Färjestad and Brynäs climbed up in the standings, as each team reeled off three consecutive wins.
The Wolfpack moved into third place with 77 points, just two behind second-place Skellefteå and five back of league leaders HV 71. The latest win came Feb. 1 as Farjestad shut out Luleå 2-0 at the Löfbergs Lila Arena in Karlstad.
Goalie Alexander Salak stopped all 29 shots he faced while Markus Paulsson and Rikard Wallin provided the offense, each scoring a goal. Salak’s performance marked the third-straight game in which the Wolfpack allowed two or less goals in a game.

The Tigers, meanwhile, also reeled off three-straight wins and pulled into sixth place, three points ahead of Djurgården and four in front of Södertälje, which hold the final two playoff spots.
Brynäs helped its own cause by beating Modo 5-2 Feb. 1 in Gävle. Mattias Ekholm had a goal and two assists for the Tigers while Andreas Dackell, Anton Rodin, Lars Jonsson and Magnus Kahlberg had one each. Brynäs scored three times on the power play. Modo got goals from Morten Madsen and Nicklas Danielsson.
With the loss, Modo remained in ninth place with 60 points, now three points out of the eighth and final playoff.

Södertälje, which holds the last playoff spot, also helped its own cause Feb. 1 when it beat 10th place Frölunda 3-2. Frölunda also has 60 points.
Joakim Eriksson scored the decisive goal at 15:25 of the second period. SAIK jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Linus Videll and Robert Carlsson. Joel Lundqvist got the Chiefs on the scoreboard at 8:48 of the second period before Eriksson scored the third goal for SAIK. Miko Pyroala scored a third-period goal for Frolunda.
League leaders HV 71 also picked up a win Feb. 1, knocking off fourth-place Linköping 4-3 in front of 6,880 fans in Jönköping.
Miko Luomma had a pair of goals for the Blue Bulls and Adam Johansson three assists. Jusso Hietanen scored the game winner at 12:39 of the third period, just 90 seconds after Jeff Ulmer tied the game for Linköping.
by Chipp Reid