The PWHL said they postponed Monday night's deciding game five between Minnesota and Montreal citing "commitment to the health and wellbeing of players," but it's a mixed message only days after jamming games together with little time for rest or recovery.
Watching game five of the PWHL semifinals between the Montreal Victoire and Minnesota Frost end up postponed harkens back to COVID-19 and the opening days of the 2026 Olympics with norovirus.
Such cancellations and postponment are rare in professional sport. But this one may have been avoidable.
Why?
In an almost unheard of scheduling of games, Minnesota and Montreal came off a triple overtime marathon that ended at 11:26pm on Tuesday. Leaving Montreal, both teams then travelled to St. Paul, Minnesota where they played at 6pm on Thursday. With that game ending near 10pm, the two teams were both on the ice for a 7:30pm game the next day.
Back-to-back games in professional sport are a challenge. Back-to-back games in playoffs are unheard of. Typically in NHL series', there is one day between all games in the same market, and a second day for travel when the series' change cities.
But the PWHL had to jam in games due to venue availability, and it gave athletes no time for rest, recovery, and recuperation, and the result may have come out as the mass spread of illness that resulted in the postponment of game five.
While it's impossible to say that the lack of rest and recovery, and the need to travel in confined spaces more quickly following games was the actual cause, but it increased the risk, and considering the league stated they postponed game five "due to player safety concerns related to illness," the league should perhaps be taking preventative measures, rather than reactionary after the health and well-being of players has already been impacted.
In fact, there's an abundance of scientific research that states those who get less rest and sleep are more likely to become ill as their immune system functioning is compromised.
As the Mayo Clinic writes, "Studies show that people who don't get quality sleep or enough sleep are more likely to get sick after being exposed to a virus, such as a common cold virus. Lack of sleep also can affect how fast you get better if you do get sick."
Or a researchers write, "If too few resting periods are applied between strenuous exercise sessions, the athlete is at an increased risk..." for illness as immune function cannot fully recover itself.
According to the PWHL, the decision to postpone game five "was made following consultation with medical personnel and in accordance with the league’s commitment to the health and wellbeing of players, fans, staff and all those involved in the competition."
But was it avoidable? Even if players were already exposed to whatever illness is currently impacting five members of the Montreal Victoire, the ability for their bodies to effectively fight those pathogens would certainly be impacted by the lack of rest and recovery, coupled with adverse travel due to compact scheduling.
And the league's push of game five by only 24 hours is not enough for full recovery from any viral illness, if that is in fact what is ailing the Victoire.
The scheduling of the series was an issue in the eyes of the players before this occurred. Minnesota Frost forward Taylor Heise spoke on the issue, which she called "inappropriate."
“I think it's a challenge. I think it's a little inappropriate, honestly,” Minnesota superstad Taylor Heise said after game three. “But I think for us, it's like, both teams are going through it. The other teams (Boston and Ottawa) had 6 days in between games and we didn't, and that's just the reality of what the league wanted.”
The sport science research is clear. The importance of recovery for an athlete's body is paramount, and the 12-24 hours following a game are most crucial. Lack of sleep, nutrition, and travel and impact these issues.
The triple overtime game, the equivalant of two games in itself, followed by economy flights from Montreal to Minnesota, followed by back-to-back games was enough to take a toll on the bodies of players in the series. Couple that with exposure to pathogens, and the environment was ripe for an issue among Montreal and Minnesota.
Was the spread of illness to the level where the PWHL postponed a deciding playoff game less than three hours before puck drop changing the plans for 10,000 fans, broadcasting, and the health impact to players preventable? Perhaps. This may have happened with or without better scheduling and more time for rest and recovery for athletes.
The problem is, it did happen. And it's