Welcome to the most chaotic postseason selection process in sports, where even the matchup itself can become bulletin board material.
The top-seeded Montreal Victoire will open their Pro Women’s Hockey League playoff run against the Minnesota Frost on Saturday. Simple, right?
Four PWHL clubs make the postseason. Montreal finished in first place and Minnesota in third, meaning the Victoire will not face the lowest remaining seed, despite earning the top spot.
That’s because they actually chose to face the “better” team.
“It's something that's completely out of our control,” Minnesota forward Kendall Coyne-Schofield said of having to play the top seed despite finishing in the third spot. “We were more looking at do we leave this day to go to Boston, or this day to go to Montreal?
“When we got the news, we were like, alright, what's the schedule? And so we start preparing for Montreal, because that's where we're going, that's where we're told to go, and it's out of our control. So, I think that's our mindset, and we get ready to work.”
Players of Team United States celebrate winning the gold medals after the team's 2-1 overtime victory in the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day thirteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.USA's players celebrate after winning the women's gold medal ice hockey match between USA and Canada at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, on Feb. 19, 2026.Cayla Barnes #3 of Team United celebrates winning the gold medals after the team's 2-1 overtime victory in the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day 13 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.Team USA celebrates a goal against Canada in the women's ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19.Team USA celebrate winning the Gold Medal in Women’s ice hockey following overtime of the women's ice hockey gold medal game against Canada during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19.Abbey Murphy of United States in action with Sarah Nurse of Canada during the Women's Gold Medal Game at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics on Feb. 19.Ann-Renee Desbiens #35 of Team Canada makes a save against Alex Carpenter #25 of Team United States in the second period during the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day thirteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026, in Milan, Italy.Canada's #43 Kristin O'Neill (R) fights for the puck with USA's #13 Grace Zumwinkle during the women's gold medal ice hockey match between USA and Canada at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, on Feb. 19, 2026.Emma Maltais of Canada is held back by linesperson Kristyna Hajkova during the Women's Gold Medal Game between the United States and Canada at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics on Feb. 19.Renata Fast and Ann-Renee Desbiens of Canada in action against Britta Curl of United States during the Women's Gold Medal Game at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics on Feb. 19.Emma Maltais (27) of Canada has words with linesperson Tiina Saarimaki (64) of Finland and referee Kelly Cooke (29) of the United States in the women's ice hockey gold medal game against the United States during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19.Aerin Frankel (31) of the United States makes a save against Canada in the women's ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19.Aerin Frankel (31) of the United States blocks the shot by Daryl Watts (95) of Canada in the women's ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19.A Team USA skater moves up the ice against Canada in the women's ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19.USA's #17 Britta Curl reacts after falling into the goal during the women's gold medal ice hockey match between USA and Canada at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, on Feb. 19, 2026.Britta Curl #17 of Team United States collides with Renata Fast #14 of Team Canada in the second period during the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day 13 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.Kristin O'Neill #43 of Team Canada scores a goal past Aerin Frankel #31 of Team United States in the second period during the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day 13 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.A fan holds up a puck in the second period during the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day thirteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.Britta Curl #17 of Team United States and Ella Shelton #17 of Team Canada compete for the puck in the first period during the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day 13 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.Abbey Murphy #37 of Team United States competes for the puck against Ann-Renee Desbiens #35 and Claire Thompson #42 of Team Canada in the first period during the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day 13 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.1 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaPlayers of Team United States celebrate winning the gold medals after the team's 2-1 overtime victory in the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day thirteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.1 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaPlayers of Team United States celebrate winning the gold medals after the team's 2-1 overtime victory in the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day thirteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.2 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaUSA's players celebrate after winning the women's gold medal ice hockey match between USA and Canada at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, on Feb. 19, 2026.3 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaCayla Barnes #3 of Team United celebrates winning the gold medals after the team's 2-1 overtime victory in the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day 13 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.4 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaTeam USA celebrates a goal against Canada in the women's ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19.5 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaTeam USA celebrate winning the Gold Medal in Women’s ice hockey following overtime of the women's ice hockey gold medal game against Canada during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19.6 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaAbbey Murphy of United States in action with Sarah Nurse of Canada during the Women's Gold Medal Game at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics on Feb. 19.7 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaAnn-Renee Desbiens #35 of Team Canada makes a save against Alex Carpenter #25 of Team United States in the second period during the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day thirteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026, in Milan, Italy.8 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaCanada's #43 Kristin O'Neill (R) fights for the puck with USA's #13 Grace Zumwinkle during the women's gold medal ice hockey match between USA and Canada at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, on Feb. 19, 2026.9 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaEmma Maltais of Canada is held back by linesperson Kristyna Hajkova during the Women's Gold Medal Game between the United States and Canada at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics on Feb. 19.10 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaRenata Fast and Ann-Renee Desbiens of Canada in action against Britta Curl of United States during the Women's Gold Medal Game at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics on Feb. 19.11 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaEmma Maltais (27) of Canada has words with linesperson Tiina Saarimaki (64) of Finland and referee Kelly Cooke (29) of the United States in the women's ice hockey gold medal game against the United States during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19.12 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaAerin Frankel (31) of the United States makes a save against Canada in the women's ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19.13 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaAerin Frankel (31) of the United States blocks the shot by Daryl Watts (95) of Canada in the women's ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19.14 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaA Team USA skater moves up the ice against Canada in the women's ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19.15 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaUSA's #17 Britta Curl reacts after falling into the goal during the women's gold medal ice hockey match between USA and Canada at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, on Feb. 19, 2026.16 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaBritta Curl #17 of Team United States collides with Renata Fast #14 of Team Canada in the second period during the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day 13 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.17 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaKristin O'Neill #43 of Team Canada scores a goal past Aerin Frankel #31 of Team United States in the second period during the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day 13 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.18 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaA fan holds up a puck in the second period during the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day thirteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.19 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaBritta Curl #17 of Team United States and Ella Shelton #17 of Team Canada compete for the puck in the first period during the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day 13 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.20 / 20Relive USA’s thrilling gold‑medal OT win and celebration over CanadaAbbey Murphy #37 of Team United States competes for the puck against Ann-Renee Desbiens #35 and Claire Thompson #42 of Team Canada in the first period during the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day 13 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.Under PWHL rules, the No. 1 seed selects its semifinal opponent from the third- and fourth-place teams. The second-place team, in this case, Boston, faces the remaining club, Ottawa.
No other professional sports league in North America allows a top seed to choose its playoff opponent. Coaches often insist that matchups don’t matter, but that’s easier to say when the opponent isn’t handpicked.
When a team makes that choice, the stakes feel different. Notably, each top seed that’s selected its opponent over the past two seasons has gone on to lose the series. Montreal made a similar choice last year, selecting the third seed over fourth-seeded Ottawa, and lost in four games.
“There’s no team in this league that is easy to beat, that's for sure,” Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie said on Monday. “Every single game, I feel like, has the potential to go into overtime, and we, as a collective here in Montreal, we decided to continue with our internal process of where we were at, different things that we looked at, and, you know, we landed on Minnesota, and we're looking forward to that opportunity. Every team brings a different opportunity.”
Cheverie declined to explain why her team, again, chose the third seed or whether Ottawa presented a tougher matchup. Instead, Montreal (16-2-6) will face the back-to-back defending champions and top-scoring team in the PWHL, now with added motivation after being labeled, implicitly, the more favorable opponent.
“It doesn't really matter that much for us,” Minnesota Frost head coach Ken Klee said. “We knew we were going to be going on the road, so, they're a great challenge, and we're just excited to get going.”
The Victoire are in the playoffs for the third straight season, finishing first for second consecutive year. This season, the Victoire won all four games in their head-to-head season series against the Frost (13-5-9), including two overtime victories. They went 3-1 against the Charge (9-1-12).
There is a 24-hour selection window to select a playoff opponent and the league said it aims to create rivalries and reward the top regular-season team. Playoff semifinals and finals are best-of-five series. Montreal finished with 62 points, after winning its final regular-season game in a shootout, and in a tie for first with Boston (16-4-5) in the standings. But the Victoire held the tiebreaker, having more wins – 22 – than the Fleet’s 21.
The Fleet will get an “easier” matchup with the Ottawa Charge, who finished as the fourth seed.
“To be honest, I haven't really analyzed it too much,” said Ottawa forward Brianne Jenner of Montreal picking Minnesota. “They probably had their reasons for the pick that they made. I think we prepared regardless. We're gonna have to go through a really good team if we want to make it to the finals.”
Players and coaches may downplay it, but beating a team that chose you as its opponent carries a little extra edge.
“It’s their choice,” Klee said. “It's a tough choice, having the choice to pick, our league is so close, and there's so much competitive balance that I don't think there's any right or wrong choice for them. They made their choice, which is fine with us.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Welcome to the PWHL playoffs, where the top seed picks its postseason opponent