The PWHL regular-season champion Montreal Victoire bucked the standings by choosing to open their semifinal playoff series facing the third-place — and two-time defending Walter Cup champion — Minnesota Frost, the team announced Sunday night.
In selecting Minnesota, Montreal also set the other best-of-five semifinal matchup of second-place Boston Fleet facing fourth-place Ottawa Charge.
Montreal finished with 62 points and in a tie for first with Boston in the standings, but held the tiebreaker in having more overall wins, 22 to the Fleet’s 21. The PWHL has had its regular-season champion pick its opponent since the league launched three years ago.
And so far, the top team’s choice has backfired, including last year, when Montreal opted to play third-place Ottawa and lost the series in four games. In 2024, Toronto chose to play fourth-place Minnesota, and lost that series in five games.
The Fleet will open their series against Ottawa at Boston on Thursday night. The Victoire will open their series at Montreal on Saturday.
In choosing Minnesota, Montreal avoided a rematch of last year’s grueling semifinal series against the Charge in which all four games were decided by one goal — including the Victoire’s 3-2 win that required four overtime periods.
This year, Montreal swept its four-game season series against Minnesota, with two decided in overtime. The Victoire allowed a league-low 41 goals and finished second with 78 goals scored. Minnesota scored a league-leading 91 goals and were tied for fourth in allowing 73.
Ottawa won all four meetings against Boston, with three ending in shootouts and the other in overtime. And the Charge clinched the PWHL's fourth and final berth with a season-ending 3-0 win over Toronto on Saturday.
The regular-season standings haven’t mattered much in the past two PWHL playoffs, with the lower-seeded team winning each series.
Minnesota finished fourth in the standings each time before rolling to win the championship. The Frost beat Boston in five games to win the inaugural title in 2024. The following year, they defeated Ottawa in four games.
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Ottawa Charge's Jocelyne Larocque (3), goaltender Gwyneth Philips (33) and Gabbie Hughes (17) celebrate their team's win over the Toronto Sceptres after a PWHL hockey game in Ottawa, Ontario, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press via AP)
Minnesota Frost's Kelly Pannek (12) celebrates with teammates after her goal against the Vancouver Goldeneyes during the third period of a PWHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)
Montreal Victoire's Hayley Scamurra (16) celebrates her goal with her teammates as Vancouver Goldeneyes' Hannah Miller (34) skates to the bench during the third period of a PWHL hockey game, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Ryan Poehling scored 2:29 into overtime, and the Anaheim Ducks pushed Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers to the brink of first-round elimination with a 4-3 victory in Game 4 on Sunday night.
Jeffrey Viel tied it with 6:29 left in regulation for the Ducks, who rallied from an early two-goal deficit and another third-period hole before taking a 3-1 series lead with their third consecutive victory over the back-to-back Western Conference champion Oilers.
The Ducks won when Poehling’s sharp-angled shot reluctantly trickled under goalie Tristan Jarry, who had played well in his first playoff start for his new team. An extensive video review revealed no reason to overturn the judgment on the ice that the puck had barely crossed the goal line underneath Jarry’s skate.
Game 5 is Tuesday night in Edmonton.
Cutter Gauthier and Mikael Granlund scored power-play goals in the second period for the Ducks, whose first playoff series in eight years has been an exciting demonstration of their revamped roster’s ample skill. Lukas Dostal stopped 24 shots for Anaheim, which has scored 20 goals in four games against the vaunted Oilers.
Evan Bouchard scored a tiebreaking goal early in the third period and Jarry made 34 saves for the Oilers. Kasperi Kapanen and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored first-period goals.
Edmonton nearly won it late in regulation, but Dostal made a spectacular, sprawling pad save to deny McDavid on a late breakaway. The Oilers’ superstar center had two assists in Game 4.
Jarry struggled for Edmonton after arriving in a midseason trade with Pittsburgh, losing his job to Connor Ingram. But with the Oilers struggling mightily to stop the fast, exciting Ducks, coach Kris Knoblauch made the switch got a solid effort from Jarry, who hadn’t played since April 8.
The Oilers also improved their defensive structure after a shambolic Game 3 – and yet the energetic, hungry Ducks still pumped in four more goals despite playing from behind for most of the night.
Kapanen silenced the raucous sellout crowd at Honda Center 38 seconds after the opening faceoff with his fourth goal in four games. Nugent-Hopkins then scored just Edmonton’s second power-play goal of the series.
The Ducks began yet another comeback with vicious wrist shot from Gauthier, their 22-year-old top scorer. Anaheim’s once-awful power play has scored in eight consecutive games.
Granlund and Leo Carlsson then teamed up for a fluid give-and-go to tie it.
Bouchard ripped a wrist shot for a tiebreaking goal just 4 seconds into an Oilers power play, but the Ducks’ fourth line tied it again, with Viel punching home a rebound of John Carlson’s shot for his second career playoff goal.
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Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl celebrates a goal by center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with the bench during the first period of Game 4 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Anaheim Ducks players celebrate a goal by left wing Cutter Gauthier (61) during the second period of Game 4 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, right, shoots as Anaheim Ducks defenseman John Carlson, left, defends during the second period of Game 4 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Anaheim Ducks center Tim Washe, top, reacts on goal by left wing Jeffrey Viel during the third period of Game 4 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Anaheim Ducks players celebrate a goal by left wing Jeffrey Viel during the third period of Game 4 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
