Lou Orlando
The Boston Fleet punched their ticket to the postseason Sunday, defeating the Minnesota Frost 4-2 at Grand Casino Arena. The Fleet became the fastest team to clinch a playoff berth in PWHL history, doing so with six games remaining on their 2025-26 schedule.
But while Boston’s held the No. 1 seed for most of the season, the fourth and final playoff spot remains up for grabs. The Ottawa Charge overtook the Toronto Sceptres for fourth place in the PWHL standings with a 2-0 win over the Seattle Torrent.
The trade deadline passed Monday, triggering the PWHL’s roster freeze Tuesday and leaving rosters largely set for April. That should provide a clearer lens for this week’s PWHL power rankings.
1. Boston Fleet (13-5-2-4, +23 GD)
Previous Ranking: 2 (+1)
Aerin Frankel’s fingerprints are all over Boston’s four-game winning streak (4-0-0-0). The Fleet goalie earned PWHL Player of the Week honors after posting three straight shutouts — and a League-record 191:01 minutes without a goal in the process.
Frankel has as strong a case for PWHL MVP as anyone, backed by a League-leading 1.17 goals-against average (GAA), .954 save percentage, and PWHL-record seven shutouts. Her coach, Kris Sparre, doesn’t see much of a debate.
“I don’t know if it’s a case as it is just give her the damn thing,” Sparre said Sunday. “What more do you want? She’s the backbone of our team.”
Sparre gave Frankel a rare off day Sunday, instead turning to rookie backup Amanda Thiele for her PWHL debut. Thiele made 21 saves in Boston’s playoff-clinching win against Minnesota, but the bigger story was another strong showing from the Fleet offense.
Jessie Eldridge scored her first Fleet goal in Friday’s 4-0 win over Toronto, and Boston matched that four-goal output Sunday against Frost goalie Nicole Hensley. The Fleet were dangerous enough thanks to Frankel’s dominance. If their offense keeps rolling, they’re all but unstoppable.
2. Montreal Victoire (46 points, 12-4-2-5, +26 GD)
Previous Ranking: 3 (+1)
The Montreal Victoire can clinch a playoff berth with a regulation win Wednesday over the Vancouver Goldeneyes. Regardless, the Victoire look like a shoo-in for the postseason — and a legitimate Walter Cup contender to boot.
Montreal bounced back from an overtime loss to Ottawa on March 22, shutting out Minnesota’s fearsome offense 3-0 last Wednesday behind 21 saves from Ann-Renée Desbiens. They added another three points over the weekend, scoring three times in the third period in a 3-1 comeback win against the New York Sirens.
Marie-Philip Poulin is eligible to return from LTIR on Sunday, but Montreal’s depth continues to impress in the second half. Catherine Dubois scored four goals in her last four games, including a pair of markers Saturday against New York.
It’s a relatively light path the rest of the way, outside of two more clashes against Boston. The real tests for Montreal will come in May.
3. Minnesota Frost (42 points, 11-3-3-6, +20 GD)
Previous Ranking: 1 (-2)
The Frost’s hopes of securing the No. 1 seed took a big hit last week with regulation losses to Montreal and Boston. Minnesota managed two goals on 44 combined shots against the top two teams in the PWHL, while Maddie Rooney and Nicole Hensley combined to allow seven.
Minnesota has the League’s easiest remaining schedule (.432 opponent points percentage), but a nine-point gap behind the first-place Fleet will be difficult to erase in the final month.
Fortunately, they remain comfortably in the playoff picture. General manager Melissa Caruso reinforced the blue line, acquiring defender Jincy Roese from New York in exchange for forward Denisa Křížová before the March 30 trade deadline. Roese is a clear upgrade over Madison Bizal on the bottom pair and adds another capable puck-mover to the defensive corps.
The Frost have enough forward talent in place to part with the likes of Křížová, especially with Kendall Coyne Schofield’s return after a month-long LTIR stint. Boston and Montreal look like the front-runners entering April, but Minnesota will be a tough out for any team in the opening round.
4. Ottawa Charge (33 points, 6-7-1-9, -6 GD)
Previous Ranking: 5 (+1)
The Charge have just six regulation wins in 2025-26, tied for the fewest in the League. Yet with seven games left in the regular season, Ottawa owns a two-point cushion for the final playoff spot.
Ottawa followed its League-leading seventh overtime win on March 22 with a 2-0 victory over Seattle on Sunday, leaping into fourth place in the process. Gwyneth Philips recorded her first shutout of the season, stopping all 25 Torrent shots.
Toronto and Ottawa face off three more times in a regular-season series that could determine the final postseason berth, barring an inspired surge from New York or Vancouver. If Philips is heating up, that’s bad news for the Sceptres. Ottawa’s No. 1 goalie allowed just one goal on 46 shots across her last two games.
Fourth place is still up for grabs, but the Charge sit in the driver’s seat.
5. Vancouver Goldeneyes (27 points, 7-1-4-11, -11 GD)
Previous Ranking: 6 (+1)
Don’t look now, but the Goldeneyes have entered the playoff race.
Vancouver is tied with New York at 27 points, six shy of Ottawa and four shy of the fifth-place Sceptres. The Goldeneyes earned points in four of their last six games (2-0-2-2), despite only winning twice in that span.
The odds aren’t in their favor moving forward, but the second-half surge is worthy of credit amid an otherwise challenging season. No. 1 goalie Emerance Maschmeyer returned to net Sunday for the first time since March 1, making 25 saves in a 3-2 win over Toronto. That could provide a boost down the stretch, but Vancouver still faces the hardest remaining schedule in the PWHL (.539).
Three straight games against Montreal, Minnesota, and Boston will likely determine how long Vancouver flirts with a playoff berth.
6. Toronto Sceptres (31 points, 8-1-5-10, -17 GD)
Previous Ranking: 4 (-2)
Toronto stumbled over the weekend, falling 4-0 to Boston on Friday and 3-2 to Vancouver on Sunday. In a tight postseason race, that could prove costly. The Sceptres now trail Ottawa by two points, and the Charge hold a game in hand.
They’ll have a chance to leap back into playoff position Wednesday, taking on the Charge in Calgary. No. 1 goalie Raygan Kirk, who has not played since March 17 with an upper-body injury, traveled with the team, but no further update has been made about her availability.
Blayre Turnbull continued her impressive offensive stretch, tallying two goals Sunday, but Toronto will have a tough time staying afloat without Kirk in net.
7. Seattle Torrent (22 points, 6-1-2-14, -22 GD)
Previous Ranking: 8 (+1)
Torrent captain Hilary Knight logged 21:40 in her return from LTIR on Sunday, though it couldn’t spark a Seattle offense that got blanked by Philips in a 2-0 Charge win.
Seattle lost five of six games (1-0-0-5) heading into April — the lone win coming in a 4-1 victory against New York in Chicago. While not officially eliminated from playoff contention, it’s merely a formality at this point for a Torrent squad that trails fourth place by 11 points.
Knight’s return should help them accumulate draft points in the race for the 2026 No. 1 overall pick down the stretch. It also puts the USA Olympic hero on the ice for the League’s first game at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
8. New York Sirens (27 points, 8-0-3-12, -13 GD)
Previous Ranking: 7 (-1)
For what it’s worth, the Sirens probably have a better chance to make the playoffs than a couple of the teams above them on these power rankings. It’s just difficult to justify putting them any higher after dropping nine of their last 10 games (1-0-2-7) — including a 4-1 loss to last-place Seattle.
Injuries leave New York without its top two goal scorers, as star rookie Kristyna Kaltounkova joined Taylor Girard on LTIR Monday. There’s still enough remaining talent on the roster to make one last climb up the standings, but it will take an improved offensive effort and sharper play out of goalie Kayle Osborne.
Křížová is a nice addition to New York’s forward group and a good system fit for a team that desperately needed help in its middle six. Still, the weight likely falls on Osborne, Sarah Fillier, and Casey O’Brien to will this slumping squad back into the mix.
