Series schedule:

Game 1: Tuesday, May 20, 7 p.m. Eastern, at Ottawa (TD Place)

Game 2: Thursday, May 22, 7 p.m. Eastern, at Ottawa (TD Place)

Game 3: Saturday, May 24, 4 p.m. Central, at Minnesota (Xcel Energy Center)

Game 4*: Monday, May 26, 4 p.m. Central, at Minnesota (Xcel Energy Center)

Game 5*: Wednesday, May 28, 7 p.m. Eastern, at Ottawa (TD Place)

*if necessary

Watch in Canada: TSN/RDS

Watch outside of Canada: FanDuel Sports Network North, PWHL YouTube Channel

Broadcast team: Kenzie Lalonde will bring the play-by-play action to fans throughout the series alongside analyst Cheryl Pounder and reporter Rob Pizzo. Additional live coverage in English will feature an on-site studio panel with analysts Becky Kellar and Alexis Pearson. 

Claudine Douville (Play-by-Play), Isabelle Leclaire (Analyst), Catherine Savoie (Reporter), Andrée-Anne Barbeau (Studio Host) and Karell Émard (Studio Analyst) will be the team providing live coverage in French.

So what happened was… 

We wanted an upset and WOW WOW WOW did we get an upset! In both series, actually, though I think Ottawa beating Montréal overshadows the returning champs beating Toronto (for the second straight year). This should have been the Victoire’s season, but alas! Instead the Finals matchup is going to be the last two teams to make it into the playoffs, Minnesota Frost vs Ottawa Charge.

The drama! The narratives! We live.

Ottawa beat Montréal not just because Gwyneth Philips was a star and a brick wall—1.14 GAA and 0.956 save percentage—but also because of depth scoring. Thirteen Charge players have points in the playoffs, across all four lines, and Montréal relied pretty heavily on their top line. It’s something they’ll likely be looking to address in the offseason. But that’s not what we’re here to discuss! Onto the Finals …

The Charge have home ice advantage in the upcoming series, but in the regular season, Ottawa’s home ice advantage was definitely not a main character. They allowed the most goals against at home among all six teams. In the semifinals, while they allowed the least amount of goals at home (1), they also only scored three goals against the Victoire at TD Place. In fact, they only scored eight goals total against the Victoire, so the little nugget that 13 Charge players hit the scoresheet is kind of incredible. 

The Frost also have a lot of depth scoring, and they scored A LOT in their playoff games (18 goals for). Will the Frost be able to solve Philips? Minnesota, if our math is right, had 101 shots on goal against Toronto in the last round, including five in 16 minutes of overtime hockey. 

Now, the Charge hammered 140 shots at Montreal’s netminder, so perhaps an advantage there, but that includes 21 shots in four-ish periods of overtime hockey during Game 2 of the series. That game, which finally concluded in a 3-2 win for Montréal, was the only win for the Victoire. 

Stats say this should be a high-scoring series, so we assume it will be a series of 1-0 games that give us all anxiety. The Charge set their franchise high with eight goals scored against Minnesota on Feb. 13, while the Frost had their franchise’s largest shutout win against Ottawa on Mar. 7 (5-0). The Frost scored at least four goals in each of their three wins during

the semifinals against the Sceptres. Minnesota has scored four or more goals in 12 games this season (regular and postseason), four more than any other PWHL team.

Will the Frost have to take Philips to four overtimes every game to squeak out a win? Do they have a plan for the shutdown defense Ottawa’s forwards showed they were capable of against Montreal’s top line? Manon McMahon, Gabbie Hughes and Emily Clark were spectacular in the semifinals and found the perfect balance in shutting down Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey while all still getting on the scoresheet. Overall, Ottawa showcased outstanding shutdown team defense in the semifinals and Minnesota should be planning how to contend with that and not get frustrated. 

Going the other way, the Frost got scored against a lot, allowing 14 goals throughout the four-game series. And, well, they also scored 18 goals. Minnesota has a lot going on, including four defenders with points in the last round and a solid goalie tandem in Nicole Hensley and Maddie Rooney. I’m not playing the “blame the goalie” for 14 total goals against game so don’t even try it. 

Philips does have a shutout, though, and never allowed more than three goals in one game against the Victoire. 

Predictions

So what do we think? Philips and the Charge’s depth contributors or Minnesota’s offensive defenders and overtime hero Taylor Heise (7 points—1G; 6A)?

Liz: I’m torn between whether a back-to-back is kind of badass for the first two years of a new league, or kind of boring. Or maybe both? It would be so cool for Minnesota, but I think from an overview of the league I don’t want them to repeat. Also what a freaking STORY it would be for Ottawa to come back from almost the literal bottom to beat the number one seed and then the defending champs.

Nicole: I’m also torn. There’s definitely a great narrative to be had with back-to-back championships. But also something to be said about not wanting a chaotic team with a lot of off-ice issues to be rewarded. But I’m also really going to ride the high of picking the winners of the semifinals and really have kind of committed to this Ottawa hype train. 

Sam: What’s it gonna be?

Liz: With all of my heart, Charge in five.

Sam: I’m not torn at all—Charge in five (or less).

Nicole: At the risk of us being universally wrong, I also have to pick the Charge. And I’m saying five games just because I don’t want this to end early! 

(Photos: PWHL, Yahoo)