Ottawa Charge forward Rebecca Leslie (37) and her teammates will try to hang onto the final PWHL playoff spot when they host the Toronto Sceptres on Saturday.Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press
The Toronto Sceptres had their prayers answered Wednesday night.
The team’s playoff aspirations hung in the balance after it fell 1-0 in overtime to the New York Sirens on Tuesday. A win – in any fashion – would have ensured Toronto’s season finale in Ottawa against the Charge was do-or-die for either club.
Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan hoped the “hockey gods” were on his team’s side following Tuesday’s result. It appears those sporting deities were.
Toronto needed a non-regulation Ottawa win over the Boston Fleet on Wednesday to stay in the playoff hunt. Incredibly, they got it, with a 2-1 overtime Charge victory.
Sirens spoil Sceptres’ chance to move into playoff spot with OT win
On Saturday, with the Sceptres in Ottawa, a regulation win will clinch Toronto’s playoff berth. Any other result will see Ottawa nab the league’s final postseason spot.
Charge forward Michela Cava, who has won back-to-back Walter Cup championships with the Minnesota Frost, is familiar with do-or-die style regular season games.
Minnesota, her former team, thumped Boston 8-1 to simultaneously clinch the PWHL’s final playoff spot and eliminate the Fleet on the final day of the 2024-25 season.
“You’re gonna have those pregame nerves, but I think it’s all about trying to manage that and stay together,” Cava said. “I feel like we have a good group of younger and veteran players that work really well together, and everyone doesn’t really show that anxiousness before the game starts.
“Everybody’s dialled in, and we have a really good group at maintaining our emotions.”
Toronto Sceptres forward Jesse Compher (18) and her team need a regulation win over the Charge to leapfrog them and take the PWHL's final playoff spot.Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press
“I think it’s important to acknowledge those nerves and understand that they’re a good thing,” Ottawa’s interim head coach Haley Irwin said. “It means that you care. It means that you want to win, so they’re not a bad thing.”
Irwin said it will be important to simplify the start of Ottawa’s game to allow everyone to settle in.
Raygan Kirk, Toronto’s starting goaltender, said it was “a bit nauseating” having no control over Wednesday’s results.
“But that’s hockey,” Kirk said. “That’s part of the job.”
Daryl Watts, Toronto’s leading points (19) and goal (10) scorer, lamented her team’s failure to take action earlier in the week.
“It just kind of sucks that our destiny was in our hands. But that’s just how it goes,” said Watts, the only player to score at least 10 goals in each of the PWHL’s three seasons thus far.
Since things worked out in Toronto’s favour, Watts understands the attitude her team needs to bring to Ottawa.
“It’s gonna be the most desperate game of the season,” she said.
“As a Leafs fan, I grew up watching the Leafs play the Senators. It’s obviously a huge rivalry and Ottawa’s got an incredible fan base.”
The stellar play of Toronto Sceptres goaltender Raygan Kirk (1) has offset the team's lack of offence this season.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Toronto and Ottawa split their season series. The most recent matchup was on April 11, when the Charge beat the Sceptres 2-0.
“We know what’s at stake,” Cava said.
Toronto hasn’t scored more than two goals in a game since March 3.
Fortunately for the Sceptres, Kirk’s stellar goaltending has helped offset some of Toronto’s scoring woes. The Ste. Anne, Man., product is averaging less than two goals allowed per game and has a .935 save percentage this season.
“She’s been on an incredible run,” Watts said. “When you have a goalie playing as well as Kirky’s been playing, you can win championships.”
Saturday will also determine who picks first in the 2026 PWHL draft.
After a team’s elimination from postseason contention, under the PWHL’s Gold Plan, every point earned goes toward its draft order. The non-playoff team with the most of these points will earn the first-overall selection.
The Sirens selected with the first pick in 2024 and 2025, choosing Sarah Fillier and Kristyna Kaltounkova, respectively. New York is unable to win its way to first overall this late in the season.
The PWHL’s two expansion teams – the Vancouver Goldeneyes and Seattle Torrent – have the best odds for first. Seattle leads the Gold Plan standings with four points, while Vancouver has three. Each team has one game remaining.