Toronto hockey fans are still coming to terms with another first-round exit by the Maple Leafs. Montreal hasn’t seen Stanley Cup playoff action since the run to the final in 2021.
But Canada’s two biggest hockey markets will have a chance to cheer for a championship starting this week, with home-ice advantage as the first-ever PWHL playoffs get underway.
“I’m sad the Leafs are done,” said PWHL Toronto captain Blayre Turnbull on a media call on Monday. “I was hoping they would go on a bit of a run. But I think for us to be in the spotlight now — it’s something that we’re really excited about.”
After losing three of their first four games, PWHL Toronto rallied to claim first place in first-season standings with a record of 13-4-0-7 — six points ahead of second-place Montreal.
As regular-season champs, Toronto got to choose its first-round opponent under the PWHL’s innovative rules. And after a photo finish that saw Boston and Minnesota edge out Ottawa for the last two playoff spots with identical records of 8-4-3-9, Toronto GM Gina Kingsbury opted for her team to face Minnesota.
OUR SELECTION IS IN!
We reached out to our top scout to help us make the decision. 🕵️ pic.twitter.com/CSYsJM33kd
— y – PWHL Toronto (@PWHL_Toronto) May 6, 2024
“There’s no easy opponent in this league, so we looked at all different angles,” Kingsbury said, mentioning that she consulted with her players as well as analyzing matchups, recent records, travel scenarios, opponents’ health and other factors.
Coach Troy Ryan declined to share which factors were determined to be most important.
“From a hockey perspective, I think it’d be somewhat irresponsible to tip my hat to the exact details,” Ryan said. “At this point, we’ll keep that within house.”
And while Boston and Minnesota finished with identical records, they travelled down opposite paths. Five points out of a playoff spot after the international break for the World Championship ended in mid-April, Boston came back to reach the post-season by posting a record of 4-0-1-0 down the stretch. Meanwhile, Minnesota stumbled to an 0-0-0-5 finish.
Minnesota suffered five straight losses leading into playoffs, but as Kendall Coyne Schofield says, it's a clean slate, and a new season for her team https://t.co/n2521LfcYF #PWHL @TheHockeyNews
— The Hockey News – Women’s (@TheHockeyNewsW) May 7, 2024
One time zone and around 1,000 miles away from their five opponents, Minnesota coach Ken Klee believes that his team’s increased travel burden made them an appealing first-round opponent.
“If I was them, I would say, ‘Who has the furthest to come and has the the toughest travel to get here?’ ” opined Klee, a former NHL defenseman whose best playoff run came as a member of the Maple Leafs in 2004.
“That’s what I expected. But we’ve played tight games with every team in the league. It’s just a matter of patience and timing and making the key play at the right time. So we’re excited about it.”
The Toronto-Minnesota best-of-five gets underway on Wednesday, and Montreal will host Boston starting on Thursday — a matchup that carries plenty of juice for hockey fans in la belle province.
In the NHL, the two Original Six squads have met 34 times in the post-season. The Canadiens won 25 of those series, most recently a seven-game affair in 2014.
Montreal’s top women’s teams, the Stars and Les Canadiennes, won four titles between 2009 and 2017. But the CWHL was not officially considered a professional league. That means the city’s professional hockey title drought now stretches back more than 30 years to the Canadiens’ Stanley Cup win in 1993.
“It’s really been an amazing experience living in Montreal and seeing the type of support that each team has for each other,” said Montreal coach Kori Cheverie. “To be able to bring a championship back to Montreal, I think it would be celebrated by all the teams and would be something extremely exciting for our fans and for the city.”
Montreal and Boston split their four-game season series, with each team winning once in regulation and once in overtime.
Hilary Knight calls it "one of the better rivalries in pro sports, especially for hockey,” as PWHL Boston is set to face PWHL Montreal in the opening round of the #PWHL playoffs
— The Hockey News – Women’s (@TheHockeyNewsW) May 7, 2024
Toronto holds a stronger hand against Minnesota, with two wins in regulation, one win in overtime and one regulation loss.
With the Toronto Marlies and Laval Rocket both now eliminated from the AHL playoffs, that has opened up their arenas for PWHL action.
Toronto will play its home games at the 8,000-seat Coca-Cola Coliseum, while Montreal is in 10,000-seat Place Bell.
Minnesota shares its home rink with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, the 19,000-seat Xcel Energy Center, and Boston plays its home games at the 6,500-seat Tsongas Center on the campus of UMass-Lowell.
It’s all in the details.
Take a closer look at The Walter Cup, designed and handcrafted by Tiffany & Co.
📰 https://t.co/eZB0yUFmwe pic.twitter.com/BZ5PJxbyrk— PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) April 4, 2024
Once the winners of each semifinal are determined, they’ll square off for a chance at the inaugural Walter Cup, named in honor of the PWHL’s financial backers Mark and Kimbra Walter.
For extensive PWHL and women’s hockey coverage, visit The Hockey News’ women’s hockey site.
Related: A Summer of Big Changes Could Be In Store For The Toronto Maple Leafs
Related: Juraj Slafkovsky Broke Out for Canadiens This Season
News Summary:
- PWHL Playoffs Offer Championship Hopes for Toronto and Montreal Hockey Fans
- Check all news and articles from the latest NHL updates.