NEW YORK AND TORONTO – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Walter Cup Playoffs, presented by SharkNinja, are underway and the competition across both best-of-five semifinals has been intense through the first three games. Here’s a closer look at all the action as the chase for the Walter Cup continues.
THE PLAYOFF STORY SO FAR
The third-seed and two-time defending champion Minnesota Frost lead the first-seed Montréal Victoire 1-0, and the series between the second-seed Boston Fleet and fourth-seed Ottawa Charge is tied 1-1. In the now 28-game history of the PWHL Playoffs, 12 games have been decided in overtime, including Minnesota’s 5-4 victory over Montréal on Saturday. Of the 16 games decided in regulation, six have been one-goal games, including Boston’s 2-1 win over Ottawa on Thursday, and 10 have been multi-goal wins, including Ottawa’s 3-1 triumph over Boston on Saturday to even the series. Despite two of three games won by the road team, fortune still favors home teams who are 17-11 all-time. In the league’s playoff history, no games incurred more penalty minutes than Game 1 in each series where the Frost and Victoire combined for 37 minutes and the Fleet and Charge combined for 33. Click here for more about the PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs.
PLAYOFF ATTENDANCE ON THE RISE
Boston’s first two playoff games at the Tsongas Center, including a sold-out crowd of 6,017 on Saturday night, featured a 41% increase in attendance over its first two playoff home games in the inaugural season. Montréal, who has opened the playoffs on home ice in all three seasons, had their largest Game 1 attendance on Saturday afternoon with a crowd of 9,364, representing a 43% increase over last season’s playoff opener. Attendance in 123 games of the 2025-26 season stands at 1,136,163 fans for an average of 9,237 per game.
STACEY HAT TRICK MAKES PLAYOFF HISTORY
Montréal’s Laura Stacey scored the first hat trick in PWHL playoff history and has been named the PWHL Player of the Week presented by SharkNinja. The Kleinburg, ON, native also became the first in PWHL history to score two power-play goals in a single playoff game, while her three goals represented the first time in playoff history any team has scored three game-tying tallies. Her six shots on goal led all Game 1 skaters and follows the single-season record of 113 shots on goal she produced across 30 regular-season contests. The Victoire alternate captain, who will celebrate her 32nd birthday with Game 2 action tomorrow, tied a career high with 22 points (7G, 15A) this season and more than doubled her playoff career production with this week’s performance bringing her to five points (4G, 1A) in eight playoff games all-time. She is currently in a three-way tie for first in playoff scoring. Click here , opens in a new tab for to see all playoff leaders.
NEXT LEVEL LAROCQUE
Ottawa’s Jocelyne Larocque scored the very first goal of the playoffs and followed it up with two assists in her next game, the first multi-point playoff outing of her career. Her three points lead all defenders in playoff scoring and illustrate her ability to raise her game during the postseason. Over the last two seasons with the Charge, the alternate captain has seven points (2G, 5A) in 10 playoff games (0.70 points per game), compared to her 15 points (1G, 14A) in 60 regular season games (0.25 points per game).
ROESE AND MORIN SCORE HISTORIC FROST FIRSTS
Minnesota’s Jincy Roese and Sidney Morin are two more of the five defenders to score in the opening three games of the postseason, with both tallies representing their firsts as members of the Frost, in addition to making playoff history at the position. Roese became the first defender in PWHL playoff history to score in overtime, with her winning goal the first in seven games since joining Minnesota at the trade deadline. Morin, who went goalless in 30 regular-season games with her home state team, became the first defender in playoff history to score shorthanded.
WORTH THE WAIT FOR ELDRIDGE AND ROQUE
Boston’s Jessie Eldridge was one of 28 players to make their playoff debut last week and made the most of it with two assists in the Fleet’s 2-1 victory in Game 1. No player had amassed more regular-season experience without tasting postseason action than Eldridge’s 84 career games before Thursday’s opener. Abby Roque had played 83 games before making her playoff debut with Montréal and also contributed a pair of helpers. Among rookies, Ottawa’s Rory Guilday had an assist in each of her first two playoff games, while fellow defender Nicole Gosling of the Victoire chipped in an assist in her first postseason appearance.
GOSLING AND POULIN LEAD STREAKING STARS
Gosling is just the second player in PWHL history to record points in seven straight games, with her six-game regular-season streak carrying into her playoff debut. The Victoire rookie defender has nine points (1G, 8A) since Apr. 3 and follows Alex Carpenter’s regular-season record seven-game streak, accomplished with New York during the 2024-25 campaign. Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin’s point streak is up to six games (3G, 4A) dating back to her final game before the Olympic break. Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield (2G, 1A), alternate captain Kelly Pannek (2G, 4A), and forward Grace Zumwinkle (2G, 2A) all extended their point streaks to three games. Ottawa’s Guilday (2A), Larocque (1G, 2A), and Rebecca Leslie (2A), along with Boston’s Alina Müller (1G, 2A), have playoff point streaks of two games.
MÜLLER MAKING AN IMPACT
Müller’s impact has extended well beyond her three points on the scoresheet, with a playoff-leading 12 shots on goal and 51 faceoff wins for an efficiency of 68.6% at the dot. This follows the Fleet alternate captain’s 63.3% faceoff percentage during the regular season, the highest ever among any center with 50 or more draws in a season. Her efforts have helped Boston win 56.3% of all faceoffs through two games, along with a plus-20 shot differential.
HEISE AND PHILIPS RETURN TO MVP FORM
The first two recipients of the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP Award are back at their best in the early stages of the postseason. Minnesota’s Taylor Heise, who earned the honor during the inaugural season, had two assists on Saturday to extend her all-time leading playoff points total to 17 (6G, 11A) in 19 games. Ottawa’s Gwyneth Philips, last year’s winner, leads all playoff goaltenders with a .949 save percentage through two starts and is tied with Boston’s Aerin Frankel for the top goals-against average with a mark of 1.52.
PLAYOFF OFFICIATING TEAM
The PWHL has selected a veteran crew of 10 referees and 10 linespersons for the playoffs, with all 20 members a part of the officiating team since the inaugural season. Among the referees, seven have past playoff experience, including Grace Barlow, Jared Cummins, David Elford, and Jake Kamrass, who have each been selected for a third straight season. Sydney Harris and Shauna Neary return for a second straight postseason, and Lacey Senuk is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2024. Three referees are making their PWHL playoff debuts, including Damian Figueira, Samantha Hiller, and Cianna Murray. On the lines, five return for a third straight playoffs (Antoine Bujold-Roux, Patrick Dapuzzo, Laura Gutauskas, Anthony Lapointe, Dustin McCrank), while four others are returning to playoffs after making their debut last season (Sarah Buckner, TJ Dockery, Justine Todd, Sophie Thomson). One linesperson is making her playoff debut (Katie Glover). In addition to the four-person teams on the ice, every playoff game has a standby referee and linesperson. A team of four referees and four linespersons will be selected for the PWHL Walter Cup Finals.
JOCKS IN JILLS LIVE REACTIONS
Tune in to Jocks in Jills for recaps, analysis, exclusive interviews, and special guests at the final buzzer, live on the PWHL’s YouTube channel. The season’s first postgame show followed Thursday’s action , opens in a new tab between Boston and Ottawa, and Saturday’s show , opens in a new tab covered both games.
PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Game 2: Minnesota at Montréal (Place Bell) at 7 p.m. ET
- Canada: Prime Video
- U.S. (In-Market): FOX 9+
- U.S. (Out of Market): Scripps Sports, FOX 10 XTRA Phoenix, Gulf South Network (New Orleans, Alexandria, LA, Baton Rouge, LA, Biloxi, MS, Birmingham, AL, Hattiesburg, MS, Jackson, MS, Lake Charles, LA, Meridian, MS, Mobile, AL, Monroe, LA, Montgomery, AL, Shreveport, LA), K5 (Honolulu), Rose City Sports Net (Portland), Mid-South Sports & Entertainment
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Game 3: Montréal at Minnesota (Grand Casino Arena) at 7 p.m. ET
- Canada: Prime Video
- U.S. (In-Market): FOX 9+
- U.S. (Out of Market): Scripps Sports
Friday, May 8, 2026
Game 3: Boston at Ottawa (Canadian Tire Centre) at 7 p.m. ET
- Canada: TSN
- U.S. (In-Market): NESN+
- U.S. (Out of Market): Scripps Sports
Friday, May 8, 2026
Game 4: Montréal at Minnesota (Grand Casino Arena) at 8:30 p.m. ET*
- Canada: Prime Video
- U.S. (In-Market): FOX 9+
- U.S. (Out of Market): Scripps Sports
Sunday, May 10, 2026
Game 4: Boston at Ottawa (Canadian Tire Centre) at 3 p.m. ET
- Canada: TSN
- U.S. (In-Market): NESN
- U.S. (Out of Market): Scripps Sports
Monday, May 11, 2026
Game 5: Minnesota at Montréal (Place Bell) at 7 p.m. ET*
- Canada: Prime Video
- U.S. (In-Market): FOX 9+
- U.S. (Out of Market): Scripps Sports
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Game 5: Ottawa at Boston (Tsongas Center) at 7 p.m. ET*
- Canada: TSN
- U.S. (In-Market): NESN
- U.S. (Out of Market): Scripps Sports
*if necessary
