Montreal hosts Boston in Game 1 of PWHL semifinal series on TSN
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Marie-Philip Poulin and Hilary Knight captained their countries in the final of the women’s worlds in April, now they will go head to head again as PWHL Montreal hosts PWHL Boston in Game 1 of their semifinal series.
Catch the action LIVE, Thursday at 7pm ET on TSN1/5, TSN.ca and the TSN App.
Poulin helped lead Canada to a 6-5 overtime victory in that gold medal game, scoring twice in the championship victory.
The 33-year-old paced Montreal’s attack this season with 23 points in 21 games, she also tied fellow forward Laura Stacey for the team lead with 10 goals.
Montreal’s Erin Ambrose finished second in the league in points from a defender with 18, just three behind New York’s Ella Shelton for the league lead.
Goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens posted a 2.28 goals-against average and .915 save percentage in 16 games, while backup Elaine Chuli had a 1.61 GAA in 13 games, along with a 6-1-0 record for Montreal.
Montreal finished second in the PWHL with 41 points and were one of only two teams, along with Toronto, to rack up double-digit regulation wins during the regular season.
Boston finished six points behind Montreal in the standings, but enter the playoffs off an important victory in their head-to-head matchup.
The American side secured their playoff spot thanks to a 4-3 victory over Montreal in their last game of the regular season.
Knight, who also scored in the World Championship final, had a goal and an assist in the postseason-clinching effort. The 34-year-old led Boston with six goals.
Boston’s Lexie Adzija also finished the season with six goals, however five of those markers were scored prior to her arrival from PWHL Ottawa in a trade-deadline day deal.
Alina Müller had 16 points in 24 games to top the charts for Boston.
Overall, the teams split their four meetings this season, winning and losing a game in each arena.
Game 2 of the series will take place at Place Bell on Saturday at 7pm ET and can also be seen on TSN, the exclusive home of the PWHL playoffs and the chase for the Walter Cup.