Five takeaways from Week 5 of the PWHL: 3-on-3 success, Toronto bounces back, Scotiabank Arena

Another week, albeit much shorter, with only three games played across two days. Ah! Well, nevertheless … let’s take a look at week five of the PWHL’s inaugural season.

Note: they’ll be no PWHL games this week as the league pauses for the international break, highlighted by the Rivalry Series between Canada and the United States.

1. 3-on-3 Showcase at the NHL All-Star Game was a massive success

Read Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff’s recap of the game

As part of the NHL’s All-Star Weekend, the PWHL’s top talent took center stage in prime time, playing in front of 16,000 fans at Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto.

Ottawa’s Savannah Harmon scored a hat trick, her teammates littered the ice with their gloves. The players were laughing, filled with encouragement and excitement, a diverse crowd of fans watching the sport’s newest crop of professionals.

On a night when the NHL held its All-Star Draft and the league’s best players were on the ice, all of the sport’s excitement burst for their female counterparts. It was a way to kick off the second month of the regular season.

2. Montreal is good — real good

Montreal topped Boston 2-1 in overtime on Sunday, with Laura Stacey scoring her fifth goal of the season in the extra frame. They now have three straight wins, dating back to Jan. 24.

I said it last week, and the week before, but Montreal is really heating up. Stacey has scored in three straight games, defender Erin Ambrose has four points in four games, and captain Marie-Philip Poulin added two assists on Sunday to give her nine points in nine games.

Let’s not forget their goaltending: Elaine Chuli stopped 26 of 27 shots, improving her record to 3-0-0-0 on the season with a .962 save percentage. The combination of her and Ann-Renee Desbiens keeps Montreal in the discussion for best in the league.

3. So, Toronto’s not bad, right?

After a less-than-stellar start to the 2023 season, Toronto has climbed the standings and shown the league that they’re for real. Three wins in their last four games, capped off by a 4-1 shellacking of Minnesota on Saturday.

The real standout in their recent surge is Natalie Spooner, with back-to-back two-goal games. She now leads the league in goals with seven, and on a team with stars, there’s little doubt that she’s shined brightest.

4. Ottawa chokes away a three-goal lead

Ottawa started the season as one of the league’s surprise teams, starting 2-0-0-2 and outworking teams in every game. Now they’re losers of three straight, including a blown 3-0 lead to New York on Sunday, losing 4-3 in overtime. New York scored three goals in 90 seconds to tie it late in the third period, then Alex Carpenter sealed the deal in the extra frame.

One positive to take away is that Ottawa looked like the better team for the first 55 minutes of their game against New York, continuing the trend of outworking their opponent. Even after being outshot 4-0 in overtime, Ottawa still outshot New York 42-31. But they’ll need to collect some wins in February if they want to keep up with the rest of the league.

5. ‘Battle of Bay Street’ is a genius idea

There have already been scores of examples of the early success of the new league, but their upcoming “Battle on Bay Street,” as Toronto hosts Montreal at Scotiabank Arena, has the potential to be the best.

The league already broke the world record for largest attendance for a women’s professional hockey game in January with 13,316 packed in Minnesota’s Xcel Energy Center for Minnesota-Montreal, but judging by the early ticket sales for this game, that record will also be broken.

The Hockey News’ Ian Kennedy reported last week that the game was already sold out, meaning 18,800 fans will be in attendance to see Toronto-Montreal. The league and its players should be proud of such a monumental achievement.