Minnesota Believes In Their Group As Playoffs Open

PWHL Minnesota has come into playoffs on a losing streak, but they believe in their group as the PWHL's second season begins.

After Minnesota secured its playoff spot following an Ottawa loss on the last day of the regular season and a grueling 24 hours awaiting who the squad would play in the inaugural Walter Cup Playoffs, top-seed Toronto chose the State of Hockey team as their first-round opponent.

The series features the PWHL's two stingiest defensive teams, with Toronto conceding just 50 goals over the 24-game season, while Minnesota relinquished 54, which is first and second in goals against league-wide.

Backed by two of the league's best netminders in Kristen Campbell and Nicole Hensley and two-way forwards ridden throughout either side's lineup with Emma Maltais, Blayre Turnbull, Kelly Pannek and Sophia Kunin, among others taking to the ice, it appears viewers can expect a low-scoring affair.

"I think it's kind of been the theme throughout the league, how many tight games, how many overtime games, how many two-point games versus three-point games there were during the year," Minnesota's head coach Ken Klee told media during a press conference Monday. "I'd expect both series — ours and the Boston Montreal series — to be tight. It's the nature of the beast with the teams being so competitive and so balanced, we're expecting close games, and we're going to have to make the big play at the right time."

While one can assume Toronto picking Minnesota as their first-round foe can add extra motivation, Klee believes travel was an overarching reason his squad caught Toronto's eye.

"For me, it's as easy as who has the toughest travel," Klee said. "We've had the toughest travel the entire year. It's been no secret; any team, I think, would agree with that fact, so if I were them, [it's] who has the furthest to come and who has the toughest travel to get here.

"We just played them, so to me, that's who I expected, but in my mind, our group is excited, we're in the playoffs."

Klee joked that travelling to Toronto for games one and two works out scheduling-wise with some family matters.

"It worked out well because I have a family wedding in Toronto this weekend, so they couldn't have made a better pick for my family. My whole family will be in Toronto for a wedding anyway, so it's exciting."

Minnesota has lost five consecutive contests since returning from the World Championship break — each in regulation. Even though momentum is not in their favor, captain Kendall Coyne Schofield is focusing on the bigger picture.

"I think you have to look at the season as a whole," Coyne Schofield said. "It's really easy to look at the last five games, to look at what didn't go well for us, but it's been a long season. There was a pause in there, so it's sometimes hard to remember what happened before that pause and the International Competition.

"We put together some great hockey this year, and I think the last five games were definitely not our best hockey," Coyne Schofield continued. "Moving forward, it's a new season. Everyone starts with a clean slate for every team, every player, and we look forward to going into Toronto with that clean slate."

In contrast, Toronto has won three of five games, including a three-game winning streak, posting six, four, and five goals in each game, respectively. Toronto's league-best offense will look to rack up goals against Hensley and Co. at five-on-five, but where the two teams differ is the special teams.

Minnesota's last-place penalty kill — 67.2% — and second-last power play — 8.2% — is a storyline that has followed the team began their season on January 3.

Their puzzling power play can look lethal at times, but it remains one of two units league-wide with a sub-ten percent completion rate.

Despite the overwhelming talent on Minnesota's power play, a lack of finishing plagues their side. Talentwise, the same applies to their penalty kill.

"It's been a bit of an Achilles heel for us the entire year," Minnesota head coach Ken Klee said regarding his team's penalty kill. "We tried to address it on a game-by-game basis, and we think we cleaned one part up, and then something else seemed to go. At the end of the day, it's about getting clears, getting timely saves, people blocking shots, and everybody being on the same page and buying in."

Lee Stecklein is arguably the best defensive defender in the PWHL. Hensley is among the best goaltenders, while Pannek is a contender for defensive forward of the year. Minnesota has the talent to stifle opponents' power play opportunities, but an inability to do so has haunted its otherwise remarkable team play.

"Our special team hasn't been great, but we did a great job all year of winning a lot of games without them, so we know that we can do it," Klee said. "We know they're important, but we also know that our five-on-five play is just as important. We're focusing on it, but we know it's a part of the game and not the entire game."

Toronto boasts the PWHL’s best penalty kill and converts 15.7% of the time with the player advantage, showing that the home squad is ready to exploit Minnesota's lacklustre special teams.

The two sides are relatively even at even strength. Barring Minnesota's special teams rounding into form at the eleventh hour, Toronto is favored to win the series based on the colossal disparities at five-on-four and four-on-five play.

Each squad in the four-team playoff bracket is talented enough to win the Walter Cup, especially Minnesota, which spent the bulk of the season claiming ownership of the one and two seeds over the season.

Minnesota's star power with Taylor Heise, Coyne Schofield, Grace Zumwinkle and Pannek can be a matchup nightmare upfront. Meanwhile, a defensive stalwart in Stecklein and an offensive dynamo in Sophie Jaques make their blue line dynamic on all fronts.

"We know they have great players. They have arguably the MVP on their team, arguably the number one goalie on their team," Klee said. "They have a lot of horses, but we believe in our group, and we're excited and know we can challenge anybody on any night."

Should their five-on-five offense return to the form seen throughout the first two-thirds of the season and their defense and goaltending remain stable, an upset is viable.

Although, if Minnesota's special team woes bleed into the postseason and their five-game skid to end the season is indicative of signs to come, a Toronto victory seems likely. Ultimately, the series will come down to special teams, and Coyne Schofield understands its importance once the postseason rolls around.

"Special teams are a key component of winning a championship," Coyne Schofield said following Minnesota's loss to Toronto on May 1. "[It] doesn't matter if it's here, international competition, NHL, whatever you're watching, special teams lose you games."