Latest news with #WalterCupPlayoffs
Boston Globe
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Garden Party: Again? Really?
The Celtics fell to the Knicks in Game 1 on Monday, blowing a 20-point lead to lose in overtime at TD Garden. But wait, get this: The Celtics also fell to the Knicks in Game 2 on Wednesday , blowing a 20-point lead to lose in regulation at TD Garden. Is anyone else feeling like Bill Murray's character in the critically acclaimed 1993 film 'Groundhog Day'? It didn't look nearly as ugly as Monday's loss, but Wednesday was an equally brutal collapse to witness, as the Celtics fell to 0-2 in a series that many expected them to sweep. How did it happen again ? No one seems to know. 'Two games up 20 points, and somehow we end up not with wins,' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Let's get into it. Advertisement About last night and what's on deck Stop me if you've heard this before The Celtics held a 20-point lead, 73-53, with 3:10 left in the third quarter, just as they had two nights prior. And just as it did Monday, that lead dwindled until New York surged ahead in the final minutes. After a pair of free throws from Jalen Brunson gave the Knicks a 91-90 lead with 12 seconds to go, the Celtics inbounded with a chance to win it. Jayson Tatum — Advertisement Boston missed 45 of 60 threes in Game 1 and 30 of 40 in Game 2. I'll do the math for you: a neat 25 percent from distance for the team who this season took more threes and made more threes than any team in the history of the league. The Celtics dropped two straight just three times this season and lost only three playoff games year en route to Banner 18. Now, they'll head into a hostile Madison Square Garden having lost two in a row and three of their last four playoff games. Brown called it an 'un-ideal situation,' which I would say is the understatement of the year. This just about sums up Games 1 and 2 for the Celtics. Barry Chin/Globe Staff Around the leagues ... 🏀 At least one top seed managed a win in the second round! The Thunder stomped on the Nuggets, 149-106, to even that Western Conference series at 1-1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 34. 🏒 With two second-period goals from Julia Gosling, the Toronto Sceptres held off the Minnesota Frost in the first game of the PWHL's Walter Cup Playoffs. Ottawa and Montreal will face off on the other side of the bracket Thursday at 7 p.m. 🏒 Anton Lundell tied things up for the Panthers against the Maple Leafs late in the third period, but Mitch Marner had an answer, and Toronto took a 2-0 series lead with a 4-3 win. 🏒 Busy second period up in Winnipeg, as the Jets and Stars combined for five goals in the middle frame and went scoreless in the first and third. Dallas won Game 1, 3-2. Advertisement 🗓️ Up next: The Celtics-Knicks series will shift to New York, with Game 3 set for Saturday at Madison Square Garden. In the know What adjustments need to be made? Jayson Tatum looked lost on Wednesday. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff We chatted with Globe columnist Chad Finn after that ugly loss. Here's what he said. Describe Game 2 in one word. Among words that are printable here? Staggering. It's staggering that the Celtics are down 2-0 to a team they beat four straight times in the regular season. It's staggering they can't make a shot. It's staggering that Joe Mazzulla is What adjustments do you think the Celtics need to make to win on Saturday? The simple answer is take and make good shots. Sounds trite, but it really is that simple. In Game 1, when they got up 20, they went for the knockout blow over and over again while their lead dwindled. Not a great strategy, but it's human nature to try to do that. Game 2 was worse, because they tried to play with more discipline and just stunk it up in a bunch of different ways. It wasn't just the 3-point shooting that was lousy, it was all of their shooting in the second half. One of the big issues is that often, when they need 2 points, they'd run an ISO for Kristaps Porzingis at the elbow. But he's so To get the offense going, I'm not sure there is much they can do strategically. But I do know this: Mazzulla needs to use his timeouts, and he can't put the Celtics in the bonus again by deliberately fouling Mitchell Robinson. He gets an F-minus for Game 2. Advertisement Give us your prediction for the series as it stands now. It's been annoying to hear from so many Celtics fans who already are writing them off and acting like last year never happened. (A common thread in those correspondences: Tatum is no Bird! Yeah, pal, who is?) So I'll be the one that doesn't abandon them. Celtics in 7. Don't ask me if I believe it, though. For the group chat The Great TD Garden Fire (?) of 2025 At least two fire trucks (one pictured here) responded to the alarm. Emma Healy/Globe staff I'd like to start out by saying that no one was injured, and thus I am allowed to make jokes about this situation. Where were you when I'll tell you where I was: Interesting that on the night he shot 26 percent from the field an alarm went off before he had to face the music ... The reason for the alarm was unclear, but the all-clear was given within 20 minutes of evacuation. 'A fire alarm went off tonight post-game and the arena was evacuated. No one was injured,' read a statement from TD Garden. 'The cause of the fire alarm is currently under investigation.' Maybe the culprit was in the building — just saying! Go deeper Three stories you shouldn't miss Jaylen Brown did some heavy lifting on the score sheet, but it wasn't enough. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff 🏈 David Tyree flashbacks? Dan Shaughnessy is getting nervous. Is this 2008? When did Joe Mazzulla turn into Grady Little? Advertisement 🔥 Feelin' like '23? Watching Game 2, 🤔 But ... how? When the Knicks sliced a 20-point deficit to 12 by the start of the fourth quarter, the nervous energy in TD Garden began to spike. It wouldn't happen again, would it? It couldn't happen again, right? Emma Healy can be reached at
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
PWHL Walter Cup playoffs set to begin; when are the high-stakes semifinal matchups
Toronto Sceptres vs. Minnesota Frost: GIF89a����!�,D; 5 5 Next Stay Playback speed 1x Normal Back 0.25x 0.5x 1x Normal 1.5x 2x 5 5 / Skip Ads by Montréal Victoire vs. Ottawa Charge: Semifinal schedule: Live Events Game 1: Minnesota at Toronto – Wednesday, May 7, 7:00 PM ET Game 2: Minnesota at Toronto – Friday, May 9, 7:00 PM ET Game 3: Toronto at Minnesota – Sunday, May 11, 6:00 PM ET Game 4 (if necessary): Toronto at Minnesota – Wednesday, May 14, 7:00 PM ET Game 5 (if necessary): Minnesota at Toronto – Saturday, May 17, time TBD Game 1: Ottawa at Montréal – Thursday, May 8, 7:00 PM ET Game 2: Ottawa at Montréal – Sunday, May 11, 2:00 PM ET Game 3: Montréal at Ottawa – Tuesday, May 13, 7:00 PM ET Game 4 (if necessary): Montréal at Ottawa – Friday, May 16, 7:00 PM ET Game 5 (if necessary): Ottawa at Montréal – Sunday, May 18, 7:00 PM ET The 2025 Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) Walter Cup Playoffs are set to commence this week. They will feature two best-of-five semifinal series: the Toronto Sceptres versus the Minnesota Frost and the Montréal Victoire versus the Ottawa Charge In a rematch of last year's Walter Cup Final , the second-seeded Toronto Sceptres will face the fourth-seeded Minnesota Frost. Toronto, boasting a strong defensive lineup, aims to capitalize on its home-ice advantage at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Minnesota, the defending champions, seeks to leverage its playoff experience to advance once Montréal Victoire selected the third-seeded Ottawa Charge as their semifinal opponent. Montréal, led by seasoned players, looks to assert its dominance, while Ottawa, making its first postseason appearance, aims to make a significant can catch the action on various networks, including TSN, RDS, and YouTube in Canada, as well as FanDuel Sports Network and YouTube in the United States. The series' winners will advance to the Walter Cup Final to pursue their PWHL championship.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
PWHL playoff race is back on: Top 5 storylines to watch down the stretch
After a break for the IIHF Women's World Championship in Czechia, the Professional Women's Hockey League is back. There are nine games left in the league's schedule, which starts up again on Saturday afternoon, and three games remaining for each team. Only the Montreal Victoire have clinched a playoff spot — Toronto could be the second on Saturday afternoon — and no teams have been eliminated from playoff contention. Advertisement Even when a team is eliminated, there are still points that need to be won thanks to the league's adoption of the Gold Plan. Meanwhile, only two points separate Boston, Ottawa and Minnesota for the third and fourth spots in the Walter Cup Playoffs. A lot can change between now and May 3, the final day of the season. But if the inaugural year was any indication, with the playoff picture only finalized after the very last game, the 2024-25 stretch run should be filled with drama and intrigue. Before the puck drops again, let's dive into the top storylines to watch from the playoff race to expansion news and more. The MVP race This time last year, Natalie Spooner had pretty much locked up every major trophy (MVP, Forward of the Year and both scoring titles). This year, however, the race still feels pretty tight. Advertisement Montreal captain Marie-Philip Poulin is likely the front-runner for MVP. Her league-leading 17 goals represents around 25 percent of Montreal's offense. But nobody in the PWHL has more points than Boston's Hilary Knight (28), whose 15 goals are tied for second in the league. There's also Toronto defender Renata Fast to seriously consider. She's been the best all-around defender this season, quarterbacks the league's best power play and is tied for the league lead in assists (15). Fast also leads the league in hits (58) and is tied for third in blocked shots (48). The Sceptres have a ton of depth at forward and Kristen Campbell has rounded out her game in the latter half of the season, but one could argue that without Fast anchoring the blue line, Toronto wouldn't be anywhere close to second place. Will someone pull away in their final three games? Could other players make a strong case down the stretch? It'll be more interesting to see than last year without Spooner completely dominating the league. Can Ottawa clinch its first-ever playoff berth? The Charge went into the international break as the fourth (and final) playoff team. Now they'll have three games to hold onto that spot. Advertisement Last season, Ottawa squandered multiple chances to clinch a playoff spot down the stretch. A 5-2 loss against Toronto on the final day of the season ended Ottawa's playoff hopes and allowed the Minnesota Frost to back their way into the playoffs on a five-game losing streak. As it stands now, the Charge only have a 54 percent chance of making the playoffs, behind fifth-place Minnesota and third-place Boston, according to Dom Luszczyszyn's playoff projections. The model favors Minnesota over both Boston and Ottawa partly because they're the reigning champions and they have a positive goal differential. The Frost are only one point behind Ottawa in fifth place, and the two teams will face off next week in a game that should have massive playoff implications for both sides. The Charge are leading the season series 3-2, with some lopsided wins (an 8-3 victory in February), but also losses (5-0 last month). There's reason for fans to be optimistic about Ottawa. Goalie Gwyneth Philips was excellent at women's worlds, only allowing one goal against, which came in the gold medal game against Canada in relief of Aerin Frankel. With Emerance Maschmeyer injured, Philips has proven to be more than able to take the reins. Advertisement But there are also areas of concern. Ottawa's offense has been inconsistent. The team's 66 goals on the season are tied for last in the league with New York. Forward Kateřina Mrázová was activated from long-term injured reserve, but also revealed she played through two broken bones and a torn ligament in her wrist at women's worlds. Will she play down the stretch, or need to rest until they hopefully make the playoffs? At the end of the day, Ottawa is in the middle of a playoff race and sandwiched in the standings between the two teams that made the Walter Cup Final last season. Whether or not the team can hold onto fourth — or move further up the standings — is going to be a massive story over the final two weeks of the season. And if they fail to make the playoffs two years in a row, what changes (if any) could they make? Frankel's return from women's worlds The last time we saw Frankel on the ice, she was being helped to the bench after a scary collision with Canadian forward Laura Stacey during the gold medal game at women's worlds. Advertisement On the play, Frankel left her crease to play a puck while the U.S. was on the power play. Stacey, one of Canada's top penalty killers, was chasing the puck down and collided with Frankel, who stayed on the ice for several very quiet moments. Frankel did not return to the game, but had already locked in the goalie of the tournament award with her 1.05 goals against average and .945 save percentage. There has been no official update on Frankel's status since returning from worlds. But considering the Fleet are still very much in a fight for the playoffs, it's fair to wonder if Frankel will be available to play, let alone 100 percent down the stretch. That said, Frankel, Knight and Megan Keller did throw the first pitch at a Red Sox game at Fenway Park Wednesday night, so perhaps she's doing OK. That would be a huge relief for the Fleet. Last season, Frankel was reason Boston ran the table after returning from worlds and made the playoffs at all. Then she largely carried the team all the way to Game 5 of the Walter Cup Final. Advertisement Should Frankel need some time post-tournament, Emma Söderberg or Klára Peslarová would be tested on Saturday against No. 2 Toronto. Söderberg had a solid tournament, albeit in the less competitive Group B. Peslarová made 160 saves for Czechia, the third-most tournament-wide, including a 43-save performance against Team USA in the semis. Something to monitor for Boston, too, is top-line forward Alina Müller. She left Switzerland's final game at worlds with an injury in the final five minutes. Who gets the first overall pick? The New York Sirens could be the first team officially eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday if Boston beats Toronto in regulation and Ottawa beats Montreal in regulation. Advertisement If that doesn't come to pass, the Sirens will have a big game of their own against Minnesota on Sunday afternoon. If they win, there's a chance they'll stay alive and throw a wrench in Minnesota's attempts to get back into the playoffs. But hoping for New York to run the table like Boston did last year seems like a stretch. According to Dom's model, New York has a zero percent chance of making the playoffs. Once they are ultimately eliminated, any standings points earned will go toward the Gold Plan, which determines the league's draft order by how many points a team earns after being eliminated from the playoffs. It's likely New York wins the pick, simply because every other team is still in the midst of a playoff race. But there's also the league's newest franchise to consider. Will PWHL Vancouver get the first overall pick? Will there be a lottery between the Gold Plan winner and the new team(s) for the top pick? Or will the pick just go to the Gold Plan winner? In the WNBA, the expansion Golden State Valkyries drafted No. 5 on April 15, with the Dallas Wings (the lottery winners) drafting No. 1. How the PWHL handles this is still to be determined. (More) expansion news On Wednesday, the PWHL officially announced that its first expansion franchise will be in Vancouver, with the team set to debut in time for the 2025-26 season. Advertisement The announcement is only the start of a major storyline in the league, with several loose ends that will need to be wrapped up in the coming weeks. Beyond how the team might be integrated into the 2025 draft, the league still needs to reveal how a PWHL expansion draft might work, the Vancouver team's name and logo, and whether there will be a second team joining the league next season. Executive vice president of business operations Amy Scheer said the league is 'hopeful' there will be a second team, but added it would be premature to say anything else. It stands to reason that a second team could be geographically close to Vancouver. A PWHL website gaffe on Monday might have revealed Seattle as the league's second destination, with a link to 'Shop Seattle' (and a similar one for Vancouver) visible before being taken down. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Advertisement NHL, Women's Hockey 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
25-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
PWHL playoff race is back on: Top 5 storylines to watch down the stretch
After a break for the IIHF Women's World Championship in Czechia, the Professional Women's Hockey League is back. There are nine games left in the league's schedule, which starts up again on Saturday afternoon, and three games remaining for each team. Only the Montreal Victoire have clinched a playoff spot — Toronto could be the second on Saturday afternoon — and no teams have been eliminated from playoff contention. Even when a team is eliminated, there are still points that need to be won thanks to the league's adoption of the Gold Plan. Meanwhile, only two points separate Boston, Ottawa and Minnesota for the third and fourth spots in the Walter Cup Playoffs. Here's where things stand headed into break 👀 — PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) April 4, 2025 A lot can change between now and May 3, the final day of the season. But if the inaugural year was any indication, with the playoff picture only finalized after the very last game, the 2024-25 stretch run should be filled with drama and intrigue. Before the puck drops again, let's dive into the top storylines to watch from the playoff race to expansion news and more. This time last year, Natalie Spooner had pretty much locked up every major trophy (MVP, Forward of the Year and both scoring titles). This year, however, the race still feels pretty tight. Montreal captain Marie-Philip Poulin is likely the front-runner for MVP. Her league-leading 17 goals represents around 25 percent of Montreal's offense. But nobody in the PWHL has more points than Boston's Hilary Knight (28), whose 15 goals are tied for second in the league. Advertisement There's also Toronto defender Renata Fast to seriously consider. She's been the best all-around defender this season, quarterbacks the league's best power play and is tied for the league lead in assists (15). Fast also leads the league in hits (58) and is tied for third in blocked shots (48). The Sceptres have a ton of depth at forward and Kristen Campbell has rounded out her game in the latter half of the season, but one could argue that without Fast anchoring the blue line, Toronto wouldn't be anywhere close to second place. Will someone pull away in their final three games? Could other players make a strong case down the stretch? It'll be more interesting to see than last year without Spooner completely dominating the league. The Charge went into the international break as the fourth (and final) playoff team. Now they'll have three games to hold onto that spot. Last season, Ottawa squandered multiple chances to clinch a playoff spot down the stretch. A 5-2 loss against Toronto on the final day of the season ended Ottawa's playoff hopes and allowed the Minnesota Frost to back their way into the playoffs on a five-game losing streak. As it stands now, the Charge only have a 54 percent chance of making the playoffs, behind fifth-place Minnesota and third-place Boston, according to Dom Luszczyszyn's playoff projections. The model favors Minnesota over both Boston and Ottawa partly because they're the reigning champions and they have a positive goal differential. The Frost are only one point behind Ottawa in fifth place, and the two teams will face off next week in a game that should have massive playoff implications for both sides. The Charge are leading the season series 3-2, with some lopsided wins (an 8-3 victory in February), but also losses (5-0 last month). Advertisement There's reason for fans to be optimistic about Ottawa. Goalie Gwyneth Philips was excellent at women's worlds, only allowing one goal against, which came in the gold medal game against Canada in relief of Aerin Frankel. With Emerance Maschmeyer injured, Philips has proven to be more than able to take the reins. But there are also areas of concern. Ottawa's offense has been inconsistent. The team's 66 goals on the season are tied for last in the league with New York. Forward Kateřina Mrázová was activated from long-term injured reserve, but also revealed she played through two broken bones and a torn ligament in her wrist at women's worlds. Will she play down the stretch, or need to rest until they hopefully make the playoffs? At the end of the day, Ottawa is in the middle of a playoff race and sandwiched in the standings between the two teams that made the Walter Cup Final last season. Whether or not the team can hold onto fourth — or move further up the standings — is going to be a massive story over the final two weeks of the season. And if they fail to make the playoffs two years in a row, what changes (if any) could they make? The last time we saw Frankel on the ice, she was being helped to the bench after a scary collision with Canadian forward Laura Stacey during the gold medal game at women's worlds. On the play, Frankel left her crease to play a puck while the U.S. was on the power play. Stacey, one of Canada's top penalty killers, was chasing the puck down and collided with Frankel, who stayed on the ice for several very quiet moments. Laura Stacey entre SOLIDEMENT en collision avec la gardienne américaine Aerin Frankel ! 😯#ChampionnatduMondedeHockeyFéminin — RDS (@RDSca) April 20, 2025 Frankel did not return to the game, but had already locked in the goalie of the tournament award with her 1.05 goals against average and .945 save percentage. There has been no official update on Frankel's status since returning from worlds. But considering the Fleet are still very much in a fight for the playoffs, it's fair to wonder if Frankel will be available to play, let alone 100 percent down the stretch. That said, Frankel, Knight and Megan Keller did throw the first pitch at a Red Sox game at Fenway Park Wednesday night, so perhaps she's doing OK. That would be a huge relief for the Fleet. Our world champs were throwing HEAT last night 😮💨🔥 Big thanks to @RedSox for having the whole squad out at Fenway! — Boston Fleet (@PWHL_Boston) April 24, 2025 Last season, Frankel was the reason Boston ran the table after returning from worlds and made the playoffs at all. Then she largely carried the team all the way to Game 5 of the Walter Cup Final. Should Frankel need some time post-tournament, Emma Söderberg or Klára Peslarová would be tested on Saturday against No. 2 Toronto. Söderberg had a solid tournament, albeit in the less competitive Group B. Peslarová made 160 saves for Czechia, the third-most tournament-wide, including a 43-save performance against Team USA in the semis. Advertisement Something to monitor for Boston, too, is top-line forward Alina Müller. She left Switzerland's final game at worlds with an injury in the final five minutes. The New York Sirens could be the first team officially eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday if Boston beats Toronto in regulation and Ottawa beats Montreal in regulation. If that doesn't come to pass, the Sirens will have a big game of their own against Minnesota on Sunday afternoon. If they win, there's a chance they'll stay alive and throw a wrench in Minnesota's attempts to get back into the playoffs. But hoping for New York to run the table like Boston did last year seems like a stretch. According to Dom's model, New York has a zero percent chance of making the playoffs. Once they are ultimately eliminated, any standings points earned will go toward the Gold Plan, which determines the league's draft order by how many points a team earns after being eliminated from the playoffs. It's likely New York wins the pick, simply because every other team is still in the midst of a playoff race. But there's also the league's newest franchise to consider. Will PWHL Vancouver get the first overall pick? Will there be a lottery between the Gold Plan winner and the new team(s) for the top pick? Or will the pick just go to the Gold Plan winner? In the WNBA, the expansion Golden State Valkyries drafted No. 5 on April 15, with the Dallas Wings (the lottery winners) drafting No. 1. How the PWHL handles this is still to be determined. On Wednesday, the PWHL officially announced that its first expansion franchise will be in Vancouver, with the team set to debut in time for the 2025-26 season. The announcement is only the start of a major storyline in the league, with several loose ends that will need to be wrapped up in the coming weeks. Beyond how the team might be integrated into the 2025 draft, the league still needs to reveal how a PWHL expansion draft might work, the Vancouver team's name and logo, and whether there will be a second team joining the league next season. Advertisement Executive vice president of business operations Amy Scheer said the league is 'hopeful' there will be a second team, but added it would be premature to say anything else. It stands to reason that a second team could be geographically close to Vancouver. A PWHL website gaffe on Monday might have revealed Seattle as the league's second destination, with a link to 'Shop Seattle' (and a similar one for Vancouver) visible before being taken down. (Photo of Tereza Vanišová: Troy Parla / Getty Images)
