Leksands IF
4–3
IK Oskarshamn

This was much better than Västerås.

And IK still leave without a point.

That may be the most frustrating part.

Brown put IK ahead

The first period was hardly Hollywood hockey. The game was tentative and even for long stretches before Matt Brown made it 0–1.

After the goal the game opened up and Brown, Engsund and Calle Karlsson created several good chances. A small but clearly audible group of IK supporters also made themselves heard in Tegera Arena.

Late in the period Brown took a penalty. IK looked stressed on the penalty kill, but Emil Vuorio was solid and protected the lead.

The chances were there

Axel Elofsson took a poor penalty early in the second. His offensive qualities remain obvious, but against stronger opposition it is also clear that he still has development ahead of him in his own zone.

Even shorthanded IK created huge chances. Herman Hansson went clear and had another opportunity moments later.

IK could have made it 0–2.

Instead they iced the puck. Leksand won the offensive-zone faceoff and made it 1–1.

That became the pattern of the night.

IK created chances. IK missed them. Leksand punished them.

Too clever again

Before 2–1, IK overcomplicated things badly in their own zone. They tried to play pretty when the situation called for simplicity.

Vuorio's intervention on the goal can be questioned, but overall he played well and repeatedly rescued the team after mistakes in front of him.

Soon afterwards Sören Dietz Larsen had something close to a breakaway.

Missed.

Then came 3–1.

Five-minute power play – almost nothing

Leksand received a five-minute major and game misconduct for checking to the head after video review.

IK were handed five minutes on the power play.

It should have been the route back.

Instead everything was slow. The puck moved, the play looked designed to be pretty, and Leksand had time to reset.

The skill is there. The pace and directness are not.

The homegrown players brought IK back

In the third Joel Svensson finally made it 2–3, assisted by Calle Karlsson.

Then Ludvig Markman scored his second goal of the season to make it 3–3.

Suddenly IK had recovered from 1–3 despite the feeling that Leksand had been closer to the next goal.

That says something positive about this team.

They did not quit.

Then IK gave it away again

After the equaliser Leksand pushed. IK lost their structure and were forced into another penalty.

Shorthanded, IK created a huge chance.

Missed.

Almost immediately Leksand made it 4–3.

It was almost a parody of the previous two games.

Later IK gave away another breakaway. Vuorio saved it.

With roughly a minute remaining Hallquisth took another penalty and the game was effectively gone.

The players are not the main problem

It would be easy to tear into the players after two straight defeats.

We will not.

IK were much better than in Västerås. They fought back from two goals down. Vuorio did plenty well. Joel and Calle delivered when needed. Markman stepped up.

The larger problem is that the roster is too thin.

Right now two lines are capable of playing at a very good level. After that the quality drops too sharply. The fourth line consists of players who should not have to carry these minutes for a team with ambitions near the top.

That is not the juniors' fault.

It is roster construction.

Injured players will not solve everything

Pontus Näsén, Ludvig Östman, Manuel Ågren and Filip Sveningsson will make IK better when they return.

But much of that improvement strengthens the top of the lineup.

When the homegrown players and leading players do not produce, the team remains too thin further down.

If IK also intend to keep Matt Brown on the wing and do not have the traditional first-line centre many people imagine, perhaps the answer is not to wait for Arsi Piispanen to magically find one cheaply.

That player is unlikely to be sitting around.

There is another way.

Two genuinely strong forwards – now

IK can build three strong attacking lines with quality in each.

But that requires two genuinely strong forwards.

Not two bodies.

Not two temporary fixes.

Two players capable of producing high in the lineup and pushing today's third- and fourth-line players down the hierarchy when everyone is healthy.

We have already pointed to names that should at least be investigated.

Waiting is now costing points.

The players showed tonight that they are prepared to fight.

Now the sporting management needs to show the same ambition.