PWHL Power Rankings: Montreal Victoire hanging onto the top spot
With one more week before the next international break, the race for the playoffs continues across the PWHL, with the ongoing battle for first place continuing to garner headlines.
Hunter Crowther and Tyler Kuehl give their thoughts to how teams are looking heading into February.
1. Montreal Victoire
Record: 6-2-1-2, +5
Last Week: 1st
Hunter’s Rank: 1st
Tyler’s Rank: 1st
Hunter: I mean, the Victoire didn’t play last week, and don’t play again until Wednesday against the Charge, so it’s hard to justify moving them from the top spot.
What I’m most looking forward to this week will be Montreal hosting back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday against the Charge and Sceptres, respectively. They’ve won three of their four games, and if they can shake off any potential rust in the first period against Ottawa, the Victoire should be just fine.
Tyler: I know it can be hard to give a team a lot of credit when they don’t play a game, but that just shows how good the Victoire has been this season despite the choppy schedule. Montreal has played fewer games than any team in the PWHL, and yet they still have a winning percentage close to .700, a whole tenth of a point ahead of second-place Minnesota.
With so many games in hand, the Victoire’s schedule is going to be busy over the next few months. Not only will it test this team’s mettle, but it will also give them a chance to further show that they are one of, if not the best, team in the PWHL.
Montreal will be busy this week with three games in a five-day span, having a back-to-back with the Charge on Wednesday and the Toronto Sceptres on Thursday.
2. Minnesota Frost
Record: 5-3-2-4, +4
Last Week: 2nd
Hunter’s Rank: 2nd
Tyler’s Rank: 2nd
Hunter: The shutout loss to the Charge left a sour taste in the Frost’s mouth, but the defending champs came back with a 5-2 win over the Fleet on Sunday. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Minnesota and they’re now tied with the Victoire for first in the league in points, despite playing three more games.
The first time Frost lost three straight last season, they followed it with a five-game winning streak and put themselves comfortably in a playoff spot. Then again, they followed that by losing five straight to close out the regular season, barely squeaking into the postseason. Then again, they won the Walter Cup. What does it mean? Who knows, but three-point nights out of Kendall Coyne Schofield don’t hurt, either.
Tyler: What was the most concerning aspect of the three-game losing skid was how the offense was starting to tank for the Frost. It looked eerily similar to what led to Minnesota spiraling down the standings last season. Sure, the team bounced back with a convincing victory over the Fleet, but isn’t it a little off-putting that half of the Frost’s have come against one team?
I know there’s still plenty of hockey to be played, but if this team’s offense starts becoming inconsistent, with one-half of their goaltending tandem also proving to be unpredictable, it might be tough for Minnesota to hang near the top of the standings.
The Frost are back home on Tuesday night against the Toronto Sceptres.
3. New York Sirens
Record: 4-3-1-4, +10
Last Week: 3rd
Hunter’s Rank: 3rd
Tyler’s Rank: 3rd
Hunter: They may not have played since Jan. 15, but the Sirens looked shaky in their 4-2 loss to the Sceptres, giving up plenty of opportunities and not being able to stay out of the box. Even with a 3-0 win over the Charge, Ottawa looked like they had control for entire chunks of the game. If it weren’t for Ottawa’s own issues with discipline, it might have gone the other way.
You can assign the Toronto loss to them playing a team desperate for a win, and at the end of the day, they did beat the Fleet. But New York will need to sharpen their play at both ends of the rink as we get into the second half of the season.
Tyler: If this were last year’s team, New York would’ve crumbled after losing to the Sceptres on such a big stage. However, that shows how different this group is. They went into Ottawa and played a solid road game, in my eyes. Even with Corinne Schroeder not even in the lineup, Kayle Osborne showed that the Sirens can win, regardless of who’s between the pipes.
We’ve been talking about how great Carpenter and Fillier have been this season, but seeing players like Chloe Aurard find the back of the net on Monday night is important for the confidence in the bottom six. Also, Abby Roque is starting warm-up with points in three straight games.
The Sirens have a few days before visiting the Boston Fleet on Friday night.
4. Ottawa Charge
Record: 5-0-2-6, -9
Last Week: 4th
Hunter’s Rank: 4th
Tyler’s Rank: 4th
Hunter: Let’s give some credit to Gwyneth Philips, the Charge’s third-round pick who made 22 saves for the first shutout by a rookie in PWHL history in a 1-0 win over the Frost last Tuesday. Ottawa did a good job of neutralizing Minnesota’s offense and Brianne Jenner got on the board with her first of the season, which will hopefully kickstart some offense for the Charge captain.
Yesterday’s 3-0 loss to the Sirens stung, as Ottawa outshot New York 31-20 but also took five penalties, allowing the Sirens to score twice. Katerina Mrazova returned to the lineup after a month off with an injury, Ottawa will need her to find the production she found last season, when she scored 18 points in 24 games.
Tyler: I know the Charge have only played a few games at TD Place this year, but when you’re at a clip of winning just one of five games at home…something’s wrong. If you can’t perform well in front of your passionate fans, I think it’s time the team starts taking a look at itself.
Sure, the win over Minnesota was great, and seeing Philips put together an outstanding effort was positive. However, the roller coaster play is what has doomed this team in the past, and the way the teams beneath the Charge in the standings are playing might come back to haunt them.
The Charge have a couple of tough matchups against Canadian rivals, facing the Victoire on Wednesday before visiting the Sceptres on Saturday.
5. Boston Fleet
Record: 3-2-2-5, -4
Last Week: 5th
Hunter’s Rank: 5th
Tyler’s Rank: 5th
Hunter: The Fleet absorbed a lot of shots from a desperate Sceptres squad on Wednesday, but Aerin Frankel continued to shine, stopping 35 shots and earning the win. Jill Saulnier tried to make an impression with her new teammates, getting into a heated scrum with two-time Canadian Olympic teammate Renata Fast after a whistle after Fast gave a healthy shove to Hannah Brandt.
I liked their effort against Minnesota, but every time Boston scored to cut the deficit, the Frost would respond right away. No. 4 overall pick Hannah Bilka has settled into the professional game nicely, but I’d like to see her shoot the puck more in the second half of the season. If she can find her offensive game during the Rivalry Series, the Fleet might be cooking with fire in February.
Tyler: If the Fleet didn’t have such a bad performance against the Frost, I might’ve moved Boston up to fourth. However, another poor outing against one of the top teams in the league shows this team needs to find another gear. The Fleet clearly has the talent to be at least a .500 team, but they need to be better at executing their game plan.
Also…when are we going to talk about Emma Söderberg being a problem? I know it’s hard to be consistent when you’ve only played three games, but Sweden’s No. 1 goaltender has been shaky whenever she’s been called into action, giving up all five goals against Minnesota.
Söderberg is 0-2-1 with a .881 SV% and 3.33 GAA this season. I saw Klara Peslarova has a new, sleek setup. Maybe it’s time we see it in action.
Boston has a few days off before it hosts the Sirens on Friday night.
6. Toronto Sceptres
Record: 4-0-2-6, -6
Last Week: 6th
Hunter’s Rank: 6th
Tyler’s Rank: 6th
Hunter: Sarah Nurse snapped a six-game goalless streak in the win over the Sirens, but what stood out was her performance Wednesday against the Fleet. Nurse was all over the ice, desperate to generate offense, and you could sense the frustration from the lack of finish. You could tell in the post-game how relieved she was to finally score.
“It was kind of a long time coming, a couple of posts, a couple of missed opportunities–– so, definitely frustrating, but I had a lot of support from (my teammates),” Nurse said after the game on Saturday.
If Toronto wants to get back in the playoff hunt, she’ll need more where that came from.
Tyler: I’m not going hide from it – I gave the Sceptres a lot of props for how they beat the Sirens at the SBA on Saturday. However, I need to see some more consistency from Toronto in order to move up the ranks. They have been looking better, I’ll give them that. However, that loss to the Fleet last Wednesday proves there needs to be more from this group in every game if they want to get into the playoffs.
They have a chance to prove that on Tuesday night when they face the Frost in St. Paul.