PWHL announces start date for 2026 Walter Cup Playoffs
We’re less than a week away from the puck dropping on the postseason.
On Friday, the PWHL announced the start date of the 2026 Walter Cup Playoffs. Things will get underway on Thursday, April 30, when the Boston Fleet will open up their semifinal series. Two days later, the Montreal Victoire will play in Game 1 of their series. Both start times are yet to be determined.
Their opponents will not be decided until the end of the weekend, either. What makes the PWHL different is that the team that finishes first overall gets to choose who they play in the opening round of the postseason, between the three- and four-seeds. Heading into the final day of the regular season on Saturday, the Victoire are neck-and-neck for who finishes atop the league standings.
The Victoire sits one point ahead of the Fleet. Montreal secures first place with a win of any kind against the Seattle Torrent, while Boston must beat the New York Sirens in regulation if the Victoire loses in extra time. If Montreal loses in regulation, the Fleet can clinch first with a win of any kind.
Who the No. 1 team chooses is up in the air. The only other team that has yet to qualify for the Walter Cup Playoffs is the two-time defending champion Minnesota Frost, who have locked in third place. The fourth and final playoff berth will be decided in the nation’s capital, as the Ottawa Charge will take on the Toronto Sceptres. Ottawa heads into Saturday with a three-point lead on its provincial rival. With Toronto already having 10 regulation wins to the Charge’s nine, another win in 60 minutes for the Sceptres means they nab fourth place and a third consecutive trip to the playoffs.
After the regular season concludes, the team that finishes first has 24 hours to chose who they will play in the first round.
The playoff format remains the same as it has in the previous two postseasons. Both the semifinals and the final are best-of-five series, with the higher seed hosting Games 1 and 2, potentially 5, and the lower-ranked squad getting home ice for Games 3 and 4.