo 0-2 in their Hockeyallsvenskan playoff quarterfinal series. Forward Oliver Johansson, sidelined by injury for the first two games, makes his comeback in game three at Hovet. Scott Pooley was named the league's MVP ahead of the matchup.
AIK faces a critical game three at Hovet after losing the first two matches in Örnsköldsvik to Modo. Oliver Johansson, acquired from Linköping at the trade deadline as a top-line addition, has recorded 2 goals and 1 assist in six games for AIK. He was a game-time decision for games one and two but did not play due to injury. Before game two, Johansson expressed his eagerness to return, as noted by Hockeynews in Örnsköldsvik. He will join a line with Christoffer Björk and Oskar Magnusson. Erik Aterius also enters the lineup, while John Dahlström and Jesper Emanuelsson are scratched. A loss would put AIK in a 0-3 hole ahead of game four on Sunday, intensifying the pressure. The team reverts to lines from the second period of the previous game: Scott Pooley with Daniel Ljungman and Ludwig Blomstrand, who had success together earlier in the season; and Daniel Muzito-Bagenda with Oscar Nord and Rasmus Rudslätt, a long-established pairing. Modo fields its expected lineup but is without defenceman Viktor Persson. Before the game, Scott Pooley was awarded Hockeyallsvenskan's MVP for the regular season by a jury of experts and journalists. The American led the points race with 59 points and contributed to 39% of AIK's goals. TV4 commentator Per Svartvadet said: “Han har hållit ihop hela säsongen. Han gör inte bara mål utan jobbar väldigt hårt också. En uppskattad lagkamrat.”
