PWHL announces playoff format that will allow No. 1 seed to pick opponent

TORONTO — The Professional Women’s Hockey League is adding more outside-the-box rules for its inaugural season.

The first-year circuit announced Wednesday that four of its six teams are set to make the playoffs — with a twist. The No. 1 seed will have the option to choose its semifinal opponent from the third- and fourth-place finishers for the five-game series.

The No. 2 seed will have its home-ice advantage secured in the semis. The title will also be decided in a best-of-five format.

The PWHL, which has implemented a 3-2-1 points system and the so-called “jailbreak” where a short-handed goal frees a penalized player from the box, also announced during a mid-season video conference call with reporters Wednesday that it will implement the “Gold Plan” for its draft order.