PWHL Power Rankings: Toronto rolls into the last week of the regular season
The power balance has not moved a whole lot across the PWHL, as teams are gearing up for a hectic few days of the regular season.
Hunter Crowther and Tyler Kuehl break down where the teams stand in the final push for the playoffs.
Take a look at the current standings as of Tuesday.
1. x-Toronto
Record: 11-4-0-7, +13
Last Week: 1st
Hunter’s Rank: 1st
Tyler’s Rank: 1st
Toronto comes into the final week tied for first place with Montreal, with one game in hand.
Hunter: If you happened to miss Toronto’s Sunday’s 6-2 win over New York, you didn’t miss much, other than an offensive onslaught and Sarah Nurse’s first career hat trick. She now has 10 goals and is tied for second in the league. Meanwhile, Natalie Spooner continues to dominate offensively, scoring a goal and an assist, leading the league in goals (16) and points (23). She has a strong case for the league’s first Billie Jean King MVP Award.
Toronto has a chance to clinch the No. 1 spot if they get four points in their last two games of the season. If I were a betting man, I’d say it’s a lock
Tyler: Even in a game where they did not play their best, Toronto still came out on top. What I really liked about the team’s win over New York was the depth scoring. Yes, Nurse got a hatty, and Spooner extended her goal-scoring lead, but the Alexa Vasko, Rebecca Leslie and Brittany Howard line really clicked. With a chance to clinch home ice for the playoffs this week, their talented bottom six will play a key role if the team clinches first place.
Toronto has two home games to end the season, taking on Minnesota on Wednesday, and Ottawa on Sunday.
2. x-Montreal
Record: 10-3-5-5, +4
Last Week: 2nd
Hunter’s Rank: 2nd
Tyler’s Rank: 2nd
Montreal is tied for first with Toronto, with Montreal only having one more game
Hunter: Montreal had a strong week, winning both their games in regulation and clinching home-ice advantage to start the playoffs. Ann-Renee Desbiens stopped 62 of 64 shots through the two games, and the team has looked great in their own end in the four games since returning from the international break.
Marie-Philip Poulin, Erin Ambrose and Laura Stacey have produced lots of points since returning from the break. This team has plenty of star power, and if they start clicking in the postseason, they might be unstoppable.
Tyler: This is a team that has been rejuvenated by a fully healthy lineup, and they have been pushing hard for first place. Similar to Toronto, offensive production has been coming committee. Catherine Daoust, Catherine Dubois and Maureen Murphy all found the back of the net in the wins over New York and Ottawa.
While the odds of them are not great, with just one game remaining in their season, Montreal would need help to take possession of first place. However, the way they have played in this final stretch, Montreal is looking like the championship threat that we all expected.
Montreal takes on Boston on Saturday.
3. Ottawa
Record: 8-1-6-7, +3
Last Week: 3rd
Hunter’s Rank: 4th
Tyler’s Rank: 3rd
Ottawa is tied with Boston for fourth in the standings, with Ottawa having two more games.
Tyler: Did we doubt Ottawa heading into the season? Yes. However, over the last couple of months, Ottawa has been one of the most consistent teams and looks more like a playoff team than Boston. That 2-0 loss to Montreal certainly hurt their cause, but a positive from that defeat was that Ottawa heavily outplayed Montreal in stretches on Saturday, especially in the third period.
Captain Brianne Jenner is still playing heavy minutes, with Emily Clark and Gabbie Hughes really impressing me over the last little while.
Hunter: Ottawa split their two games last week, winning over Boston in a shootout and getting blanked by Montreal. With an extra game in hand over Boston, they can seal a playoff spot with at least four points in their last two games (depending on what Boston does).
Hughes and Jenner provided the offense against Boston, and Emerance Maschmeyer continues to provide reliable goaltending in net. However, if they want to make some noise in the playoffs, Emily Clark, Daryl Watts and recent addition Tereza Vanisova will need to provide the secondary scoring teams need when it matters most.
Ottawa faces New York on Tuesday night, before finishing off the regular season with another edition of the Battle of Ontario on Sunday. A win over New York, paired with a Boston loss, gives Ottawa one of the final two playoff spots.
4. Minnesota
Record: 8-4-3-7, +6
Last Week: 4th
Hunter’s Rank: 3rd
Tyler’s Rank: 4th
Minnesota is third in the standings, three points ahead of both Ottawa and Boston, and six points out of first place.
Hunter: With three straight losses after winning five straight before the international break, Minnesota’s struggling right now. After a 2-1 loss to Boston in regulation on Saturday, they now find themselves just three points ahead of Ottawa and Boston.
They’re going to make the playoffs, but if they don’t pick it up in the next two games, they’ll go in cold and could be out before we know it. Grace Zumwinkle has been a star in her rookie season, but if this team wants to win, stars like her and Kendall Coyne Schofield need to step their game up.
Tyler: With Minnesota only needing one point to clinch a spot in the postseason, the pressure should be off the team that we had ranked No. 1 for most of the first half of the season. However, there is just something off about this group. They have lost all three games since the Women’s Worlds break, allowing Boston to come from behind and beat them in regulation.
My concern is not necessarily with Minnesota making the playoffs. My concern is what condition they will be heading into the playoffs. If they don’t find that sandpaper by next week, it might be a short playoff series.
Minnesota has a tough test against Toronto on Wednesday, before heading to Long Island to take on New Yorn on Saturday.
5. Boston
Record: 7-4-3-9, -8
Last Week: 5th
Hunter’s Rank: 5th
Tyler’s Rank: 5th
Boston is tied with Ottawa for the last playoff spot with 32 points, but Ottawa has a game in hand.
Hunter: A big win in regulation over Minnesota on Saturday, but the shootout loss to an Ottawa team they’re chasing in the standings hurts. They have one game left, Saturday vs. Montreal, and their playoff destiny is out of their hands.
Rookie Alina Muller has been a breath of fresh air, and after struggling to produce through March and April, she scored the winner with three seconds left over Minnesota. There’s lots to like about this time, but at this point, as Al Davis said, just win.
Tyler: You can tell Boston is giving it everything it has to stay in the playoffs. The victory over Minnesota, on the road, no less, proves that. However, they might just run out of runway. That loss to Ottawa, even though they picked up a point, might be the difference-maker.
Even with great goaltending from Aerin Frankel and Emma Soderberg, the offense has not been there. Boston has scored no more than two goals in their last eight games, which predates the trade deadline. For a team that went out and traded for more offense, things have clearly not panned out.
Boston’s final game of the regular season will be at home against Montreal on Saturday.
6. e-New York
Record: 3-4-3-12, -18
Last Week: 6th
Hunter’s Rank: 6th
Tyler’s Rank: 6th
New York was the first team eliminated from playoff contention
Tyler: When I predicted in the preseason that New York would disappoint, I was hoping they would prove me wrong. Early on, it looked like that was going to be the case, but when you win just once in regulation over three months, it is definitely not the recipe for making it to the playoffs. You can see this team had the potential to create something special, but the things that were working in the opening weeks of the season have faltered over the second half. I am going to be interested to see what general manager Pascal Daoust will do in the offseason.
Hunter: Two games left to close out the season, and with two losses last week by a combined 11-4, it’s a tough way to close out a disappointing inaugural campaign. There will no doubt be changes on the roster and potentially behind the bench, but for now, fans should come out and enjoy the last two games, both at home.
New York caps off the season with a game against Ottawa in New Jersey on Tuesday, before heading back to Elmont to host Minnesota.