PWHL Season 4 Schedule Breakdown: Conferences, Playoff Structure & What We Still Don't Know

The PWHL schedule is out — and Rachel Donner breaks it all down solo on this special edition of At Even Strength. Twelve teams, two conferences, 30 games per team. The **Eastern Conference** features Boston, Montréal, New York, Ottawa, Toronto, and Hamilton as the lone expansion team in the East. The **Western Conference** brings together Detroit, Las Vegas, San Jose, Minnesota, Seattle, and Vancouver — expansion-heavy and geographically spread out in a way that makes travel a real storyline for Season 4. 18 games in conference, 12 out of conference, which means every team visits every market at some point — though not necessarily every arena. The Takeover Tour is baked into the schedule with asterisks marking neutral-site games and carrots marking alternate venues like the Bell Centre in Montréal and Madison Square Garden in New York, with specific locations still TBD. And the playoff format question that's been haunting Erica and Rachel all offseason finally has an answer: eight teams make it — four from each conference. The conference winner gets to choose their opponent from the third- or fourth-place team (not second), best of three in round one, best of five in the semis, and then the Walter Cup Finals. Season opener: December 6th–13th, following Women's Worlds. **0:00** — Breaking news: the PWHL Season 4 schedule is here — Rachel goes solo **1:00** — 30 games, two conferences, 18 in-conference and 12 out-of-conference games explained **2:15** — Eastern Conference breakdown: Boston, Montréal, New York, Ottawa, Toronto, and Hamilton **3:30** — Western Conference breakdown: Detroit, Las Vegas, San Jose, Minnesota, Seattle, and Vancouver **4:15** — Takeover Tour and alternate venues: how to read the asterisks and carrots in the schedule **5:15** — Playoff format revealed: 8 teams, conference winners choose their opponent, best of three in round one **6:30** — Season opener: December 6th–13th, and what questions still remain heading into Season 4 *At Even Strength is a PWHL-focused podcast from Black Rosie Media, hosted by Erica L. Ayala and Rachel Donner. New episodes drop on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts.* Follow us on Bluesky social! Erica L Ayala 🦋https://bsky.app/profile/elindsay08.bsky.social Rachel Donner 🦋https://bsky.app/profile/rmiriam.bsky.social At Even Strength on TikTok 📲https://www.tiktok.com/@atevenstrength\_pod Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…  🎧https://blackrosiemedia.transistor.fm/ Black Rosie Media: Olympics, Women’s Hockey, Women’s Basketball, and other stories that matter! 🎧 https://linktr.ee/BlackRosieMedia #pwhl #womenshockey #hockey 🎥 WATCH • Subscribe to this channel: youtube.com/channel/@BLKRosieMedia ▶︎ Exclusive Interviews:    • Black Rosie Media  I Interviews    🎧 LISTEN • Download and follow & leave a 5⭐️ rating on Apple: http://bit.ly/4bCWKpn • Other Black Rosie Media podcasts:https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbGppemZjMGJlaThYaGdMUXFQUVZsWjJfY19UUXxBQ3Jtc0ttNFc0NW42ZV9tUnhHaDBKcXBPNU9tem9oMUkzTEY5RmU0TkJEcUQ2S2s0UWNKaEZIdUpoOFFZc25xVmdQcHFZbWxtUWRGQVJZdHBta1B2bXVxZGNpQlIzREhXaF9PQTNXVEpBNkVoeE8xOUdzZWdZMA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fcbssports.com%2Fpodcast&v=eeLldlFyMBUhttps://blackrosiemedia.transistor.fm/  📱FOLLOW BLACK ROSIE MEDIA • TikTok:https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbnFfX2JTN3pVNVE0YjNGYzNnYUFOaUZocEY4Z3xBQ3Jtc0trSlRHYzdGdjhmckV2eWxpVVdfUlB4MUdNd0k3RnI0cFBRSXlKRW93SVZRSlV5UElBT1ZlSVV2TzBtU18yVGhYVUUweWVlajhMdnprLVY4UzJOYmxBaENLZ09uWDN5aFk4bUh3TWF4Wno5ZlBPRDJZMA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40weneedtotalk&v=eeLldlFyMBUhttps://www.tiktok.com/@blackrosiemedia  • Instagram:https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbldqck9qT2k2MjNITDlDRFlTMzRyTFkwRUViZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttYy10ZkhjX3NFVGk3WW1lLVNLOFVQcGhrWURjNUh1ajFGMTNIQUt1WWxWNVdjV2RNQURQeUtsNVpXV184TlpmbmVNNnJaTl92amhYM2hsa1ppdjVWaGlHMUZaWVZYbC1WZHZVaVFlbUdMRzNieGlTcw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fweneedtotalk%2F&v=eeLldlFyMBU • Twitter:https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbTVGVU55MThhNnRnakt6bENkVlBwX2ZFcjVNUXxBQ3Jtc0tudUdNRGVWYjZFbjc5dENlc25kRDBHOGltSXhRMkd4UUZKbjJMWnNaX0p0NkJBSFlNRUFwU3RRaFdDYklrWGNyX1hrYzR0MWZoZ1Rad2ZpLXUxb2tkS0ZBczF1OGJCdlNWVVFJQ0ZENV9zX3FOXzRKRQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FWeNeedToTalk&v=eeLldlFyMBUhttps://twitter.com/BlackRosieMedia  ABOUT THE SHOW Get your weekly women’s hockey fix with Erica L. Ayala and Rachel Donner. They will cover the top news in the PWHL, NCAA, and international women’s ice hockey.