PWHL Playoffs: 3 boldest predictions heading into 2025 postseason

The 2024-25 PWHL regular season will end on Saturday, but the playoff picture is still blurry. The race is down to the wire, as the Montréal Victoire (50 points) and Toronto Sceptres (47 points) have clinched the top two seeds, while the final two teams will be determined after Saturday’s triple-header.

Montreal Victoire vs. Toronto Sceptres - Source: Getty

The Boston Fleet are third with 44 points, while the Ottawa Charge are two points behind them.

However, the 2024 Walter Cup champions, the Minnesota Frost, are knocking on the door with 41 points after keeping their playoff hopes alive by shutting out Ottawa 3-0 on the road on Wednesday.

While the New York Sirens are the only team that has officially been eliminated from the postseason, they don’t mind playing the spoiler role and still have something to gain with a regular-season win with the league’s Gold Plan, which awards points in the PWHL draft for regular-season victories.

Montreal and Toronto are also still fighting for the top seed, which gets the opportunity to choose its semifinal opponent between the third and fourth seeds.

All six teams are playing in their final game of the season, and each has something, including pride, at stake.

Saturday's matchups include:

The Ottawa Charge at the Toronto Sceptres; noon EDT

The Minnesota Frost at the Boston Fleet; 1:00 p.m. EDT

The Montréal Victoire at the New York Sirens; 2:00 p.m. EDT

With a highly competitive regular season that has been nail-biting to the final games, the postseason, beginning on Monday, is shaping up to be just as intense.

HOCKEY: JAN. 16 PWHL New York at Montreal - Source: Getty

Here are three bold PWHL postseason predictions as we prepare to close the books on the league’s sophomore campaign:

1. Minnesota Frost repeat as Walter Cup champs

While the Frost have not officially qualified for the postseason, no team is arguably better equipped to handle the pressure than them. Led by captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, whose 23 points through 29 games rank sixth in the league, along with precision passing from Taylor Heise, Minnesota has the playmakers to get the team back to the finals.

Backstopped by the solid goaltending of Maddie Rooney, who has a pair of shutouts under her belt this season, the Frost may have enough gas left in the tank for a second-straight Walter Cup championship.

2. Boston Fleet gets redemption from last season’s finals

Revenge can be a motivating factor, and the Boston Fleet have a score to settle this postseason.

After defeating Montréal in three straight games during last season’s five-game semifinal series, the Fleet went on to face Minnesota in the PWHL finals. After a back-and-forth series, Minnesota clinched the championship in five games to hoist the Walter Cup.

Boston will take on its finals foe on Saturday. With a win, the team will have the chance to foil the Frost's postseason chances this year and get into the postseason.

The Fleet have the artillery to win it all, with gold medalist Aerin Frankel between the pipes and veteran superstar Hilary Knight commanding the charge with a league-leading 29 points through 29 games this season.

3. After failing to qualify last year, Ottawa makes a run

Ottawa missed the playoffs by three points last year and again sits on the bubble this season. A win on Saturday against Toronto will guarantee the Charge a spot in the playoffs, and they will need to recapture the momentum they had before Wednesday’s loss against the Frost.

Ottawa Charge vs. Montreal Victoire - Source: Getty

They went on a three-game winning streak before that, which included a 4-0 shutout over Boston on April 2, as rookie sensation Gwyneth Philips made a perfect 17 saves between the pipes. Gold medalist Shiann Darkangelo also showed no mercy against the Fleet by posting a hat trick in the victory.

While much remains to be determined, one thing can be expected: the teams will be playing postseason-caliber hockey on Saturday.

PWHL expands to Seattle

Just one week after the PWHL announced its expansion to Vancouver, it revealed more big news on Wednesday.

The league posted on Instagram that Seattle will join the PWHL as the second expansion market and will begin playing in the 2025-26 season.

The post mentioned that the team’s home games will be played at Climate Pledge Arena and that it will train at the Kraken Community Complex.

Seattle played host to the first stop on the Takeover Tour on Jan. 5.

About the author

Sharisse Cohee is an NHL and PWHL journalist at Sportskeeda with an associate degree in Media Communications with an emphasis in Cross-Media Journalism. While earning the degree, Sharisse was the Editor-in-Chief of the campus newspaper and also became the school's resident sports reporter.

Sharisse earned a bachelor's degree in English from Arizona State University's online campus, graduating with magna cum laude honors. Both degrees influenced her career as an NHL and PWHL writer, allowing Sharisse to weave together her passions for writing and sports.

Sharisse was a sports copywriter/editor at The Upper Deck, a trading card company in Southern California, for two and a half years. She wrote creative and informative copy about hockey players and athletes from various sports, printed on the backs of the trading cards.

Her favorite teams are the Anaheim Ducks, because she was born and raised in Southern California, and also the Pittsburgh Penguins because Sidney Crosby is her all-time favorite NHL player.

When not writing about hockey, Sharisse loves fantasy sports. She plays in hockey, basketball and football fantasy leagues. She lives in San Diego, California, so has the luxury of going to the beach often. She also enjoys working out and watching true crime documentaries, game shows, and binge-worthy TV series.

Know More

Wayne Gretzky’s wife Janet responds to critics questioning his loyalty to Canada, Bobby Orr's support following 4 Nations drama

Edited by Victor Ramon Galvez