Toronto opens women's hockey playoffs against a hand-picked opponent. They won't say how they chose

Toronto’s Brittany Howard (41) drives Minnesota’s Maggie Flaherty (19) into the boards during the second period of a PWHL hockey game in Toronto on Wednesday May 1, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Having the unusual option of choosing their playoff opponent wasn’t taken lightly by the staff and players of the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Toronto franchise for clinching first-place in the standings.

So sensitive and in-depth were the discussions, coach Troy Ryan declined to disclose the reasons behind Toronto’s decision to face fourth-place Minnesota over third-place Boston — two teams who finished with identical 12-9-3 records (including four OT/SO wins apiece), with Boston having the tiebreaking edge.

Toronto’s Natalie Spooner celebrates after her second goal against Ottawa with teammates on the bench during third-period PWHL hockey game action in Toronto, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

“To be honest, from a hockey perspective, I think it would be somewhat irresponsible to tip my hat to the exact details,” Ryan said Monday night. “So at this point, we’ll keep that within house.”

Leave it to the PWHL to provide an intriguing plot twist entering the playoffs after its inaugural 72-game regular season in which the playoff race wasn’t settled until the final game. Toronto played a central role in determining the final standings with its season-ending 5-2 win over Ottawa on Sunday night eliminating Ottawa and securing Minnesota its playoff berth.

Toronto goaltender Kristen Campbell (50) keeps an eye on the action as Toronto forward Hannah Miller (34) battles Minnesota forward Denisa Krizova (41) during the second period of a PWHL hockey game in Toronto on Wednesday May 1, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

The concept of teams selecting playoff opponents has long been entertained in theory in North America’s four major pro sports, but yet to become a reality. The Southern Professional Hockey League introduced a pick-your-opponent first-round playoff format in 2018 before abandoning it two years later.

Toronto’s decision to choose Minnesota as its playoff opponent made sense in various aspects.

Toronto had a 3-1 record against Minnesota in the regular season, while going 3-2 against Boston. Minnesota closed the season losing its final five games, while Boston went 3-1-1, including a 2-1 win over Toronto.

Minnesota coach Ken Klee expressed little surprise in Toronto’s decision by saying: “To me, that’s who I expected.” He also noted that Minnesota logged the most air miles in a league whose other five teams are concentrated in the Northeast.

“If I was (Toronto), I would say who has the furthest to come and has the toughest travel to get here,” Klee said. “But in my mind, our group’s excited. We’re in the playoffs.”

Of all the aspects taken into consideration, ranging from analytics, head-to-head records, travel and injuries, among the most important, perhaps, was the fear of providing their opponent additional motivation entering the best-of-five semifinal series, which opens in Toronto on Wednesday. Montreal will face Boston in the other semifinal starting on Thursday.

Toronto’s Olivia Knowles (7) and Minnesota’s Taylor Heise (27) battle for the puck during the first period of a PWHL hockey game in Toronto on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Boston coach Courtney Kessel couldn’t help but envision what her players’ reaction would have been had they been selected.

PWHL Montreal Ottawa Hockey

“I think it’s a good thing and a bad thing to kind of be in their position,” Kessel said of Toronto. “I think if they would have chosen us, we would have had a little bit more fuel, you know, like them thinking that they can beat us in choosing the third-place team.”

Toronto GM Gina Kingsbury said the process in determining which opponent to select began last week after Toronto clinched first place. Kingsbury consulted with Ryan before getting feedback from the team’s leadership core and eventually the entire roster.

“In the end, it wasn’t an easy decision. Minnesota was not the necessarily the lead in that right away,” Kingsbury said. “There were a lot of pros and cons on picking Boston or Minnesota. And in the end we just went with what seemed to be a little more pros than cons.”

Toronto captain Blayre Turnbull said the most important thing to remember was to focus on their team, not the opponent.

“No matter who we picked, there’s going to be some people that might think we should have gone the other way,” Turnbull said. “But I think at the end of the day, no matter who we’re going to face in the semifinal round is going to be a really tough opponent.”

___

AP Women’s Hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey