After two seasons of PWHL playoffs, the league has delivered some things that are easy to predict. But this third season has also given us moments that no one could've seen coming.
The PWHL semifinals have so far delivered both the expected and the completely unexpected.
Some things have felt inevitable after two seasons where we've learned how things unfold with the parity of the teams and the fierce competition come the post-season. You can feel the overtime coming or the great save and the tension rising to animosity.
Triple overtime? Check. Sidney Morin with two goals to power her team to a win? Not so much.
INEVITABLE: Tight, low-scoring playoff hockey. Scoreless games that stretch into the final period.
UNEXPECTED: Game 1 between Montreal and Minnesota turning into a defensive mess, with both Ann-Renée Desbiens and Maddie Rooney allowing four goals in a rare high-scoring playoff game.
INEVITABLE: Elite goaltending with all four starters (Desbiens, Rooney, Aerin Frankel and Gwyneth Philips) holding save percentages above .910.
UNEXPECTED: Defensive defenders suddenly on top of the offensive charts. Sidney Morin scoring four goals, Ronja Savolainen with two. Even Jocelyne Larocque joining the conversation with a goal and two assists.
INEVITABLE: Ottawa dragging every game into a 2-1 playoff trench war (or 3-1 with an empty-net goal).
UNEXPECTED: Boston's Aerin Frankel allowing one of the most improbable goals in league history with just 29 seconds left in Game 3 which shocked everyone as the game-winner.
INEVITABLE: Britta Curl-Salemme being suspended for a dangerous high hit.
UNEXPECTED: Even considering her history — including a previous playoff suspension — the punishment lasting only one game.
INEVITABLE: The defending Walter Cup champions Minnesota refusing to disappear quietly and finding a way to extend the series in Game 4.
UNEXPECTED: Ann-Renée Desbiens looking human, allowing several uncharacteristic goals through traffic and screens.
and a bonus flip of the script:
UNEXPECTED: Laura Stacey willing her team to stay in Game 1 and scoring the first playoff hat trick in PWHL history.
INEVITABLE: Marie-Philip Poulin scoring the clutch triple-overtime winner in Game 2 while battling through an injured leg.