PWHL Toronto has chosen fourth-place Minnesota as its first-round playoff opponent, the group introduced on Monday night.
That means second-place Montreal will tackle third-seeded Boston within the different best-of-five semi-final sequence, with the winners of each dealing with off in one other best-of-five sequence in pursuit of the primary Walter Cup championship.
Toronto completed first total within the six-team league over the common season, incomes the facility to decide on between taking part in the third or fourth seed. It’s certainly one of a number of distinctive guidelines the PWHL has adopted in its first season.
“It was definitely not an easy decision,” Toronto GM Gina Kingsbury mentioned. “There’s no easy opponent in this league. We looked at all different angles.”
That consists of analytics, the well being of the opposing groups, how they’ve performed just lately, and the influence of journey. Staff additionally consulted gamers.
“We know that we’ve got our work cut out for us against Minnesota,” Toronto captain Blayre Turnbull mentioned, pointing to the efficiency of Minnesota’s goaltending tandem of Nicole Hensley and Maddie Rooney, and offensive threats like Kendall Coyne Schofield and Taylor Heise.
“They’ve got some star players who I’m sure are going to be really excited to face us, and they’ll bring their best games in the playoffs,” Turnbull mentioned. “It’s going to be a challenge but it’s one that we’re up for and one that we’re excited to take on.”
Toronto comes into the playoffs on a four-game successful streak that has been powered by Spooner and Sarah Nurse, who’ve scored a mixed 15 factors within the final 4 video games. Spooner completed first within the league in each objectives (20) and factors (27) over the common season.
After a rocky begin in January, Toronto emerged as a defensive powerhouse because of probably the greatest blue-line pairings on the planet in Jocelyne Larocque and Renata Fast, hard-to-play-against forwards like Turnbull and Emma Maltais, and a turnaround in internet from Kristen Campbell. The group gained 11 video games in a row from the tip of January to the tip of March.
On the opposite facet is a Minnesota group that hung across the prime of the standings for a lot of the season, and carried a five-game successful streak into the world championship break in April.
But Minnesota hasn’t seemed the identical since that break, struggling each to attain and to forestall different groups from scoring, significantly on the penalty kill. The group wanted just one level to clinch a playoff spot however could not achieve this over 5 alternatives, and solely secured a playoff spot because of a number of losses by Ottawa.
Games one and two of the best-of-five semi-final sequence can be on Wednesday and Friday at 7 p.m. ET at Toronto’s Coca-Cola Coliseum.
The sequence will shift to Minnesota’s Xcel Energy Center for sport three on May 13. Game 4, if needed, can be May 15 in Minnesota, and if a sport 5 is required, it will be in Toronto on May 17.
2nd-place Montreal attracts Boston
Montreal and Boston will look to choose again up the place they left off on Saturday, when Boston saved its season alive with a 4-3 win in a back-and-forth, bodily sport.
“The way that our group stuck together is the type of team that we are,” Boston defender Megan Keller mentioned after the win.
Boston reset and got here again from the world championship break wanting reinvigorated, incomes 13 of a potential 15 standings factors.
They’ll face a Montreal group that has additionally been red-hot because the break, significantly with a participant benefit. Montreal’s Mikyla Grant-Mentis scored twice on the facility play towards Boston on Saturday. Then, captain Marie-Philip Poulin tied the sport at six-on-five with the goaltender pulled.
Montreal’s prime trio of Poulin, Laura Stacey and Kristin O’Neill have registered a mixed 17 factors over the past 5 video games.
Games one and two are set for Thursday and Saturday at 7 p.m. ET at Place Bell in Laval, Que. The sequence strikes to Boston’s house rink on the Tsongas Center for sport three on May 14 and 4, if wanted, on May 16.
If a deciding sport 5 is required, it will be on May 19 in Laval.