2013 – 14 SHL season The 2013 – 14 SHL season was the 39th season of the Swedish Hockey League ( SHL ) . The regular season began on 14 September 2013 and ended on 8 March 2014 . The following playoffs began on 15 March 2014 and ended on 21 April 2014 . It was the first season since the league changed name from Elitserien to Swedish Hockey League in June 2013 . Skellefteå AIK defended their 2013 Swedish Championship title by defeating Färjestad BK four games to zero in the . Skellefteå AIK became the first team to defend the Swedish Championship title since Djurgårdens IF did so with their consecutive Swedish Championship titles in 2000 and 2001 . Skellefteå AIK also became the first team since Brynäs IF in 1976 – 77 to win consecutive Swedish Championships by not losing a single game in both Finals series . A number of format changes were introduced this season . Instead of the top eight teams in the regular season qualifying for the playoffs and the teams ranked 9 – 10 ending their season , the top six teams qualified for the playoffs directly , and the four teams ranked 7 – 10 played a best - of - three series and battled for the two remaining playoff spots . The two teams ranked 11 – 12 still had to play in the Kvalserien round - robin tournament in order to requalify for the SHL . Also , the top three teams no longer got to pick their opponents in the quarterfinals ; instead , the 1st - ranked team faced the lowest - ranked winner of the two best - of - three series , the 2nd - ranked team faced the other winner of the two best - of - three - series , the 3rd - ranked team faced the 6th - ranked team , and the 4th - ranked team faced the 5th - ranked team . In Kvalserien , Örebro HK requalified and Djurgårdens IF qualified for the 2014 – 15 SHL season at the expense of AIK . League changes . Similar to the system in the Finnish Liiga , only the top six teams qualified directly for the playoffs . The four teams ranked 7 – 10 played a best - of - three series , known as Play In , in order to qualify for the playoffs . The 7th - ranked team faced the 10th - ranked team and the 8th - ranked team faced the 9th - ranked team , with the better - ranked teams receiving home advantage in two games if necessary to determine a winner of the series . The winners of these two best - of - three series took the two remaining playoff spots . The teams ranked 11 – 12 were still forced to play in the Kvalserien in order to requalify for the next season of the SHL . From this season , the ability for the top three teams to pick their opponents in the quarterfinals was dropped ; instead , the 1st - ranked team faced the lowest - ranked winner of the two best - of - three series , the 2nd - ranked team faced the other winner of the two best - of - three series , the 3rd - ranked team faced the 6th - ranked team , and the 4th - ranked team faced the 5th - ranked team . Summary . This season ' s outdoor game was played on December 14 , 2013 , between Frölunda HC and Skellefteå AIK at Gamla Ullevi , Gothenburg . The game was won by Skellefteå 4 – 1 in front of 13 , 452 spectators . It was the second SHL outdoor game to be hosted in Gothenburg , Sweden ' s second largest city , as well as the second SHL outdoor game featuring Frölunda HC . On February 8 , 2014 , Leksands IF defenceman Patrik Hersley scored his 22nd goal of the season . With this , he broke the previous record for the number of goals by a defenceman in an SHL regular season , set by Jan Huokko in the 1998 – 99 season with 21 goals . Hersley added another two goals to finish the regular season with 24 goals . He was awarded the Salming Trophy , as the SHL ' s best defenceman , for his performance . Linköpings HC forward Pär Arlbrandt finished the season with 71 points , becoming the third player in league history ( after Håkan Loob and Bud Holloway ) to score 70 points in a regular season . Regular season . Statistics . Scoring leaders . List shows the ten best skaters based on the amount of points during the regular season . If two or more skaters are tied ( i . e . same amount of points , goals and played games ) , all of the tied skaters are shown . Updated as of the end of the regular season . < br > " GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; + / – = Plus / Minus ; PIM = Penalty Minutes " Leading goaltenders . These are the leaders in GAA 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 the end of the regular season . " GP = Games Played ; TOI = Time On Ice ( minutes ) ; GA = Goals Against ; SO = Shutouts ; Sv % = Save Percentage ; GAA = Goals Against Average " Playoffs . This season , only the top six teams qualified directly for the playoffs . The four teams ranked 7 – 10 played a best - of - three series and battled for the two remaining playoff spots . Also , the top three teams no longer got to pick their opponents in the quarterfinals . Play In . The teams ranked 7 and 10 , and the teams ranked 8 and 9 , respectively , faced each other in a best - of - three series in order to qualify for the playoffs . The better - ranked teams in the two series received home advantage , i . e . two home games , if necessary to determine a winner of the series . The two winners , HV71 and Linköpings HC , took the two remaining playoff spots . Playoff bracket . In the first round , the top - ranked team faced the lowest - ranked winner of the two best - of - three series , the 2nd - ranked team faced the other winner of the two best - of - three series , the 3rd - ranked team faced the 6th - ranked team , and the 4th - ranked team faced the 5th - ranked team . In the second round , the highest remaining seed was matched against the lowest remaining seed . In each round the higher - seeded team was awarded home advantage . Each series was a best - of - seven series that followed an alternating home team format : the higher - seeded team played at home for games 1 and 3 ( plus 5 and 7 if necessary ) , and the lower - seeded team was at home for games 2 and 4 ( plus 6 if necessary ) . Finals : ( 1 ) Skellefteå AIK vs . ( 5 ) Färjestad BK . Skellefteå AIK made their fourth consecutive appearance in the Finals , following Finals appearances in 2011 , 2012 , and 2013 . Färjestad BK reached the Finals for the first time since 2011 , and became the first team seeded lower than 4th in the regular season to reach the Finals since 6th - seeded Modo Hockey made it to the Finals in 2000 . Skellefteå AIK swept Färjestad BK four games to zero and secured their third Swedish Championship title in club history , following titles in 1978 and 2013 , the year before . Skellefteå AIK became the first team to defend the Swedish Championship title since Djurgårdens IF did so with their consecutive Swedish Championship titles in 2000 and 2001 . Skellefteå AIK also became the first team since Brynäs IF in 1976 – 77 to win consecutive Swedish Championships by not losing a single game in both Finals series . Their 8 – 1 crush in game three marked the biggest goal margin ( 7 goals ) in a single Finals game in SHL history . Statistics . Scoring leaders . List shows the ten best skaters based on the amount of points during the playoffs . If two or more skaters are tied ( i . e . same amount of points , goals and played games ) , all of the tied skaters are shown . Updated as of the end of the playoffs . < br > " GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; + / – = Plus / Minus ; PIM = Penalty Minutes " Leading goaltenders . These are the leaders in GAA and save percentage among goaltenders who played more than 40 % of the team ' s minutes . The table is sorted by GAA , and the criteria for inclusion are bolded . Updated as of the end of the season . " GP = Games Played ; TOI = Time On Ice ( minutes ) ; GA = Goals Against ; SO = Shutouts ; Sv % = Save Percentage ; GAA = Goals Against Average "