PWHL Power Rankings: Montreal returns to No. 1 at the halfway mark of the season

In another week of action, the power trip in the PWHL has changed hands again. There were also a couple of teams that have been overlooked that played over the last few days.

Hunter Crowter and Tyler Kuehl discuss where they believe the teams stand at the halfway point of the inaugural season:

1. Montreal

Record: 5-3-3-2, +3
Last Week: 2nd (+1)
Hunter’s Rank: 1st
Tyler’s Rank: 1st

Hunter:

I’ll say it: Montreal is the best team in the league. Multiple players have hit the double-digit mark in points, they have goals coming from different chunks of the lineup, their defense seems to be getting better with each game and they have two goaltenders in the top-five in terms of save percentage. 

I’ll do you one better: for some reason, only Ottawa and New York have really figured out how to be productive on the power play. If Montreal can find a way to get beyond the 9.8 percent mark … oh boy, there’s no stopping this club. 

Tyler: They lost in a skills competition last week, so I do not hold that against them. I do like the fight Montreal showed coming back from that early deficit against New York. There was a little bit of that on Saturday against Ottawa, as well. What I believe is most impressive about Montreal is that they have the ability to win in different ways. They can control the game’s pace and rely on their offense, but netminders Ann-Renée Desbiens and Elaine Chuli are more than capable of stealing a game themselves.

Montreal is currently first in the standings, three points ahead of second place. They will have a relatively easy week, only having a home affair against Boston next Saturday.

2. Toronto

Record: 5-2-0-5, 0
Last Week: 3rd (+1)
Hunter’s Rank: 2nd
Tyler’s Rank: 2nd

Hunter:

At some point, this team turned into Emilio Estevez in The Breakfast Club, continuously yelling, “Win, win, win!” Okay, maybe not that dark, but holy boats, this team can’t stop winning, taking five straight and six of their last seven. Let’s give a quick shoutout to Emma Maltais, who, last Friday, scored her first goal since Jan. 5 but has been a productive player in many other aspects, providing some fantastic forechecking and generating scoring chances in every contest. Nice to see hard work get rewarded. 

I mentioned this in my five takeaways from this week, but if this team could find any type of secondary scoring, they’ll be competing with Montreal for the top spot in the league. 

Tyler: I don’t particularly like bolstering a team’s stock from a shootout win, so I will give Toronto love for how Kristen Campbell has continued to play in net. In the 2-1 win over New York last Friday, the Manitoba native made 27 saves, turning away all four shooters in the skills competition. You can tell her confidence has grown over the last few weeks, and the team in front of her knows they can rely on her to make a big save.

Riding a five-game win streak, Toronto is third in the PWHL, five points back of Montreal. They have a pair of tough road games this week, visiting Minnesota on Tuesday before heading to Ottawa for another edition of the Battle of Ontario on Saturday.

3. Minnesota

Record: 5-2-2-4, +1
Last Week: 1st (-2)
Hunter’s Rank: 3rd
Tyler’s Rank: 3rd

Hunter:

Yes, I know, they’re still technically No. 2 in the league standings, and before losing their last two games, they won their last two games. But something’s off with Minnesota, and it feels like a lot of the games where they were badly outshot but still earned the decision thanks to some fantastic goaltending from Nicole Hensley and Maddie Rooney are starting to catch up. 

This stat blew my mind when I looked it up: Minnesota hasn’t scored more than two goals in a game since Jan.27. What’s the publish date on this story? Feb. 27! A whole month without getting three goals in a game? At some point, something’s got to give, and if this team wants to win games in the second half of the season, someone needs to take the bull by the horns (another Breakfast Club reference!) 

Tyler: The absence of Taylor Heise is very apparent, but then again, their scoring woes have dated back to before her injury in the Rivalry Series. Yes, Minnesota heavily outplayed Boston on Sunday, but they were not able to create a ton great scoring chances from their 41 shots against Aerin Frankel. I understand that every team hits rough patches, but with plenty of experience and scoring talent, Minnesota should not have lost three of their last five games.

Last we heard from GM Natalie Darwitz, Heise could return as early as next week, but she could be out longer.

Minnesota is actually in second place, three points behind Montreal. They have a marquee matchup with Toronto on Tuesday before taking on New York on Long Island next Sunday.

4. New York

Record: 2-4-2-4, +2
Last Week: 4th
Hunter’s Rank: 4th
Tyler’s Rank: 4th

Tyler: Don’t look now, but New York has registered points in five straight games. Yes, their loss to Toronto was not ideal, and they almost squandered a 2-0 lead to Montreal last Wednesday, but Abigail Levy came up with some big saves to pick up a win in the shootout. The U.S. national team product turned away all four shots she faced in the shootout.

N.Y. is doing the little things right against the top teams in the league. If they can keep pace, they will be within striking distance of a playoff spot.

Hunter: Another week where I can’t quite put my finger on this club. They earn a shootout-win Montreal but lose on penalties to Toronto, so they come away with three of a possible six points. Credit to them for battling against a hot Toronto squad and shutting down their top scorer in Natalie Spooner, and it does feel like Alex Carpenter is the most well-rounded player in the league, but it doesn’t feel like there’s any consistency. 

I’d like to see New York string together a few wins — or losses — before I say where I think they’re at.

New York is currently on the outside of the playoff picture, sitting two points behind Boston for fourth. They visit Ottawa this Wednesday before hosting Minnesota next Sunday.

5. Boston

Record: 4-2-2-4, -2
Last Week: 5th
Hunter’s Rank: 5th
Tyler’s Rank: 5th

Hunter:

To quote Succession’s Logan Roy, “They have some juice.” I don’t know if Boston is necessarily a good team, but after splitting a mini two-game series with Ottawa then blanking Minnesota 2-0 on the road, there’s lots to smile about with this group. 

How can we not bring up Hilary Knight scoring her first goal in a month and just her second goal of the season? Her third-period snipe sealed the win for Boston against Ottawa last Wednesday and was likely a great relief for the 34-year-old veteran.

Tyler: I’ll admit, it was nice to Knight actually make a contribution to the team.

Hunter: As we enter the second-half of the season, I would love to see recent addition Susanna Tapani, acquired in the Sophie Jaques trade, heats up on a Boston team that has no one with more than four goals. 

Tyler: While their win over Minnesota was big, a lot of the credit has to be given to Frankel. You typically do not win games when you give up 41 shots. However, they showed guts by beating the former league leaders, and did so earlier in the week when they beat Ottawa. Megan Keller is still an effective offensive weapon from the blue line, while Tapani has really fit in since getting traded.

Boston is holding the last playoff spot in the PWHL, six points out of first place. They have most of the week off, not playing until they meet with Montreal on Saturday.

6. Ottawa

Record: 3-0-4-5, -4
Last Week: 6th
Hunter’s Rank: 6th
Tyler’s Rank: 6th

Hunter: Speaking of mini-series with Ottawa, let’s look at it from their perspective. I actually liked their game in both contests with Boston, and it does feel like the early cliche of Ottawa being the hardest-working team paid off on Monday. Even in their 3-1 loss on Wednesday, Ottawa had a flurry of scoring chances and just couldn’t beat Frankel. 

Their performance against Montreal is something else, giving up six goals and taking five penalties in a sluggish performance. I’m starting to wonder if Emerance Maschmeyer’s appearance in every single game the team has played this season is starting to catch up with her. After giving up five goals on 24 shots, her save percentage has dropped to .904, the lowest among goalies with at least four starts. 

Tyler: There is still time for them to turn things around, but like the other big league team in Canada’s capital, I doubt they will. Ottawa finally showed some offense in their win against Boston last Sunday, and in the loss to Montreal this past Saturday, but if they are not willing to go out and acquire more talent from elsewhere, they are going to be left sputtering in the mud, and miss the playoffs.

Ottawa is last in the league, five points behind Boston for fourth. They have a chance to get back on the horse with a matchup with New York on Wednesday, before taking on Toronto, a team they have not lost to yet, on Saturday.