Time sure flies when you’re having fun. This weekend, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) teams will all be playing their last game of the season and there will be big implications for the playoffs. We already know Toronto has won the regular season championship and Montreal has clinched the second overall spot, but with one game remaining, there are still three teams vying for a playoff spot.
The Weekend’s Games
First up on Saturday afternoon, a game between already eliminated New York and current holders of third place, Minnesota. At this stage, getting third or fourth place matters very little since Toronto will get to choose who they play in the first round. Still, Minnesota will prefer to qualify by getting a point in the standings rather than praying and hoping the other teams lose their game. That’s all Kendall Coyne-Schoefield and company need, one single point to clinch third place.
On New York’s side, they already know they’ll have the first overall pick at the June draft, but in a lost season, Alex Carpenter might want to win the scoring race. She’s been at or near the top since the start of the season in January. She’s now in third place behind Natalie Spooner, who has 25 points, and Marie-Philip Poulin, who’s got 22 but has played fewer games than Spooner and Carpenter. Let’s see some offense, New York! As for the blueliners, Ella Shelton leads them all with 18 points, just one more than Montreal’s Erin Ambrose, the race is on!
After Minnesota and New York wrap up their season, Boston and Montreal will take center stage when they battle in Boston’s Tsongas Center. If Minnesota gets the point needed to clinch third place, there would still be one playoff spot remaining. Expect Boston to throw everything they have at Montreal to punch their ticket to the spring dance.
If Boston thought they were in for an easy ride because Montreal would be resting some players for the playoffs, they can think again. When Kori Cheverie was asked if it was something she was planning to do with her top players at the last home game, she replied:
“You tell them! That’s a conversation I don’t want to have! No, I mean, we’ve got to keep all our players sharp. I think that’s important too. You saw Daoust [Melodie] playing tonight she was activated. It’s important for our players to get the time and stay sharp heading into the playoffs. I think if we rested them, it would probably be worse for them. We’ll see how the minutes go, but I don’t think I’m going to tell Pou [captain Marie-Philip Poulin] she’s not playing.”
Montreal will therefore come to town with its whole team ready to play and send Toronto a message that they are ready for the postseason and that they fully intend to come up on top. As mentioned above, both Poulin and Ambrose could win the scoring title at their position. If Boston gets all three points, and Ottawa doesn’t win in regulation, they’ll have accomplished their mission to qualify for the postseason.
From an individual standpoint, Aerin Frankel is second for goals-against average (GAA) and third in save percentage (SV%) with .930. We may see a battle of the leading goalies as Montreal’s Elaine Chuli leads the pack in both categories although she’s only featured in eight games. Ann-Renée Desbiens has been in net for the last three games and giving Chuli a game before the playoffs would make sense, she needs to stay sharp too.
Finally, on Sunday, Ottawa will be visiting Toronto and by then, they’ll know exactly what they need to do to book their place in the postseason. As for Toronto, they will be warming up for the playoffs. Spooner will be gunning for the first-scoring title to go with her top goalscorer title. With 18 goals already, no one can catch up to her. Sarah Nurse and Laura Stacey are in second and third place with 10 goals each. Spooner has had an incredible season, and it has done her a world of good to be the go-to player on this Toronto team. She’s taken center stage, which she wasn’t doing before with Team Canada.
If Kristen Campbell gets the start in net for Toronto, she will have played 22 of her team’s 24 games. She’s fourth in GAA and sixth in SV%. She’s sure to get some consideration for goaltender of the season, but if it were up to me, she wouldn’t get the title. She was a big factor in Toronto’s rocky start. It took her a long time to find her confidence, almost as if she needed to get used to being the team’s number one and not the number three like with Team Canada. She got there in the end, but other goaltenders were on their game right away and stayed on it.
If Emerance Maschmeyer gets the start Sunday, she will have been in the net for 23 of her team’s 24 games. One has to wonder how Ottawa will manage next season if she takes maternity leave when her partner Genevive Lacasse gives birth. Perhaps that will be something on Danielle Marmer’s (Boston’s general manager) mind at the upcoming draft.
Looking Ahead to the PWHL Playoffs
Having finished first overall, Toronto will pick who they want to face in the first round between the two teams who will have finished third and fourth. Toronto will have 24 hours to decide which team it wants to take on. For now, it’s impossible to predict who will qualify between Ottawa, Boston, and Minnesota or which factors Toronto may consider. They could look at the travel schedule, which team they’ve won most games against, which team has the least productive attack, and the list could go on and on.
Related: PWHL Toronto Sweeps Season Series Against Montreal in Packed Bell Centre
During the regular season, Toronto has taken on Minnesota four times and has a 3-1 record against them. As for Boston, they’ve met five times this season with Toronto having a slight edge, taking the season series 3-2. Finally, they played four games against Ottawa so far and Maschmeyer’s team has a 3-1 lead. We’ll see how things play out this weekend, but something tells me they’d rather face Minnesota or Boston.
Travel-wise, Boston is closer than Minnesota, so if I had to bet on Toronto’s choice, I’d go for Boston, and in the event the Massachusetts team did not qualify, my money would be on Minnesota. Time will tell if I could have made some money.
As for Montreal, they have no say on who they will take on, but they must be preparing for all three possibilities right now. They’ve taken on Ottawa five times this season, winning four of those five games. Considering how close the two cities are, it would probably be Montreal’s dream scenario. Against Minnesota, Poulin and company won three of the five tilts, giving them a small advantage. Finally, they’ve taken on Hilary Knight’s crew three times so far, winning twice. We’ll see on Saturday if Boston can tie the season series.