Malmö Redhawks lost 2–5 to Timrå in the SHL after being heavily penalized for infractions. Three goals conceded in powerplay situations decided the game. Captain Robin Salo noted that the penalty kill did not perform as usual.
Malmö Redhawks have been one of the SHL's strongest teams in penalty kill this season, but on Thursday, little of that efficiency was seen against Timrå. The away team lost 2–5 after conceding three powerplay goals.
The match started poorly for Redhawks. Already in the middle of the first period, Eemil Viro was in the penalty box, and Timrå capitalized when Alfons Freij shot 1–0 past a screened Marek Langhamer at 11:47.
“We couldn't stop their powerplay today, so we need to get better there,” said Robin Salo in TV4 after the game.
The Malmö defenseman pondered the shortcomings: “Sometimes you don't have the luck with you, but maybe we need to be a bit more aggressive, play a bit more together all four to know exactly what everyone's job is.”
In the second period, the next setback came. At 2:45, Felix Carell was penalized, and the puck was deflected in behind Langhamer to make it 0–3.
Redhawks came to life after that and pressured Timrå with sharp chances, especially from the fourth line with Isac Nilsson, Kalle Hemström, and Linus Öberg, as well as the first line with Axel Sundberg, Fredrik Händemark, and Petter Vesterheim.
Nilsson broke the shutout with his third goal of the season, and in the third period, Robin Hanzl reduced the deficit to 2–3. But Filip Björkman took another penalty, and Erik Walli-Walterholm scored 2–4 in less than a minute on powerplay.
“We got better. We had chances to tie it, but we're simply not efficient enough. We're close but it wasn't enough today,” said Salo.
In the final minutes, Langhamer was pulled, but Timrå controlled and scored 2–5 into an empty net. The loss was Redhawks' fourth in their last five matches.
“We were ready for the game, but we were simply too passive and maybe didn't get the bounces with us, but you have to earn them sometimes too,” Salo thought.
