PWHL Playoffs: Women's hockey takes center stage in Toronto as Knight and Poulin renew the rivalry

Step aside, Auston Matthews. Women's hockey takes center stage in Toronto, where Natalie Spooner, Sarah Nurse & Co. opens the PWHL playoffs against Minnesota on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the sport's most prominent faces, Boston's Hilary Knight and Montreal's Marie-Philip Poulin, add a new wrinkle to their long-standing U.S.-Canada rivalry in the PWHL's other semifinal, which begins Thursday.

Another chance to win, right? Knight said he faced Poulin in a professional setting after a thrilling 6-5 overtime loss in the gold medal match at the women's world championships last month.

You hear about these two names and what an incredible match for (fans) and a true Original Six match, right? she added. If I can just step out of myself as a competitor, I think that's what you want.

The stars remain committed to the Professional Womens Hockey League in its inaugural season, and after finally bringing together the world's best players under one umbrella. After a 72-game regular season with record crowds and the playoff picture only becoming clear when the final horn sounded on Sunday, the PWHL heads into the postseason with a pair of best-of-five series full of subplots.

In Stanley Cup-starved Toronto, where the Maple Leafs haven't reached the finals since winning the championship in 1967, the PWHL team is riding high after finishing first in the standings.

First off, I have to say I'm sad the Leafs are done, said Toronto captain Blayre Turnbull, referring to the Leafs' latest first-round exit following their Game 7 loss to Boston last weekend. I was hoping they would run a little. But I think being in the spotlight now is something that we're really excited about.

By finishing first, Toronto earned the right to select its opponent, going with fourth-place Minnesota over third-place Boston, two teams finishing with identical 12-9-3 records, with Boston having the decisive lead.

The decision took into account the fact that Toronto won 3-1 against Minnesota in the regular season, instead of 3-2 vs. Boston. Another potential advantage was that Minnesota entered the playoffs on a five-game skid, while Boston closed 3-1-1, including a 2-1 win over Toronto.

For Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, the playoffs mean a new start.

You have to look at the season as a whole. I think it's very easy to look at the last five games and see what didn't go well for us, Coyne Schofield said. We've had some fantastic hockey this year. …And we're looking forward to going into Toronto with that clean slate.

There is championship pressure in Montreal, where the Canadiens were Canada's last team to win the Cup in 1993.

That's obviously something that I'm sure every coach in Montreal doesn't take lightly, Montreal coach Kori Cheverie said. I think bringing a championship back to Montreal would be celebrated by all teams, and that would be something very exciting for our fans and for the city.

Minnesota's lineup is filled with current and former U.S. National Team players, from Coyne Schofield and Grace Zumwinkle to Kelly Pannek, Taylor Heise and Lee Stecklein. And it's backed by Nicole Hensley and Maddie Rooney, the same tandem that led the US to gold at the 2018 Olympics.

Toronto has the flavor of a Canadian national team, with a brain trust consisting of Team Canada GM Gina Kingsbury and coach Troy Ryan.

The roster features three players who finished in the top 10 in league points, led by Spooner, who leads the league with 20 goals and 27 points. In net, Kristen Campbell led the league with 16 wins, three shutouts and 22 games played. , while he ranked second with a 1.99 goals-against average.

While Minnesota's slump came late in the season, Toronto overcame a 2-5 start to reel off 11 straight wins and finish 17-7.

Minnesota coach Ken Klee was happy that Toronto chose his team as its opponent. The former NHL defenseman laughed as he said his family will be in Toronto as soon as this week to attend a wedding.

The teams split their four-match series evenly, with three of the games decided by one goal and two in overtime. They last met Saturday, when Boston clinched its playoff spot with a 4-3 win on Kaleigh Fratkins' goal with 80 seconds left in regulation time.

Boston scored the fewest goals in the league with 50 and was led by Swiss national team star Alina Muller, who had four goals and a team-best 16 points. The team was bolstered by midseason trade additions with Susanna Tapani from Finland and Lexie Adzija, who filled Boston's needs at the midpoint.

While Knight had a mediocre season, finishing with six goals and 11 points, American defender Megan Keller was a two-way force by finishing second on the team with 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) and a 9+ rating.

The goalie match features two starters from the national team: the American Aerin Frankel for Boston and the Canadian Ann-Renee Desbiens for Montreal.

Montreal is led in second place by Poulin, who finished tied for second in the points race with 10 goals and 13 assists despite missing three games with a lower-body injury. Rounding out the team's core are Laura Stacey, who is engaged to Poulin, and Erin Ambrose, who finished second among PWHL defensemen with 18 points (four goals, 14 assists).

Behind the bench are two of the league's three female coaches, Montreal's Cheverie and Boston's Courtney Kessel. The two also serve as Team Canada assistants under Ryan.

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AP Women's Hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey