KalPa needed all five games to finally see off IFK Helsinki in the wildcard round, and the fresher legs of the Ilves players looked to be making all the difference in the opening period.
Midway through the first 20 minutes, Erik Borg won a scrappy face-off on the left side of the attacking zone despite hitting the deck, but once he regained his footing, he blasted the puck past the goaltender to score unassisted.
Less than a minute later it was 2-0 - Simon Johansson fired the puck low from the right wing, and waiting in front of the net was Peter Quenneville who coolly diverted it goalwards to beat Talyn Boyko again.
But KalPa managed to stop the rot and got themselves back into the match at the halfway point, when Joona Saarelainen cleverly shovelled the puck on to Konsta Kapanen, who had space to pick his spot.
The visitors pushed for a late equaliser, only for the Lynx to finally wrap up the 3-1 win with a minute to play, as Matias Mantykivi found the empty net. KalPa will have the chance to draw level in the series when the two meet in Kuopio for game two on 31st March.