It’s time to call in a new old boss
Game. It was done in Malmö.
The team will play qualifying hockey this spring.
It’s time to call in a new old coach – otherwise the season could end in relegation.
There was a special atmosphere at the Tejera Arena on Saturday afternoon.
An atmosphere that contains the angst, the crisis, and the feeling of Saturday must be identical.
Leksand and Malmö both have poor form and the teams are firmly entrenched in the bottom half. For Malmö, the game looked like the last chance for a reasonable chance of avoiding qualification, and three points felt necessary. For Leksand, it was about showing the Saturday crowd that the team can do better than they showed in the bottom section against Brynäs last Thursday and proving they have what it takes to make the playoffs this spring.
That special atmosphere and importance of the game was shown in the first down. Carter Camper and Emil Selfgaard stood next to each other at the red line, and the classic psychological bits appeared on the shin pads and ankles of both players.
The start of the match goes directly to the home team.
Two teams have low self-esteem
6-0 on shots after five minutes and the puck and the game were sealed around Adam Werner and Malmö’s defense zone. But no truly serious scoring opportunity has ever been created. Christopher Forsberg had the best chance of the first half, which was cleared by Lance Puma, but Forsberg never got the puck and the open goal didn’t have to be cleared.
Two teams met with low self-confidence. Lots of play in the attacking area and few players who dared finish the game, but looked for passes in absence. A lot of anxiety looks at players as the fear of losing has overtaken the will and desire to win.
Now the train leaves for Malmö
The longer the match goes on, the clearer it becomes that the first goal will be very important. After 15:46 of the middle class, Emil Heinemann had to stretch his arms up toward the ceiling and cheer his eyes on the media cube. He had a difficult season and the aim was to replace Leksand and Heinemann. Midway through the third period, Leksand broke through after Malmö was careless in their area. Lance Puma was nonchalant as he received a puck which led to captain Patrick Zachrisson making it 2-0.
Now the train leaves for Malmö. It is a hopeless situation for the team to get out of the mud bottom. You have 18 matches left and you need to score 30 points in the games to avoid a goalless qualification. Practically means you have to have the same average points as Växjö or Skellefteå yet and that is an impossible task for Malmö. The problem with the team is that the team is useless and the goalies don’t live up to the SHL’s standards. With a better goalkeeping game, they would not have finished so high in the table.
Then there is no first string to plug it in and players like Carl Söderberg and Emil Sylvegård have fared poorly. Soderbergh actually has the worst plus-minus sign in the entire SHL. -19 on Soderbergh, who has been involved in an unimaginable 35 goals from behind in five-on-five and four-on-four matches so far.
I consider it necessary for Malmö to look at the management staff. Are they the right people to lead Skåne through crisis?
Thomas Kollar, the head coach, wants a lot with hockey and he’s called in the name of the future. But it’s hard to be uncertain and lead a bottom team facing a chasm and the mentally tough task of qualifying in a best-of-seven matches.
Take it for granted that the Malmö management are scouring the terrain for a new coach. A year ago, confusion arose when it was announced that Peter Anderson had been appointed as the new coach, a task that the club had to reclaim later. Maybe it’s time to try to win Peter Anderson back. He has experience, is passionate about Malmö and knows how to manage under extreme pressure. In any case, the team needs to reset and reset to become the winning team.