# 2018–19 SHL season

The 2018–19 SHL season was the 44th season of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). The regular season began in September 2018 and ended in March 2019. It was followed by the Swedish Championship playoffs and the relegation playoffs. The league consisted of 14 teams. The only new addition for this season was Timrå IK, who replaced Karlskrona HK after defeating them in the 2018 SHL qualifiers.
Färjestad BK won the regular season, and Frölunda HC won the Swedish Championship.

## Teams

| Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
| Brynäs IF | Gävle | Gavlerinken Arena | 8,585 |
| Djurgårdens IF | Stockholm | Hovet | 8,094 |
| Frölunda HC | Gothenburg | Scandinavium | 12,044 |
| Färjestad BK | Karlstad | Löfbergs Arena | 8,647 |
| HV71 | Jönköping | Kinnarps Arena | 7,000 |
| Linköpings HC | Linköping | Saab Arena | 8,500 |
| Luleå HF | Luleå | Coop Norrbotten Arena | 6,300 |
| Malmö Redhawks | Malmö | Malmö Arena | 13,000 |
| Mora IK | Mora | Jalas Arena | 4,500 |
| Rögle BK | Ängelholm | Lindab Arena | 5,150 |
| Skellefteå AIK | Skellefteå | Skellefteå Kraft Arena | 6,001 |
| Timrå IK | Timrå | NHK Arena | 6,000 |
| Växjö Lakers | Växjö | Vida Arena | 5,700 |
| Örebro HK | Örebro | Behrn Arena | 5,150 |

## Regular season
### Standings

Each team plays 52 games, playing each of the other thirteen teams four times: twice on home ice, and twice away from home. Points are awarded for each game, where three points are awarded for winning in regulation time, two points for winning in overtime or shootout, one point for losing in overtime or shootout, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finishes with the most points is crowned the league champion.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Färjestad BK | 52 | 28 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 165 | 114 | +51 | 101 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 2 | Luleå HF | 52 | 25 | 11 | 4 | 12 | 138 | 100 | +38 | 101 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 3 | Frölunda HC | 52 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 16 | 152 | 134 | +18 | 92 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 4 | Djurgårdens IF | 52 | 23 | 5 | 7 | 17 | 149 | 120 | +29 | 86 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 5 | Skellefteå AIK | 52 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 142 | 124 | +18 | 84 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 6 | Malmö Redhawks | 52 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 20 | 136 | 125 | +11 | 82 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 7 | Växjö Lakers | 52 | 22 | 3 | 10 | 17 | 123 | 120 | +3 | 82 | Qualification to Eighth-finals |
| 8 | HV71 | 52 | 24 | 1 | 6 | 21 | 136 | 125 | +11 | 80 | Qualification to Eighth-finals |
| 9 | Rögle BK | 52 | 20 | 4 | 7 | 21 | 130 | 143 | −13 | 75 | Qualification to Eighth-finals |
| 10 | Örebro HK | 52 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 22 | 130 | 146 | −16 | 69 | Qualification to Eighth-finals |
| 11 | Brynäs IF | 52 | 17 | 2 | 14 | 19 | 116 | 145 | −29 | 69 | |
| 12 | Linköpings HC | 52 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 23 | 130 | 143 | −13 | 67 | |
| 13 | Mora IK | 52 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 27 | 126 | 167 | −41 | 60 | Qualification to Relegation playoffs |
| 14 | Timrå IK | 52 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 33 | 115 | 182 | −67 | 44 | Qualification to Relegation playoffs |

### Statistics
#### Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of matches played on 14 March 2019. If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
| Ryan Lasch | Frölunda HC | 46 | 12 | 38 | 50 | –11 | 18 |
| Joakim Lindström | Skellefteå AIK | 48 | 18 | 24 | 42 | +9 | 20 |
| Derek Roy | Linköpings HC | 49 | 8 | 34 | 42 | +8 | 28 |
| Jesse Virtanen | Färjestad BK | 52 | 6 | 35 | 41 | +16 | 47 |
| Markus Ljungh | HV71 | 52 | 16 | 24 | 40 | +7 | 8 |
| Konstantin Komarek | Malmö Redhawks | 49 | 13 | 26 | 39 | +2 | 18 |
| Oscar Möller | Skellefteå AIK | 51 | 19 | 19 | 38 | +11 | 8 |
| Ted Brithén | Rögle BK | 46 | 12 | 26 | 38 | +7 | 12 |
| Ryan Gunderson | Brynäs IF | 52 | 8 | 30 | 38 | +2 | 18 |
| Oskar Steen | Färjestad BK | 46 | 17 | 20 | 37 | +17 | 49 |

#### Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of matches played on 14 March 2019.
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | T | L | GA | SO | Sv% | GAA |
| Joel Lassinantti | Luleå HF | 42 | 2498:16 | 26 | 6 | 10 | 70 | 5 | 93.10 | 1.68 |
| Adam Reideborn | Djurgårdens IF | 39 | 2317:50 | 22 | 5 | 12 | 72 | 3 | 92.90 | 1.86 |
| Viktor Fasth | Växjö Lakers | 35 | 2081:39 | 16 | 3 | 15 | 69 | 4 | 91.88 | 1.99 |
| Adam Werner | Färjestad BK | 26 | 1485:13 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 50 | 3 | 92.63 | 2.02 |
| Markus Svensson | Färjestad BK | 31 | 1644:35 | 17 | 2 | 9 | 57 | 5 | 91.97 | 2.08 |
| Johan Mattsson | Frölunda HC | 28 | 1586:07 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 56 | 1 | 91.82 | 2.12 |
| Oscar Alsenfelt | Malmö Redhawks | 37 | 2119:04 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 76 | 1 | 92.39 | 2.15 |
| Mantas Armalis | Skellefteå AIK | 32 | 1901:16 | 14 | 5 | 13 | 69 | 4 | 91.67 | 2.18 |
| Jonas Gunnarsson | HV71 | 34 | 1999:11 | 15 | 2 | 17 | 78 | 6 | 90.98 | 2.34 |
| Jonas Gustavsson | Linköpings HC | 36 | 2038:53 | 18 | 2 | 14 | 85 | 2 | 91.67 | 2.50 |

## Playoffs

Ten teams qualify for the playoffs: the top six teams in the regular season have a bye to the quarterfinals, while teams ranked seventh to tenth meet each other (7 versus 10, 8 versus 9) in a preliminary playoff round.

### Playoff bracket

In the first round the 7th-ranked team will meet the 10th-ranked team and the 8th-ranked team will meet the 9th-ranked team for a place in the second round. In the second round, the top-ranked team will meet the lowest-ranked winner of the first round, the 2nd-ranked team will face the other winner of the first round, the 3rd-ranked team will face the 6th-ranked team, and the 4th-ranked team will face the 5th-ranked team. In the third round, the highest remaining seed is matched against the lowest remaining seed. In each round the higher-seeded team is awarded home advantage. In the first round the meetings are played as best-of-three series and the rest is best-of-seven series that follows an alternating home team format: the higher-seeded team will play at home for games 1 and 3 (plus 5 and 7 if necessary), and the lower-seeded team will be at home for game 2 and 4 (plus 6 if necessary).
| Eighth-finals Swedish: Åttondelsfinal | Eighth-finals Swedish: Åttondelsfinal | Eighth-finals Swedish: Åttondelsfinal | Quarter-finals Swedish: Kvartsfinal | Quarter-finals Swedish: Kvartsfinal | Quarter-finals Swedish: Kvartsfinal | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| | | | 1 | Färjestad BK | 4 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Växjö Lakers | 2 | 8 | HV71 | 3 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Örebro HK | 0 | | | | 2 | Luleå HF | 1 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Frölunda HC | 4 | | | |
| | | | 2 | Luleå HF | 4 | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | | | |
| | | | 7 | Växjö Lakers | 1 | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | | | |
| | | | | | | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | 3 | Frölunda HC | 4 |
| | | | | | | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | 4 | Djurgårdens IF | 2 |
| | | | 3 | Frölunda HC | 4 | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | | | |
| 8 | HV71 | 2 | 6 | Malmö Redhawks | 1 | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | | | |
| 9 | Rögle BK | 0 | | | | 1 | Färjestad BK | 3 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Djurgårdens IF | 4 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Djurgårdens IF | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Skellefteå AIK | 2 | | | | | | |

### Eighth-finals

The teams ranked 7 and 10, and the teams ranked 8 and 9, respectively, will face each other in a best-of-three series in order to qualify for the quarter-finals. The better-ranked teams in the two series will receive home advantage, i.e. two home games, if necessary. The two winners will take the two remaining quarter-final spots.

#### (7) Växjö Lakers vs. (10) Örebro HK

* Växjö Lakers won series 2–0

#### (8) HV71 vs. (9) Rögle BK

* HV71 won series 2–0

### Quarter-finals
#### (1) Färjestad BK vs. (8) HV71

Game 5 of this series was the second-longest Elitserien/SHL playoff game, with Oskar Steen's game-winning goal coming after 57:01 of overtime.
* Färjestad BK won series 4–3

#### (2) Luleå HF vs. (7) Växjö Lakers

* Luleå HF won series 4–1

#### (3) Frölunda HC vs. (6) Malmö Redhawks

* Frölunda HC won series 4–1

#### (4) Djurgårdens IF vs. (5) Skellefteå AIK

* Djurgårdens IF won series 4–2

### Semi-finals
#### (1) Färjestad BK vs. (4) Djurgårdens IF

* Djurgårdens IF won series 4–3

#### (2) Luleå HF vs. (3) Frölunda HC

* Frölunda HC won series 4–1

### Finals
#### (3) Frölunda HC vs. (4) Djurgårdens IF

* Frölunda HC won series 4–2

### Statistics
#### Playoff scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of matches played on 2 May 2019. If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
| Ryan Lasch | Frölunda HC | 16 | 6 | 13 | 19 | +7 | 4 |
| Rhett Rakhshani | Frölunda HC | 16 | 4 | 13 | 17 | +5 | 6 |
| Max Friberg | Frölunda HC | 16 | 8 | 8 | 16 | +10 | 8 |
| Dick Axelsson | Djurgårdens IF | 19 | 6 | 8 | 14 | –1 | 58 |
| Simon Hjalmarsson | Frölunda HC | 15 | 5 | 9 | 14 | +4 | 8 |
| Patrik Carlsson | Frölunda HC | 16 | 2 | 12 | 14 | +11 | 2 |
| Joel Lundqvist | Frölunda HC | 16 | 6 | 7 | 13 | +6 | 35 |
| Michael Lindqvist | Färjestad BK | 14 | 5 | 8 | 13 | +7 | 28 |
| Chay Genoway | Frölunda HC | 16 | 5 | 8 | 13 | +9 | 4 |
| Linus Hultström | Djurgårdens IF | 19 | 5 | 8 | 13 | –3 | 10 |

#### Playoff leading goaltenders

These are the leaders in GAA and save percentage among goaltenders who played at least 40% of the team's minutes. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded. Updated as of 2 May 2019.
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
| Johan Mattsson | Frölunda HC | 13 | 748:15 | 9 | 3 | 25 | 3 | 92.67 | 2.00 |
| Jonas Gunnarsson | HV71 | 9 | 618:25 | 5 | 4 | 21 | 0 | 92.76 | 2.04 |
| Markus Svensson | Färjestad BK | 13 | 823:39 | 7 | 6 | 30 | 0 | 91.10 | 2.19 |
| Joel Lassinantti | Luleå HF | 10 | 617:31 | 5 | 5 | 23 | 1 | 91.32 | 2.23 |
| Mantas Armalis | Skellefteå AIK | 5 | 254:17 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 90.35 | 2.60 |

## SHL awards

* Guldhjälmen: Jacob Josefson, Djurgårdens IF
* Guldpucken:
* Honken Trophy: Adam Reideborn, Djurgårdens IF
* Håkan Loob Trophy: Emil Bemström, Djurgårdens IF
* Rookie of the Year: Emil Bemström, Djurgårdens IF
* Salming Trophy: Erik Gustafsson, Luleå HF
* Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy: Ryan Lasch, Frölunda HC
* Guldpipan: Mikael Sjöqvist