2009 - 10 Elitserien season The 2009 – 10 Elitserien season was the 35th season of Elitserien . It started on September 21 , 2009 and ended on March 13 , 2010 . The playoffs started on March 18 , 2010 and ended on April 24 , 2010 . HV71 won the playoffs , beating Timrå IK 4 – 1 in the quarter final series , Skellefteå AIK 4 – 1 in the semi final series , and Djurgårdens IF 4 – 2 in the final series . The season had a mid - season break that started on February 9 and ended on February 26 to allow participation of Elitserien players in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver . League business . Rule changes . Elitserien will bring in a number of rule changes for the start of the 2009 – 10 Elitserien season aimed at increasing offence . Two rule changes are to Rule 440 on faceoffs . Firstly , the first faceoff of a power play will now be in the defending zone of the team that committed the foul , regardless of where the play was stopped . Secondly , a faceoff will always be located at one of the nine faceoff spots . In previous seasons a faceoff could have been located anywhere on the rink . Referees . For the 2009 – 10 Elitserien season around 100 matches will be refereed by four referees . Also , the referees uniforms will change to the classical black striped shirts with a number on the back instead of the referee ' s name , as in previous seasons . Season schedule . Each team will play each other five times during the regular season . Due to play in the Champions Hockey League and matches against two NHL teams , Färjestads BK ' s and Linköpings HC ' s matches in round 4 are played out of the schedule . After the initial season schedule have changes been made for rounds 3 , 6 , 13 , 16 and 38 . General managers ' meeting . The general managers of the 12 elite league clubs in Elitserien met on June 9 , 2009 and agreed on creating a jointly - owned development company that will focus its work on the development of elite ice hockey in Sweden . The company ' s executive officer is Håkan Loob who will put is work in Färjestads BK on hold . It was also decided that the elite clubs will produce a new shareholder deal for the Swedish hockey league , Svenska Hockeyligan AB ( SHL ) , as the current deal expires on April 30 , 2010 . The clubs will participate in the current league system for seasons 2009 – 10 and 2010 – 11 . Outdoor game . On December 28 , 2009 , Färjestads BK and Frölunda HC played their round 33 game outdoors at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg . The match organizers ' goal was to break the previous outdoor game spectator record from 1962 where 23 , 192 spectators attended a match between Frölunda HC and Djurgårdens IF at Ullevi . In the 2009 match , the boards of the rink was completely transparent and Frölunda HC played in jerseys looking as the jerseys from 1962 , void of advertisements . 31 , 144 spectators watched the game . Regular season . Statistical leaders . Scoring leaders . " GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; + / – = Plus / Minus ; PIM = Penalty Minutes " Leading goaltenders . " GP = Games Played ; TOI = Time On Ice ( minutes ) ; GA = Goals Against ; SO = Shutouts ; Sv % = Save Percentage ; GAA = Goals Against Average " Playoffs . After the regular season , the standard of 8 teams qualify for the playoffs . HV71 won the regular season title with 95 points . Playoff bracket . In the first round , the highest remaining seed chooses which of the two lowest remaining seeds to be matched against . In the second round , the highest remaining seed is matched against the lowest remaining seed . In each round the higher - seeded team is awarded home ice advantage . Each best - of - seven series follows a 1 – 1 – 1 – 2 – 1 – 1 format : the higher - seeded team will play at home for games 2 and 4 ( plus 5 and 7 if necessary ) , and the lower - seeded team will be at home for game 1 , 3 and 6 ( if necessary ) . Semifinals . In the semifinals , the best ranked team is paired with the lowest ranked team qualified for the semifinals . The two remaining teams will play against each other . Playoff statistical leaders . Playoff scoring leaders . " GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; + / – = Plus / Minus ; PIM = Penalty Minutes " Playoff leading goaltenders . " GP = Games Played ; TOI = Time On Ice ( minutes ) ; GA = Goals Against ; SO = Shutouts ; Sv % = Save Percentage ; GAA = Goals Against Average "