Happy Friday, everybody! It’s Dylan Nazareth from The Ice Garden here to discuss whether those April showers can really bring May flowers.
I’m referring of course to the PWHL’s Seattle Torrent, who managed a win this week against the Ottawa Charge to keep their postseason hopes alive. The Boston Fleet, Montréal Victoire and Minnesota Frost have already booked their tickets to the Walter Cup Playoffs, and now the five remaining teams are battling for the last spot. Who will make the cut?
With two weeks left in the regular season, let’s dive into the fight for that fourth spot, as well as which team is primed to finish atop the standings and which may be the first to be eliminated (…and why that could be a good thing).
Battling for a berth
With just one playoff spot remaining, the race is on. Currently, the Toronto Sceptres are in fourth place with 34 points and five games remaining. The Ottawa Charge (33 pts., 4 GR) and New York Sirens (31 pts., 5 GR) trail closely behind. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Goldeneyes (27 pts., 4 GR) and Seattle Torrent (26 pts., 4 GR) are just barely hanging on by a thread.
The Sceptres currently have an advantage with the most points and games remaining, but it’ll all come down to the head-to-head matchups. Toronto’s last five matches include two against Ottawa and two against New York, while the Charge and Sirens face each other one more time. Each of those games will have major ramifications on the standings, with the playoff fate of each of these teams ultimately lying in their own hands.
Both Vancouver and Seattle need to win out the rest of their games to even have a shot at the spot, and will also need a very specific set of results from the matches between the above named three. At this point, it’s a longshot.
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Fighting for first place
In the PWHL, finishing in first place is more than just a badge of honor. Per league rules, the team that lands in first gets to select their first-round opponent between the teams in third and fourth place. Considering the quality of the top-three teams this year, that’s a big advantage.
Montréal currently sits in first with 55 points, just one point ahead of Boston, who have a game in hand. Minnesota have fallen behind slightly at 46 points, but they have five games left to make up some ground.
Notably, the Victoire and Fleet play each other two more times, including this Saturday at TD Garden. If either team can grab two wins, they will gain huge ground in claiming that first-place finish. Minnesota also goes up against Boston one more time. Additionally, both the Frost and the Victoire finish their season against the bottom-of-the-league West coast teams.
Searching for a consolation prize
Barring a miracle, it looks like the West coast expansion teams will not be contending for the Walter Cup this year. In all likelihood, Vancouver and Seattle will be the first two teams eliminated. Here’s why that’s significant.
Under the PWHL’s Gold Plan, once a team is eliminated, they begin collecting points (using the regular 3-2-1 method). Rather than a draft lottery, the team with the most points earned post-elimination gets the first-overall pick. And this year, whoever has that top selection will have first dibs on 2026 Olympic MVP and Patty Kazmaier Award winner Caroline Harvey.
Seattle could be eliminated this weekend if New York manages a win over Minnesota. If not, they face Vancouver on Tuesday in what would be a must-win game for both teams. The two then go head-to-head a second time next weekend. Soon enough, we’ll see the Gold Plan in play.
Vancouver and Seattle may not have a good chance at bringing home some hardware, but they can still strike gold in the PWHL draft with a generational talent like Harvey available. For now, they’re both fighting for a playoff spot. But the first team eliminated can revel in the chance to fight for their future.
More from The IX Sports Hockey, powered by The Ice Garden:
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Kara Goulding continues Boston College’s tradition of giving back by Giselle Velazquez
Middlebury College’s Meg Simon and her continuous passion for helping others by Giselle Velazquez
Sarah Fillier, sequencing and the luck of the Sirens by Natalia Rachman
The Minnesota Frost have clinched a third straight playoff berth by Reid Lemker
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