Hey hockey fans! It’s Lydia Murray here from The Ice Garden (TIG), bringing you the latest edition of Hockey Friday. This week, I’m diving into the PWHL playoff picture as it stands now, with just three games left on the docket and lots still on the line.
Clinched
So far, two teams have clinched a playoff spot: the Montréal Victoire and Toronto Sceptres. Montréal became the first team to clinch back on March 26. They later secured home-ice advantage in the semifinals with a win over Boston on Monday.
As for Toronto, New York helped them clinch on April 27 by defeating the Minnesota Frost in regulation. Then, Ottawa lost to Minnesota in regulation on Wednesday to lock down home-ice advantage for Toronto in the semifinals.
As for who gets the first seed and right to choose their semifinal opponent, that all comes down to Saturday. Montréal currently has a three-point lead over Toronto, so if they secure at least a point against New York, it’s all theirs. However, Toronto holds the regulation wins tiebreaker. So, if the Victoire lose in regulation and the Sceptres win in regulation, they’ll get the top seed.
Still in the Running
Just like last year, the three teams still vying for a playoff spot on the final day of the regular season are the Boston Fleet, Ottawa Charge and Minnesota Frost. The Fleet currently sit in third place with 44 points, while the Charge are in fourth with 42 and the Frost fifth with 41.
Starting with the Fleet, if they take at least one point from the Frost tomorrow, they’re in the playoffs. However, if they fail to do that, they can still get in if Ottawa loses to Toronto in any fashion.
As for the Charge, they need a win in any fashion to guarantee themselves a spot. However, they hold the regulation wins tiebreaker over both the Fleet and Frost. So, as long as they finish with at least an equal number of points to either team, they’re fine. That means that if they lose to Toronto in overtime, they need the Frost to get no more than two points against the Fleet. If they lose to them in regulation, Minnesota can’t get more than one.
Last but not least, the Frost need a regulation win over the Fleet to guarantee themselves a spot. Anything less, and they’ll need Ottawa to lose in regulation because they don’t hold the tiebreaker over them.
Whichever teams make it from this section will hit the road to start the playoffs. The first seed gets to choose which one they play, which might be more difficult than last year. Should Montréal get the first seed and Boston sneak into the playoffs, it’s hard to imagine Montréal picking them considering five of the six meetings have been 3-2 OT decisions. Plus, Boston swept them in three overtime games in last year’s semifinals. So, it would be awfully bold to willingly face them. So, Montréal will almost surely select the other team if given the choice and should the Fleet make it. However, should Boston miss the playoffs or Toronto get the first seed, things get a lot harder to predict, to the point where it isn’t really worth trying until we know who is in.
Eliminated
For the second year in a row, the New York Sirens are the only team eliminated before the final day of the regular season. They were eliminated on April 26 when Boston and Ottawa won their games in regulation. They’ve since banked four Gold Plan points, securing them the first overall pick again.
Links
PWHL expanding to Seattle. Here’s what we know. — The Seattle Times
The PWHL announced its second expansion team on Wednesday, with a new team calling the Emerald City home starting next season.
The not-so-secret women’s hockey superstar Incubator in Rochester, NY — The Ice Garden
TIG’s Melissa Burgress sat down with members of the Bishop Kearney Selects program to discuss how it’s quickly become a launching pad for elite female hockey players.
Minnesota Frost recieve inaugural PWHL Walter Cup championship rings — The Athletic
After months of design work, the Frost finally got their inaugural championship rings this week. Read about the story behind them here.
Purple Posts: Episode 2 — The Ice Garden
The second episode of TIG’s podcast on some of the unorthodox moments in women’s hockey history is live. This time, Cook Stark Hockey director of hockey ops, Eleni Demestihas, joins host LJ Bachenheimer to discuss the pugilistic side of the sport’s history.
PWHL power rankings: Some shuffling heading into the final week — The Daily Faceoff
TDF’s Hunter Crowther and Tyler Kuhel discuss where each team stands heading into the final regular season games this weekend..
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