Here's a break down of the head to head matchups between PWHL Toronto and PWHL Minnesota, and PWHL Boston and PWHL Montreal heading into the PWHL playoffs.
Here's a break down of the head to head matchups between PWHL Toronto and PWHL Minnesota, and PWHL Boston and PWHL Montreal heading into the PWHL playoffs.
The inaugural PWHL playoffs get underway with two best-of-five semi-finals – PWHL Toronto, who finished first, selected their opponent, and will play PWHL Minnesota. The other series will feature second-place PWHL Montreal against PWHL Boston.
Who are the important players to watch? These are the leading scorers for each of their teams, as well as an ‘x-factor’ type player who could play an important role:
PWHL Toronto
While they only played Minnesota four times instead of five, there was a clear hierarchy in the scoring prowess for Toronto. Of course, the league’s goal leader, Natalie Spooner, was a standout with four goals and one assist in the four games, including two goals (and the game-winner) in their final meeting just a week ago.
Emma Maltais, who has been flexing her offensive game down the stretch, had one goal and five assists, and will be someone Minnesota has to watch. She had two power-play assists and an empty net goal in the teams’ final meeting.
Sarah Nurse also has five points versus Minnesota, posting three goals and two assists. She has at least a point in every game between the two teams. Her highlight game was February 27 at the Mariucci Center where she scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, and then potted the overtime winner after Minnesota had tied the score.
Keep an eye on: defender Renata Fast, who had a goal and two assists against PWHL Minnesota and who has been using her shot from the point more effectively in recent games. If she can continue her physical play and also chip in offensively, she will be dangerous.
PWHL Minnesota
The points leaders in their head-to-head are the names you would expect: Taylor Heise and Kendall Coyne Schofield, both with two goals and two assists. Heise’s two goals (and one assist) came in their first meeting, however, and she has cooled off in the last couple of weeks, as has the entire team. Her second goal was a sizzler that made the highlight reels, though, and she has the skill and speed to make Toronto aware whenever she is on the ice.
Coyne Schofield raises her game in big moments and will provide the leadership Minnesota needs when the pressure is on, and they’ll need her to do just that to compete against the league’s top team.
Goaltender Nicole Hensley faced a lot of shots versus Toronto, posting a .903 save percentage and a GAA of 2.93. She will need to be on her game to give PWHL Minnesota a chance to keep pace in the series.
Keep an eye on: Grace Zumwinkle, who totaled 11 goals and eight assists this season. She can be a streaky player (she had the league’s first hat trick in the second game of the season) and doesn’t shy away from contact. She is better rested than some of her teammates since she didn’t play any games in the Women’s World Championship although she was on the roster.
PWHL Montreal
Not surprisingly, Marie-Philip Poulin holds the key to Montreal’s offensive game against Boston in this series. Despite zero points in their opening matchup, Poulin totaled two goals and four assists for six points to pace all of Montreal’s players. Boston won’t want to be on the end of Poulin’s laser-beam focus, since we’ve seen what she can do when she is provoked. She had two points in the rematch when Montreal defeated Boston 2-1 in overtime, three points in Montreal’s 3-1 win, and of course, scored a huge goal to tie the score at 3-3 in the season finale for both teams. She can simply dictate a game when she is on the ice.
Erin Ambrose has started to perform offensively and helped key the team’s recent power-play success. She has three goals and two assists in the season series and will be an important influence at both ends of the ice.
Laura Stacey scored two goals versus Boston, including the overtime winner on February 4, and has been in the thick of the action and controversy (she was the player driving to the net on the disallowed OT goal in the teams’ first meeting). Her speed will be a threat and some timely goals would be a huge plus.
Keep an eye on: Mikyla Grant-Mentis, who signed with Montreal and was held scoreless throughout the entire season until the final game in Boston. She broke out with two goals, which bodes well for her confidence and could make her an important player in this matchup.
PWHL Boston
With their confidence surging, the late-season Boston team is a different group than what we saw even a few weeks ago. Hilary Knight has started to shine offensively, enough that she is one of the scoring leaders in the regular-season series. She had two goals and one assist, but it’s important to note that one goal and one assist came in that playoff-clinching win.
Hannah Brandt has also scored some clutch goals for the team, and against Montreal, she has one goal and three assists. She will be a notable secondary threat for PWHL Boston.
Alina Müller was held scoreless in the first two meetings between these teams, but got an assist on the only goal for Boston in their March 2 game, and then finally scored at home against Desbiens last week. If she gains confidence from that effort, Boston will welcome her offensive game showing up in this series.
Keep an eye on: Megan Keller, who quietly put together a terrific offensive season on the back end. She had four goals and 11 assists, none against Montreal until (again!) that final game when she broke through with a huge goal. Her defensive acumen is unquestioned, but if she can contribute offensively as well, Boston’s odds to win take a big leap.