Boston will face Montreal in the PWHL playoffs

Boston defenseman Jess Healy and her team will face Montreal in the first round of the Women's Hockey League playoffs. The top-five series opens May 9-11 in Canada. Tuesday, May 14 and Thursday, May 16, before returning to the Tsongas Center if needed. (Courtesy Photo/PWHL Boston)

Boston will face Montreal as they begin their pursuit of a championship in the inaugural Women's Hockey League playoffs.

The five-way semifinal series begins Thursday for Game 1, followed by Game 2 at Montreal's Place Bell on May 11 at 7 p.m. before returning to the Tsongas Center on May 14 and 16, if necessary.

Boston finished the regular season with 35 points and finished as the third ranked team in the regular season standings.

“I'm excited to be a part of the playoffs and represent Boston in this way,” said team captain Hilary Knight. “We welcome any opponent and we are very happy to have the opportunity to face Montreal. Since that month-long hiatus, we've been on a great stretch here. “It just shows the kind of people we have in the room. I don't want to fight with another group.''

Boston is 2-2 in its regular-season series against Montreal, including a 3-2 overtime win on Jan. 13 and a 4-3 victory Saturday, which kept them in the playoff hunt. They lost 2-1 in overtime to the Canadiens on February 4th, and also lost 3-1 in Canada on March 2nd.

Toronto announced its decision to play Minnesota in the semifinals on Monday night after picking up the first overall seed, confirming that Boston will play Montreal. The winners of each series will advance to the PWHL Finals where they will compete for the Walter Cup.

“We're excited to make the playoffs,” coach Courtney Kessel said. “I don't think it matters who we're up against. We know it's going to be a battle no matter who we face. This league was great, every game was hard fought and it was clear to fight till the end. We saw that in the last second of our last game. We're excited to go.”