PWHL Preview: Toronto @ New York

Toronto @ New York - 1:00 PM - UBS Arena
Watch on CBC and MSG
Stream on CBC Gem and YouTube

Toronto's last game was a 3-2 overtime win over Montréal a week ago on Saturday afternoon. Toronto has clinched a playoff spot, is in second place with 38 points and .603 Points %, and has three games remaining, including this one.

New York's last game was a 5-2 loss to Montréal on the road on Wednesday. They are officially eliminated from the playoffs and currently have 20 points and three games remaining, including this one.

Them

Now that they are out of the playoffs, New York gets to illustrate the "Gold" drafting system the PWHL has adopted. The more points they get in their final three games, the more points they get towards getting the first overall draft selection. The purpose of this system is to make the final games of the season competitive and to give teams an incentive not to just go through the motions.

The motivation for New York to do their best to win and get points is real, as the regular season standings only counts as the third tiebreaker if more than one team has the same number of draft points. No one else is eliminated, so New York has the advantage in number of tries to get standings points which translate to draft points.

The other teams competing to make the playoffs are Boston and Ottawa, who have one and two games left respectively. They are now tied at 32 points, with Ottawa ahead on Points %. Boston can't advance with a tie in points, since they would lose the first tie-breaker – regulation wins (denoted by W in the PWHL standings). Boston plays Montréal, who have taken first place from Toronto at the moment. Ottawa plays New York next week and they finish their season against Toronto on May 5 in the last game of the season.

The possibility exists that no one but New York ever gets a chance to earn draft points or that their game against Ottawa is a crucial determiner of their draft order.

The benefit to New York suddenly learning how to win – they have seven wins, four in overtime – is small, but real. For now.

Us

At the fun end of the standings, Toronto is behind Montréal in points, but ahead in Points %, with two extra games to play, including one against Minnesota next week at home. They are the the third place team lurking only three points behind Toronto.

Winning is the easiest way to make all the standings math irrelevant, so I recommend that.

The PWHL announced awards, most of which are voted on by a selection committee:

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S HOCKEY LEAGUE (PWHL) INTRODUCES BILLIE JEAN KING MVP AWARD AND ILANA KLOSS PLAYOFF MVP AWARD

Professional Women's Hockey Leaguepkrotz

There are two awards for regular-season points and regular-season goals. Marie-Philip Poulin is currently first in points with 22, Natalie Spooner has 21, and Alex Carpenter of New York has 20.

For goals, Spooner leads with 15, and if anyone catches her, I'd be surprised. Grace Zumwinkle of Minnesota and Laura Stacey of Montréal are second with 10. Poulin and Brianne Jenner of Ottawa both have nine.

The Game

Too many scenarios, too much if this then that. Just win, Toronto. Take the math-free route.