PWHL Power Rankings: Charge makes things interesting; Sceptres trying to catch Montreal
With a little over a week left before the PWHL takes a break for the IIHF Women’s World Championship, certain teams are trying to lock in their spot for the playoffs, while others are simply trying to stay in the race.
Hunter Crowther and Tyler Kuehl look at how teams did over the past week, and where that places them as we near the final pause of the season.
1. Montreal Victoire
Record: 10-6-3-6, +7
Last Week: 1st
Hunter’s Rank: 1st
Tyler’s Rank: 1st
Hunter: Three straight losses for the Victoire, but two came in overtime or a shootout, so they earned a pair of points. The Sceptres recent stretch of play has them just three points back of Montreal, especially after a hungry Toronto team came into Quebec this past weekend and won 2-1 in regulation.
While some may worry about the lack of Ann-Renee Desbiens, it’s Montreal’s lack of scoring that should have fans take notice. The team has scored more than two goals in a game just once since March 1 – that’s a span of six games. Go even further back, and they haven’t scored more than three goals since Feb. 15, a span of 10 games. This team needs offense, and they need it now.
Tyler: I’m not going to sound any alarms…but if the Victoire can’t figure out their goaltending situation, the red lights behind the team’s aren’t the only thing that will be going off.
I think Elaine Chuli has the ability to be the No. 1 goaltender. She showed that on a dominant Toronto Six team in the old Premier Hockey Federation, and she was arguably one of the better goaltenders in the PWHL last season. If she can get into a rhythm, Montreal will be just fine. If not, and Sandra Abstreiter can’t shake off any rust that she certainly will have…look out.
The Victoire returns to the ice on Wednesday to try and clinch a playoff spot when they take on the Minnesota Frost.
2. Toronto Sceptres
Record: 11-2-5-7, +4
Last Week: 3rd (+1)
Hunter’s Rank: 2nd
Tyler’s Rank: 2nd
Hunter: For the first time in their second PWHL season, the Sceptres have a completely healthy lineup, and so far, they’re perfect, defeating the Victoire 2-1 on Sunday. Sarah Nurse is back for the first time since early February, and Natalie Spooner found the back of the net again, perhaps heating up just in time for the playoffs.
Tyler and I chatted about if Toronto will eventually take over the league’s top spot (or more importantly, top spot in the Daily Faceoff Power Rankings), and at this point, it’s hard not to envision. That being said, the team will have to tighten things up on the backend.
Tyler: The Sceptres’ two wins certainly weren’t pretty, but at this point of the year, I harken back to the late Al Davis’ famous line: “Just win, baby.”
Toronto is in a heated battle with the Fleet for that second seed and home-ice advantage. They need all the points they can get the way Boston has played. Campbell was masterful in both games last week, showing why she was an obvious choice to re-join Team Canada for the Women’s Worlds (maybe even being the starter when things get underway in Czechia). If the Sceptres can continue to get the necessary offense, and Nurse finds her footing soon, they will be on the right path to home-ice in the playoffs, if not first place.
The Sceptres are on the road on Wednesday night to take on the Fleet.
3. Boston Fleet
Record: 8-6-4-6, +11
Last Week: 2nd (-1)
Hunter’s Rank: 3rd
Tyler’s Rank: 3rd
Tyler: I feel bad knocking the Fleet down a peg, especially since they had that big shootout win over the Victoire last Tuesday (though Ann-Renée Desbiens got hurt in that game). Yet, they’re not out of the race for second, with a game in hand on the Sceptres.
I think a lot of us who knocked Hilary Knight for her play last year should have some sort of gathering where we eat our words. The future Hall of Famer has been dynamite this season for Boston, and she’s showing no signs of letting up, leading the league in scoring with 26 points, one of two players in the PWHL to be averaging a point per game.
While they’re currently standing in the same spot they finished at the end of last year’s regular season, this Boston team is certainly better.
Hunter: The win against the Victoire further solidified a playoff spot for the group. Knight continues to produce- this is a recording- and Susanna Tapani has hit the 10-goal mark, a massive increase from last season’s total of four.
I’ll say this about Boston: In every playoff run, regardless of league, there’s a team that just battles, grinding through opponents and relying on sound defense and strong goaltending, and they usually end up making a deep playoff run. Aerin Frankel provided that sound goaltending for Boston last season, and she might just do it again this spring.
The Fleet is at Agganis for the second time this month on Wednesday when they host the Sceptres before heading to St. Louis to take on the Charge on Saturday.
4. Minnesota Frost
Record: 7-5-4-9, +1
Last Week: 4th
Hunter’s Rank: 4th
Tyler’s Rank: 4th
Hunter: No games for the Frost last week, so no movement in the standings. However, what I’m looking for this week is how Minnesota fares against the league’s top two teams in the Victoire and Sceptres. Do we see a team desperate for points that puts Minnesota and Toronto through the ringer? Or one that’s lost four of six and can’t score?
One thing to keep an eye on is which Frost player breaks through to help them win. Taylor Heise has two goals in her last 11 games, and one assist in her last eight. Let’s see if the 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick – and last year’s playoff MVP – helps them actually get into the playoffs.
Tyler: I don’t know if a 10-day layoff will help or hinder the Frost. I think we can agree that the team wasn’t playing well heading into their 10-day break, losing to both the Ottawa Charge and Sirens. So maybe the time away from the rink would allow the team to recover from a busy stretch that saw the team experience some heavy travel.
Nevertheless, Minnesota is playing with fire in the closing weeks of the season…just like they were during the inaugural campaign. With the Charge within striking distance of lead-frogging them for the last playoff spot, the Frost can ill-afford to give up points.
Minnesota will end their long layoff on Wednesday night when they host the Victoire.
5. Ottawa Charge
Record: 9-1-4-10, -10
Last Week: 5th
Hunter’s Rank: 5th
Tyler’s Rank: 5th
Tyler: I know we’ve been joking about how the standings are a near carbon copy of what they were last season. Granted, if this were a 24-game season, the Charge would’ve been eliminated from postseason contention. Yet, with a few more games remaining, this team can do it.
Getting beaten up by the Fleet 10 days ago left me wondering if this team had what it took. However, beating another desperate team in the Sirens on Saturday proved Ottawa has the necessary grit to make it to the playoffs for the first time. It won’t be easy, as they have to play Boston twice before matchups with the Victoire, Frost and Sceptres.
Hunter: I mentioned in this week’s Daily Faceoff NHL Power Rankings that I had a gut feeling of inevitability when it came to the New York Rangers making the playoffs. I explained that, sometimes in sports, deep down, you just know a certain team is going to make the playoffs, and those that are underdogs will miss.
That’s what I get with the Charge – a team that’s felt like it improved in a lot of ways since last season but continues to struggle to find consistency and is on the outside looking in. With two regulation wins last week, they are now just two points back of the Frost with a game in hand. But unless Ottawa runs the table, it’ll be back-to-back years that their season ends when the regular season ends.
The Charge have an opportunity to move into a playoff spot on Tuesday night when they host the Sirens.
6. New York Sirens
Record: 5-4-4-12, -13
Last Week: 6th
Hunter’s Rank: 6th
Tyler’s Rank: 6th
Tyler: I would like to apologize to the fans in New York and New Jersey for giving my vote of support for this team. Two wins a couple of weeks ago gave me hope that the Sirens could do the thing. As we saw late last week…I may’ve been a little ahead of myself.
While the team certainly didn’t play badly in their loss to the Sceptres on Wednesday, their inability to beat the Charge, at home, in a game they seemingly had to win, wiped away my optimism for their postseason hopes. Yes, there not out of it yet, but even with the league’s point system, eight points back with five games is too big of a mountain to climb.
Hunter: The Sirens are in a difficult spot: they’re too far back for a playoff spot, and five of their final six games are on the road. With two regulation losses this past week, it seems increasingly likely this season goes out with a whimper instead of a bang.
One question as we get closer to the offseason: Sarah Fillier signed a one-year deal ahead of training camp, and with New York retaining her rights for one more season, she will have to re-sign. Does she load up with a long-term deal, or sign another one-year contract and make herself available for free agency after the 2025-26 campaign?
The Sirens will look to get back on the winning track on Tuesday night when they play the Charge in Ottawa.