A question for every PWHL team in final stretch of season

We’re on the home stretch of the 2025-26 regular season, with all eight PWHL teams embarking on one final sprint. 

For Montreal, Boston, and Minnesota — all three of whom have already punched their tickets to the playoffs — the next 10 days are about hunting down the top seed. Ottawa and Toronto are on a collision course for a final-day showdown for fourth place, though New York and Vancouver surely have something to say about that. Seattle, meanwhile, currently stands alone outside of contention but now has a unique opportunity to win their way to the top draft pick in a class brimming with stars. 

As we eye the final stretch of the campaign, we’re highlighting a question for every club. 

Team listed in order of standings.

1. Montreal Victoire – x (58 pts) | What’s the latest on Marie-Philip Poulin?

Games remaining (3): vs. Boston, @ Vancouver, @ Seattle

Just about everything is going to plan for the Victoire right now. The club set a league record for most wins in a single season with their 20^th of the year on Saturday. On top of their 15-game point streak — they haven’t lost in regulation since Jan. 18 — the team is riding a six-game win streak into the final stretch of the campaign, thanks in large part to the goaltending heroics of Ann-Renée Desbiens. Desbiens has been at her best all year, evidenced by the Victoire’s lowest goals-against mark by a wide margin. The starter has allowed more than two goals in a matchup just once this year. Saturday’s 1-0 victory over the Fleet saw her tie Boston’s Aerin Frankel for most shutouts (seven) and goalie wins (17) in a season while gaining a slight edge in both goals-against average and save percentage on the year (1.08 GAA and .956 SV% for Desbiens; 1.16 GAA and .954 SV% for Frankel).

And to think so much of this season’s second-half success has come without captain Marie-Philip Poulin in the lineup. Poulin, who notably suffered a knee injury at the Olympic Games in February, was in the lineup for Montreal’s first few post-Olympic matchups but suffered a lower-body injury in just her third game back. That was a month ago, and No. 29 has since missed eight games. Her placement on long-term injured reserve, retroactive to March 15, meant she was technically eligible to return April 5. Will we see her again in the regular season? Will we see her in the playoffs? 

2. Boston Fleet – x (54 pts) | Can Frankel backstop Fleet into the top seed?

Games remaining (4): vs. Minnesota, @ Montreal, vs. Ottawa, vs. New York

The first team to clinch a playoff berth this year — and the quickest in PWHL history to do so — and playoff-bound for more than two weeks, Boston’s sights are now set on clinching the top seed. No one’s got an easy end to the regular season, but Boston’s remaining slate might just be the toughest of the bunch. All four of its remaining opponents are either in the playoffs already or desperately trying to clinch the final spot. 

All four remaining games could ultimately prove to be first-round playoff previews — and also serve as a perfect example of why the top seed, and the ability to pick your first-round opponent, is so coveted. 

The most enticing remaining matchup is, of course, against Montreal. Two of their three prior meetings this year had one side shut out the other — Boston opened the season by blanking Montreal, while the Victoire held Boston goalless over the weekend to gain a little ground in the race to the top. Fleet starter Aerin Frankel, newly minted Olympic champ with Team USA, has been in championship form all season long, but so has silver medallist Desbiens. The Canuck’s latest victory over Boston saw her gain a slight edge over her American counterpart on the league’s goalie leaderboard. Their final regular-season showdown will be a must-watch masterclass in goaltending with plenty on the line. 

3. Minnesota Frost – x (49 pts) | Are we watching an offence capable of a three-peat?

Games remaining (4): @ Boston, vs. Toronto, @ Seattle, @ Vancouver

There’s a heavy presence of purple atop the PWHL’s individual leaderboard. The league’s top four point producers, and five of the top six, play for Minnesota, while five of the PWHL’s seven highest goal totals belong to members of the Frost. The club leads the league in goals scored by a pretty wide margin, potting 82 through 26 games — a dozen more than the second-ranked Victoire’s team-wide total. The prolific pace at which Minnesota is able to pile up goals has made up for inconsistencies in net and has the team looking capable of special things come playoffs. Much of that success has come on the power play, with Minnesota leading the league in power-play percentage with a 24 per cent success rate.

The back-to-back Walter Cup champions don’t boast the most complete roster like their foes in Boston and Montreal this year, but we’re about to find out just how far their offensive firepower can take them. A few statement wins down the stretch could send a message. 

4. Ottawa Charge (36 pts) | Can Ottawa OT-win their way in?

Games remaining (3): vs. New York, @ Boston, vs. Toronto

After opening April with three straight losses, Ottawa’s first victory of the month — a clutch 2-0 win over Toronto last Saturday — couldn’t have come at a better time. The victory saw the Charge leapfrog the Sceptres for fourth place and into the playoff picture. It also brought a fairly rare occurrence for the club: A regulation win. 

Saturday’s game marked Ottawa’s seventh regulation victory on the season, which is a league low (tied with Seattle). It’s also a jarring look for a team currently in playoff position. The thrill-seeking Charge have seven overtime wins on the season, losing in extra time just once, and thanks to the league’s 3-2-1 point system, that’s got them firmly in the race. 

Their regular-season finale against the Sceptres should bring fireworks, considering how Saturday’s matchup went down and what could be at stake on the final day of the campaign, but next week’s in Boston will also be a must-watch. All three of Ottawa’s games against the Fleet this season have gone to extra time. 

5. Toronto Sceptres (34 pts) | Is there any offence left?

Games remaining (4): @ New York, @ Minnesota, vs. New York, @ Ottawa

This was always going to be a defence-first season for the Sceptres, who entered the year with question marks up front. Twenty-six games later, those questions remain as Toronto finds itself just two points outside the playoff picture after being shut out by Ottawa on Saturday. It was the club’s second time being shut out in their last four games, and while goals have been hard to come by all year, it’s a troubling sign for a team in desperation mode.

The Sceptres rank last in total goals scored this year (with 47 markers on the season, they’ve averaged fewer than two per game). Their struggles have been amplified on special teams, where their dismal 8.9 per cent success rate on the power play ranks dead last, and also when they’re at home, with just two wins in their own barn all year, their home point percentage is also a league-low. 

If there’s a reason for optimism down the final stretch, it’s a road-heavy slate — just one of their four remaining matchups is at home — and three of those games pose favourable goalie matchups for the Sceptres. Ottawa and New York rank sixth and seventh, respectively, in goals allowed this season, so if Toronto can muster up a little offence, they can keep their playoff hopes alive.

6. New York Sirens (31 pts) | Are we seeing signs of life again?

Games remaining (4): vs. Toronto, @ Ottawa, @ Toronto, @ Boston

As they returned from the Olympic break, the Sirens were exactly where they wanted to be. Sitting in the middle of the standings and well-positioned to sprint into playoff position, the club no longer looked like a team destined again for the top draft pick. An off-season of changes turned expectations around, but a losing streak at the worst time has seen post-season hopes dwindle quickly. 

New York has won just three of its 10 games since the Olympic break, with just a single regulation victory. Two of those three wins have come within its last three matchups, which could point to one last push. Working in their favour is the fact that the Sirens play Toronto twice and Ottawa once down the stretch — the very teams they need to leap-frog in the standings if they’re to sneak into fourth place. It’s must-win from here on out. Looming large, of course, is the loss of star rookie forward Kristýna Kaltounková. She was injured in mid-March and opened April on the long-term injured reserve. With captain Micah Zandee-Hart poised to miss Wednesday’s game against Toronto due to a suspension, all eyes will be on the club’s health report for signs of hope.

7. Vancouver Goldeneyes (30 pts) | Can special teams find their footing?

Games remaining (3): @ Seattle, vs. Montreal, vs. Minnesota

There’s hope of a playoff push, yet, albeit a mere sliver. Vancouver’s 4-1 win over Seattle knocked the Torrent out of contention and saw the Goldeneyes stay alive. The most likely outcome is that Vancouver joins Seattle in the race for the top draft pick by season’s end, but a trio of regulation wins in the final three games would make things interesting. 

These wins won’t come easy. None of their eight victories on the season have. But a four-goal outing against Seattle showed signs of life on offence and a flicker of hope. Inject a little energy into their special teams efforts — with a nine per cent success rate, they’re just 0.01 per cent better than Toronto’s league-low percentage — and Vancouver could make things at least a little interesting down the stretch, and start building confidence for next year. 

8. Seattle Torrent – e (26 pts) | Can Seattle secure the top draft spot?

Games remaining (3): vs. Vancouver, vs. Minnesota, vs. Montreal (all home games)

The Torrent have struggled all season at both ends of the ice, and Tuesday’s loss to Vancouver officially eliminated them from any hopes of a playoff run in Year 1. The Torrent now have a clear advantage in another kind of race — the one to secure the No. 1 draft pick. Thanks to the PWHL’s Gold Plan, which determines draft order based on points accumulated once a team is eliminated from playoff contention, the Torrent have a unique opportunity to win their way to the top of the draft board. Can they do it? 

At stake is a generational two-way defender in Caroline Harvey, the projected top prospect leading a star-studded class of American talent that also includes Wisconsin teammate and fellow Team USA gold medallist Laila Edwards. 

There are plenty of places to improve this roster — goaltending perhaps the biggest question mark of the off-season — but no more direct path than via the draft. This is now the most pivotal stretch for the franchise.