The best-of-five inaugural PWHL playoffs are officially underway

The GIST: The championship chase is on, with the PWHL’s inaugural postseason Game 1s officially in the books. Turn on tweet notifications to see highlights in real time, and settle in because the best-of-five semis are just getting started.

Top-seeded Toronto dominates No. 4 Minnesota in Game 1: Toronto certainly appeared to have made the right semis choice on Wednesday, topping Minnesota 4–0 in front of a sold out crowd. Regular-season points leader Natalie Spooner scored the first goal in PWHL playoff history, and Toronto never looked back en route to the goalie Kristen Campbell–led shutout.

• That marks six straight Ls for Minnesota, dating back to the regular season, but fortunately their gear will have arrived with plenty of time ahead of tonight’s pivotal 7 p.m. ET Game 2 in Toronto.

No. 3 Boston outlasts No. 2 Montréal on the road: The first-ever overtime (OT) PWHL playoff game saw Boston emerge victorious 2–1 as Susanna Tapani lit the lamp with the golden goal game-winner. Say that three times fast.

• With a massive road win in hand and goalie Aerin Frankel in net fresh off last night’s PWHL-record 53-save performance, Boston now has a chance to take a commanding 2-0 series lead when the puck drops for Game 2 tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET.