The 2019 CWHL playoffs begin this Friday in Montréal and Calgary. The top-seeded Calgary Inferno are hosting the Toronto Furies in one semifinal while Les Canadiennes de Montréal will host the reigning Clarkson Cup champion Markham Thunder in the other. Each series is a best-of-three marathon over three days.

The Calgary Inferno (23-4-1)

Expectations were high for general manager Kristen Hagg’s team prior to the 2018-19 season for good reason. Calgary bolstered its roster in the offseason with Team USA Olympic gold medalists Alex Rigsby, Kacey Bellamy and Brianna Decker, two-time Women’s World champion Zoe Hickel and two-time Olympic bronze medalist Venla Hovi. Despite the mid-season departure of head coach Shannon Miller, the Inferno’s star-studded roster hardly missed a beat and finished first in the standings.

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On paper, the Inferno’s roster is as deep and dangerous as it gets. Veterans Rebecca Johnston and Brianne Jenner headline a stacked group of forwards that helped give Calgary the second-best offense in the league measured by goals-per-game. The Inferno’s top-four defenders, led by Brigette Lacquette and Bellamy, could be the best in the league and between the pipes, Rigsby and Annie Belanger are an outstanding goalie tandem that always gives Calgary’s offense an opportunity to win games.

Right off the faceoff @briannejenner ties the game! @InfernoCWHL and Kunlun are tied at 2 all in game 3 #CWHL pic.twitter.com/k3HnbB7W73 — Women's Sports Highlights (@WSportHilites) February 23, 2019

Calgary’s first-place finish in the regular season makes them the favorites for the 2019 Clarkson Cup. They do have something to prove after flaming out in last season’s semifinal, but this year’s roster is so much scarier than the team Kunlun Red Star knocked out of the playoffs last year.

The Toronto Furies (14-14-0)

The Furies are definitely the underdog in their semifinal series against Calgary, but they’re also the hottest team in the CWHL right now.

Toronto went on a 5-0 run at the end of the regular season to clinch a spot in the playoffs. Prior to that run, head coach Courtney Kessel’s team handed the Inferno two of their four regulation losses this year — so needless to say, there’s something special about this team.

🚨HOWARD🚨@brithoward3 does what she does best and rips a shot past Howe for her 5th of the season🤩



2-0 Furies pic.twitter.com/KJeKwP70Is — x - Toronto Furies (@TorontoCWHL) February 27, 2019

“We have lots of confidence coming off a final must-win game against Markham,” Furies general manager Sami Jo Small told the Sporting News. “We are cognizant of Calgary's talent and are doing everything to be prepared. We are very respectful of the team we are going up against and realize they finished in first this season in the CWHL; however, anything can happen in the CWHL. It will be a tough series, but one in which we will be compete through every whistle. And I believe in my players, my staff, and in my team.”

Small added 14 new players before the 2018-19 regular season began, including goaltender Elaine Chuli, rookie goaltender Shea Tiley, and Rookie of the Year contender Sarah Nurse. These are not last year’s Furies.

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Nurse and captain Natalie Spooner have spearheaded the Furies’ offense this season, finishing seventh and eighth in goals respectively. Together, they make Toronto’s power play a force to be reckoned with. But if Toronto’s power play doesn’t deliver, the Furies will be hard-pressed to upset the Inferno in Alberta.

Les Canadiennes de Montréal (21-6-1)

Team Canada’s captain Marie-Philip Poulin had a huge season with Les Canadiennes. After the playoffs, she will bring home the Angela James Bowl as the top scorer of the regular season. Poulin was consistently brilliant this year netting points in 21 of the 26 games she played in and is, hands down, the player to watch in Les Canadiennes’ semifinal series against the Thunder.

Poulin and her linemate Ann-Sophie Bettez headlined the most dangerous offense in the CWHL this year. Les Canadiennes were never shutout this season and were held to one goal on home ice just once. Montréal’s offense averaged 4.24 goals-per-game despite Team Canada star Mélodie Daoust out for most of the year with an injury — that’s scary. What’s even scarier is that Daoust is now back on the ice with Poulin, Bettez, Hilary Knight, Jill Saulnier and the rest of Montréal’s forwards.

Not only do Les Canadiennes have an elite offense, but they also have exceptional goaltending. Emerance Maschmeyer is the frontrunner for the 2019 Goaltender of the Year. The best goaltender in the CWHL right now, she posted four shutouts and a .935 save percentage in the regular season.

With their elite offense and goaltending Montréal should be able to punch its ticket to the Clarkson Cup Final for a date with the Calgary Inferno.

The Markham Thunder (13-11-4)

The road back to the Clarkson Cup Final will be an uphill battle for the defending champions, and they know it. The good news for the Thunder is that this squad is a better one than last year when they shocked the hockey world.

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Superstar rookie forward Victoria Bach is a frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year Award. Bach led the Thunder in goals and points this season and was its top weapon on the power play. Bach and veteran forwards Jamie Lee Rattray, Laura Stacey and Jenna McParland piled up goals for the Thunder this year. However, the defending champs scored more than three goals just once in regulation during the season. If Markham gets past Les Canadiennes, it will be because of the team defense and goaltending stepped up.

Just one of @LauraStacey7 dangles from the game yesterday... pic.twitter.com/CcJOftArxY — Markham Thunder 🌩 (@ThunderCWHL) February 25, 2019

“[We are] going into Montreal and keeping it a close low-scoring game, you certainly don’t want to open up against a high offensive team,” Markham’s head coach Jim Jackson told the Sporting News. “We will look at committing to do the little things right and taking away offensive opportunities and taking advantage of our own offensive threats.”

Erica Howe is the only goaltender who had numbers to contend with Maschmeyer this season. She posted a .924 save percentage despite averaging more than 10 shots per game more than Montréal’s top goaltender. Howe was brilliant all postseason long last year for Markham. If the Thunder want to lift the Clarkson Cup for the second-straight year, she’s going to have to tap into some of the magic that we saw a year ago.