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PWHL WEEKLY NOTEBOOK: APR. 20, 2026

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PWHL surpasses 1 million fans before final week of the 2025-26 regular season

Vancouver’s Jenn Gardiner named PWHL Player of the Week presented by SharkNinja

NEW YORK AND TORONTO (April 20, 2026) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) made history on Friday by surpassing one million fans in a single season for the first time, punctuating a 2025-26 campaign that has celebrated record-breaking milestones and growth. Only eight games remain in the final week before the PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs and the league’s competitive balance is evident across battles for first place, the fourth and final playoff berth, and the first overall pick in the 2026 PWHL Draft.

CELEBRATING 1 MILLION FANS

The PWHL surpassed one million fans in the league’s 109th game of the season, 46 games fewer than needed to reach its first million fans. The milestone was part of a sold-out crowd of 10,172 at Place Bell in Montréal’s final home game of the regular season. Attendance through 112 games of the 2025-26 regular season stands at 1,036,782 for an average of 9,257 fans per game, more than a 28% increase over average attendance across the entire 2024-25 season, including playoffs.

MONTRÉAL AND BOSTON BATTLING FOR FIRST PLACE, MINNESOTA SECURES THIRD

Montréal’s 60 points (16-5-2-5) and Boston’s 58 points (15-5-3-5) have clinched home ice advantage in the playoff semifinals but first place in the standings is still to be determined between the two teams. The Victoire became the first team in PWHL history to earn 60 points in a season, defeating the Fleet 3-2 in overtime on Friday, extending their winning streak to seven and record point streak to 16 games.

  • Montréal can clinch first place before Saturday’s games if they earn at least one more point on Tuesday against Vancouver than Boston earns on Wednesday against Ottawa.

The team that finishes first in the regular season earns the opportunity to select their semifinal opponent with a choice between the third or fourth-place teams. Minnesota (13-3-4-8) has 49 points and is locked in third place in the standings and will begin their defense of back-to-back Walter Cup titles on the road against either Boston or Montréal. Click here to see the full PWHL standings.

OTTAWA, TORONTO, AND NEW YORK COMPETING FOR FOURTH

The race for the fourth and final playoff spot is down to the wire with three teams still in contention. Ottawa (8-7-1-12) enters the final week in fourth place with 39 points, Toronto (10-1-5-12) is two points behind with 37 points in fifth place, and New York (9-2-3-14) sits sixth with 34 points.

  • New York must win in regulation against Toronto on Tuesday to stay alive.
  • If New York wins in regulation on Tuesday, they will require a Boston win over Ottawa on Wednesday to remain in contention.
  • Toronto must win against New York on Tuesday to avoid an elimination scenario in Wednesday’s game between Ottawa and Boston.
  • Ottawa can clinch a playoff berth on Wednesday if their result against Boston is two or more points greater than Toronto earns on Tuesday against New York.

Saturday will make it three straight years where Ottawa and Toronto go head-to-head on the final day of the regular season, with this season’s finale at TD Place for the first time. Ottawa secured a playoff berth with a 2-1 overtime win last season on May 3, 2025, at Coca-Cola Coliseum, while Toronto eliminated their Ontario rival with a 5-2 victory on May 5, 2024, at Mattamy Athletic Centre. Toronto made the playoffs in each of the first two seasons, with Ottawa qualifying for the first time last season. New York is still competing for their first-ever playoff entry. Click here for the playoff tiebreaker procedure.

SEATTLE AND VANCOUVER ACTIVATE GOLD PLAN

It was an eventful two games last week between the league’s two expansion teams. On Tuesday, Vancouver (8-2-4-14) eliminated Seattle (7-1-4-16) from playoff contention with a 4-1 win, then on Saturday, the Goldeneyes needed a regulation win over the Torrent to stay alive but were eliminated despite a thrilling 6-5 comeback win in overtime. Per the league’s innovative ‘Gold Plan’ initiative, teams eliminated from playoff contention will compete for ‘draft order points’ in all remaining games, post-elimination. The team with the most ‘draft order points’ earns the first overall pick in the 2026 PWHL Entry Draft.

  • Seattle earned one ‘draft order point’ by virtue of their overtime loss to Vancouver.
  • Seattle and Vancouver each have two remaining games to accumulate draft order points.
  • If Vancouver loses to Montréal on Tuesday, then Seattle would have the opportunity to clinch the first overall pick with a regulation win against Minnesota on Wednesday.
  • New York and Toronto are the only other teams capable of playing for draft order points and would have one game to do so if eliminated from playoff contention before Saturday.

This is the first time in league history where multiple teams are competing to earn the first overall draft pick. In each of the first two seasons, New York was the only team eliminated from playoff contention prior to the final day of the regular season. Click here for the latest order of selection standings.

GARDINER SETS PWHL RECORD WITH FOUR-GOAL PERFORMANCE

Vancouver’s Jenn Gardiner became the first player in PWHL history to score four goals in a game during Saturday’s 6-5 overtime win in Seattle and has been named the PWHL Player of the Week presented by SharkNinja. The 24-year-old from Surrey, BC, also added an assist on the winning goal in Tuesday’s 4-1 win over the Torrent to give her five points on the week and bring her season total to 16 (8G, 8A) in 28 games. Her four-goal game started with the first hat trick in Goldeneyes history followed by the record-breaking tally in overtime, bettering 17 previous hat tricks in PWHL history, including four others this season. Her four-point performance is one of nine in PWHL history, including four this season, accomplished alongside linemate Hannah Miller (2G, 2A), the only player with two four-point performances in her career.

KNIGHT NAMED TO 2026 TIME100

Seattle captain Hilary Knight has received the distinguished honor of being named by TIME as one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2026, a group that includes many of the world’s most notable artists, icons, innovators, leaders, pioneers, and titans. As Malala Yousafzai, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate says of Knight: “She shows up, she fights for what matters, and when the moment comes, she is ready.” Click here for more.

WORLD LEADERS AND JAILBREAKS IN OTTAWA

It was an exciting week at TD Place as the Charge welcomed Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finnish President Alexander Stubb to practice on Tuesday, then set a PWHL record with two short-handed goals on Saturday. The two ‘jailbreak’ tallies by defender Jocelyne Larocque and rookie Peyton Hemp were scored in a span of 6:14 during the second period, holding as the winning goal and insurance marker in the 5-1 victory over the Sirens. They brought the league’s short-handed goal total to 15, exceeding the 12 scored by teams during the 2024-25 season and the 13 produced in the inaugural season. Ottawa has scored 25% of all short-handed goals in regular season history (10), including a record four last season. Click here to see all PWHL results.

FROST AT FRONT OF SCORING RACE

The PWHL will crown scoring champions in the categories of Points Leader and Most Goals following Saturday’s games and a trio of Frost forwards are at the forefront of contention. Kelly Pannek currently leads the way with 29 points, including 14 goals through 28 games, and is the frontrunner to become the first player in league history to record 30 points in a season. Hot on her heels are teammates Taylor Heise (11G, 17A) and Britta Curl-Salemme (11G, 16A) with 28 and 27 points, respectively. Heise and Boston’s Alina Müller have already set a new benchmark for assists in a season with 17 apiece. Ottawa’s Brianne Jenner is fourth in PWHL scoring with 23 points (11G, 12A), and fellow Charge forward Rebecca Leslie’s 22 points includes 13 goals for a share of second-most with Jessie Eldridge of the Fleet. A total of 13 players have reached the 20-point plateau and 11 players have double digits in goals. Click here for PWHL leaders.

DESBIENS AND FRANKEL DUEL FOR GOALTENDING RECORDS

Montréal’s Ann-Renée Desbiens and Boston’s Aerin Frankel enter the final week of the season tied with a record 18 wins and seven shutouts each. Both goaltenders have played 24 games to date, with Desbiens’ 1.12 goals-against average and .955 save percentage slightly ahead of Frankel’s 1.19 and .953 marks. Toronto’s Raygan Kirk ranks third in both categories following her third shutout of the season on Sunday against Minnesota with a 1.90 GAA and .933 SV%. Ottawa’s Gwyneth Philips will finish third in wins, currently with 14, and is poised to build upon her record 721 saves and the record of 26 appearances she shares with New York’s Kayle Osborne. Click here to see this season’s goaltending leaders.

FLEET HAVE LEADING DEFENSIVE DUO

Boston captain Megan Keller (7G, 12A) leads all defenders in scoring with 19 points, one ahead of rookie Haley Winn (4G, 14A) on the Fleet’s blue line. Tied for third with 17 points are Vancouver’s Sophie Jaques (8G, 9A) and Minnesota rookie Kendall Cooper (2G, 15A). Jaques’ eight goals have tied Ella Shelton’s single-season mark (2024-25), and the 22 points she recorded alongside Toronto’s Renata Fast last season remain the most in a single season at the position. Goldeneye Claire Thompson (3G, 13A) ranks fifth among rearguards with 16 points. Click here to see all top scoring defenders.

O’BRIEN PACING ROOKIE SCORING

New York’s Casey O’Brien became just the second rookie in PWHL history to surpass 20 points in a season and is up to 21 (7G, 14A) through 26 games. The third-overall pick holds the points lead over a trio of first-round defenders in Winn, Cooper, and Montréal’s Nicole Gosling (3G, 12A). Despite injury limiting her to just 21 games, Sirens first-overall pick Kristýna Kaltounková continues to lead all rookies with 11 goals, four ahead of O’Brien. Click here to see all top scoring rookies.

FILLIER, MILLER, AND NURSE RECORD 50 CAREER POINTS

Add three more names to the PWHL’s half-century club for career points with New York’s Sarah Fillier and Vancouver’s Miller and Sarah Nurse bringing the list to 16. Fillier, now with 51 career points (22G, 29A), met the milestone in her 56th career game, second fastest in PWHL history and only three games off the pace of all-time leading scorer Marie-Philip Poulin. Miller scored in her 79th game on Tuesday to reach 50, and with her four-point game on Saturday is up to 54 career points (23G, 31A). Nurse had an assist on Saturday to reach 50 (24G, 26A), doing so in her 62nd game, tied for fourth-fastest with Daryl Watts and behind Alex Carpenter’s 58 games. Five more players are all within five points of the milestone. Click here for all-time PWHL leaders.

FIRST CAREER GOAL FOR SAMOSKEVICH

Madison Samoskevich became the first rookie from Vancouver’s collegiate draft class to score their first career PWHL goal Tuesday. The milestone marker, also her first career PWHL point, came in her 24th game and on her fifth career shot on goal. The fifth-round pick from Quinnipiac University is one of 129 different goal scorers across the PWHL this season, including 28 rookies.

CAVA, KŘÍŽOVÁ, PANNEK PLAY 100TH GAMES

A trio of two-time Walter Cup champions became the first in PWHL history to skate in 100 career games, including playoffs. Ottawa’s Michela Cava, New York’s Denisa Křížová, and Minnesota’s Pannek achieved the milestone on the weekend in their 82nd regular-season games, on top of 18 playoff appearances with the Frost across each of the two title runs. Pannek has been a member of the Frost her entire career, while Cava’s total includes 15 games with the Charge and 13 with the Goldeneyes, and Křížová’s includes five games with the Sirens.

CHASING THREE FULL SEASONS

If they appear in the lineup twice this week, there are 18 players who can wrap up three full regular seasons without ever missing a game. Of that group, 10 players will have achieved the feat of 84 games entirely with the same team: Boston’s Keller, Hannah Brandt, and Jamie Lee Rattray; Minnesota’s Pannek; Ottawa’s Emily Clark; and Toronto’s Jesse Compher, Maggie Connors, Kali Flanagan, Emma Maltais, and Blayre Turnbull. The eight players with multiple teams include Cava (OTT/VAN/MIN), Eldridge (BOS/SEA/NY), Křížová (NY/MIN), Jessica DiGirolamo (MTL/BOS), Savannah Harmon (TOR/OTT), Sidney Morin (MIN/BOS), Susanna Tapani (BOS/MIN), and Emma Woods (TOR/NY). Tapani holds the unique distinction of playing 26 games in the inaugural season, after a mid-season trade sent her from Minnesota to Boston, and is on pace to finish 2025-26 as the sole player with 86 career games.

FRANCE EARNS PROMOTION AT WOMEN’S WORLDS

France finished in first place at the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship Division I Group A tournament, earning promotion to the top division event in 2027. They led the six-team round robin with 12 points ahead of host Hungary (11), Italy (10), Slovakia (9), Norway (3), and China (0). Two PWHL players competed for Italy, including Montréal’s Nadia Mattivi who was named Best Defender, and Toronto’s Kristin Della Rovere who tied for the scoring lead with 11 points (5G, 6A) in five games, notably with a seven-point performance with four goals and three assists against China in the team’s final game Saturday. Click here for more.

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE

The final week of the season begins with a doubleheader on Tuesday night as Toronto hosts New York at Coca-Cola Coliseum at 7 p.m. ET for the Sceptres Pride Celebration Unity Game, then Vancouver hosts Montréal at Pacific Coliseum at 10 p.m. ET for the Goldeneyes South Asian Heritage Celebration Unity Game. Wednesday night features another doubleheader when Boston hosts Ottawa at the Tsongas Center at 7 p.m. ET for the Fleet’s Pride Celebration Unity Game, then Seattle hosts Minnesota at Climate Pledge Arena at 10 p.m. ET where the first 6,000 fans will receive an exclusive Barbie™ x Torrent Belt Bag, while quantities last. All eight teams are in action Saturday beginning with Boston and New York at the Tsongas Center at 12 p.m. ET where the first 3,000 fans will receive an exclusive Barbie™ x Fleet Belt Bag, followed by Ottawa and Toronto at TD Place for Charge Fan Appreciation at 2 p.m. ET. The Goldeneyes Pride Celebration Unity Game and Torrent Pride Celebration Unity Game close out the schedule when the Frost visit Pacific Coliseum at 7 p.m. ET and the Victoire travel to Climate Pledge Arena at 10 p.m. ET. All four of this week’s Pride celebrations are presented by e.l.f. Cosmetics. Full broadcast details are below and available online here.

Tuesday, April 21 – 7 PM ET
New York Sirens at Toronto Sceptres (Coca-Cola Coliseum)

  • Canada: Prime Video
  • U.S. (In-Market): MSG
  • U.S. (Out of Market): FOX 11+ Los Angeles, Scripps Sports

Tuesday, April 21 – 10 PM ET
Montréal Victoire at Vancouver Goldeneyes (Pacific Coliseum)

  • Canada: Prime Video
  • U.S. (Out of Market): Scripps Sports

Wednesday, April 22 – 7 PM ET
Ottawa Charge at Boston Fleet (Tsongas Center)

  • Canada: TSN
  • U.S. (In-Market): NESN+
  • U.S. (Out of Market): Arizona's Family Sports, Great Lakes Sports & Entertainment Network, Last Frontier Sports & Entertainment Network (Alaska), KCRG-TV 9/Ottumwa–Kirksville CW (Iowa), North Star Sports & Entertainment Network, Palmetto Sports & Entertainment Network, Peachtree Sports Network, Rock Entertainment Sports Network, Scripps Sports, South Texas Sports, Tennessee Valley Sports Network

Wednesday, April 22 – 10 PM ET
Minnesota Frost at Seattle Torrent (Climate Pledge Arena)

  • Canada: TSN
  • U.S. (In-Market): FOX 13+, FOX 9+, FanDuel Sports Network North Extra
  • U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin Extra

Saturday, April 25 – 12 PM ET
New York Sirens at Boston Fleet (Tsongas Center)

  • Canada: TSN
  • U.S. (In-Market): NESN, MSG

Saturday, April 25 – 2 PM ET
Toronto Sceptres at Ottawa Charge (TD Place)

  • Canada: CBC and CBC Gem
  • U.S. (Out of Market): FOX 10 Xtra Phoenix

Saturday, April 25 – 7 PM ET
Minnesota Frost at Vancouver Goldeneyes (Pacific Coliseum)

  • Canada: TSN
  • U.S. (In-Market): FanDuel Sports Network North Extra, FOX 9+
  • U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin Extra

Saturday, April 25 – 10 PM ET
Montréal Victoire at Seattle Torrent (Climate Pledge Arena)

  • Canada: TSN and RDS
  • U.S. (In-Market): FOX 13+
  • U.S. (Out of Market): Last Frontier Sports & Entertainment Network (Alaska)

Fans around the world can continue to follow every game live via the PWHL YouTube channel and thepwhl.com, with the exception of Canada, and in Czechia and Slovakia — where Nova Sport will continue to carry games locally.