PWHL Power Rankings: Some shuffling heading into the final week
With just a few days left in the regular season, it’s crunch time for a few teams in the PWHL.
From teams trying to snag the top spot in the league, to teams simply trying to get into the playoffs, there is a lot of excitement with just a handful of games left before the postseason. Hunter Crowther and Tyler Kuehl explain where the teams lay.
1. x – Montreal Victoire
Record: 11-7-3-8, +9
Last Week: 1st
Hunter’s Rank: 1st
Tyler’s Rank: 1st
Hunter: For the Victoire, the weeks leading up to the international break and the first game back saw them struggle to stay afloat, with their grip on first place loosening and leaving some wondering if they were going to lose home-ice advantage through the playoffs. It’s funny how winning cures all wounds, as a 3-2 overtime victory over the Fleet Monday relieved some of the tension.
The usual suspects are contributing at the right time, with Laura Stacey, Jennifer Gardiner and Marie-Philip Poulin getting on the board in the two games since returning. Fans are relieved to see Ann-Renée Desbiens back in the crease. With one game to go, the Victoire have all but clinched the top spot
Tyler: I certainly had my reservations about the Victoire heading into the international break. Losing Desbiens prior to the break hindered the team’s confidence. However, despite losing back-to-back games in regulation, they showed grit in bouncing back to beat the Fleet on Monday.
That said, I wonder if this team has the endurance to carry their impressive regular season into the playoffs. Montreal will have to show they can be the dominant force the team was earlier this season in order to have playoff success.
The Victoire finish off their regular season on Saturday afternoon against the New York Sirens.
2. x – Toronto Sceptres
Record: 12-2-5-9, 0
Last Week: 2nd
Hunter’s Rank: 2nd
Tyler’s Rank: 2nd
Hunter: Not the best response in the Sceptres’ first game back since the break, dropping a 3-0 effort to the Fleet on the road. Their final two games are at home, and there’s an unlikely path for Toronto to take the first spot (if Montreal loses in regulation). However, there’s also a scenario where the Sceptres leave points on the board and drop to third or fourth.
Right now, Toronto needs their best players to be their best. Hannah Miller has just two assists in her last eight games, Natalie Spooner has three goals in 12 games, and Sarah Nurse has one assist since returning from injury. Production can be cyclical, but ahead of the playoffs, it must be mandatory.
Tyler: If you simply take the team’s wins and losses, the Sceptres are a .500 team. Yet, thanks to the parity around the league, Toronto is close enough to grab first place in the PWHL for the second straight season. The Sceptres certainly played well enough to earn a win against the Fleet last Saturday but were stonewalled by Boston netminder Klára Peslarová.
It’s hard to really judge a team after its game back from such a long break, since many players on the Toronto roster were playing in Czechia at the Women’s Worlds. However, with two games left in their season, the Sceptres need to step it up if they want to be picking their first-round opponent.
The Sceptres look to stay in the hunt for first place when they face the Sirens on Tuesday night.
3. Ottawa Charge
Record: 12-1-4-11, -7
Last Week: 4th
Hunter’s Rank: 3rd
Tyler’s Rank: 4th
Hunter: It’s starting to smell like playoff hockey in Ottawa (sniff, sniff), oops, nope, that’s just me. A 3-2 win over the Victoire put the Charge in fourth place, and with 42 points and two games in hand, there are a few scenarios where they could finish as high as second if the stars align. But they can clinch their first playoff berth Wednesday if they earn a point against the Frost on Wednesday.
Captain Brianne Jenner scored in their win over Montreal, giving her six on the season and four in her last seven games. Gwyneth Philips continues to step up in Emerance Maschmeyer’s absence, winning three straight. Things seem to be clicking in the Canadian capital.
Tyler: Unlike last year, the Charge controls their own fate. Despite having a tough losing streak earlier in the year, putting the team at the bottom of the league, players like Tereza Vanišová and Shiann Darkangelo have been key players for this team in the push for the playoffs. Picking up that regulation win over Montreal last weekend was huge in bettering their chances. Even with Emerance Maschmeyer on the shelf, Gwyneth Philips is proving to be one of the best rookies in the league.
Getting Kateřina Mrázová back in the lineup is crucial for Ottawa. Not only to get to the playoffs but also to give the team a chance to maybe sneak into the final.
Ottawa can clinch its first postseason spot with a measly point against the Frost on Wednesday night.
4. Boston Fleet
Record: 9-6-5-9, +6
Last Week: 3rd
Hunter’s Rank: 4th
Tyler’s Rank: 3rd
Hunter: I asked this question in my five things to watch in the final week of the season column: are the Fleet blowing it? It may seem silly after a 3-0 win over the Sceptres on Saturday, earning them a much-needed three points, and they got a point out of a 3-2 overtime loss to Montreal. But there’s still elements of their game that worry me, giving up too many chances and spending too much time on their side of the center-ice red line.
Klara Peslarova has looked really good in her two starts with Aerin Frankel out with injury, stopping 62 of 65 shots in those games. We’re not sure if Frankel will be able to return for Boston’s final game Saturday vs. Minnesota, but regardless, this team will need to tighten up on the blue line to protect whoever is in net.
Tyler: They were right there. Right there to clinch a playoff spot. Despite falling behind the Victoire on Monday night and getting outplayed for most of the contest, two quick goals from Hannah Brandt and Hannah Bilka late in the third period were enough to give Boston a chance to win in overtime, sending them back to the postseason. Unfortunately, they couldn’t complete the comeback.
The valiant effort from the Fleet shows this team is playoff-ready. However, I am concerned with the lack of Aerin Frankel since coming back from the break. I have no issues with Peslarová getting games, but I wonder if the team is going to let Frankel sit out the remainder of the regular season after taking that hit in the gold medal game.
Boston will await their fate, potentially playing in a do-or-die game against the Minnesota Frost on Saturday.
5. Minnesota Frost
Record: 8-5-4-11, -1
Last Week: 5th
Hunter’s Rank: 5th
Tyler’s Rank: 5th
Tyler: It’s crunch time in Minnesota. Truth be told, the team has followed the same script as last season. Come flying out of the gate, looking like the best team in the PWHL. However, whether it be complacency or inefficiencies that were hidden early on, Frost has stumbled down the gate.
You can’t have pity on a team with the amount of star power on the roster, especially since they were goose-egged by a New York Sirens team that had nothing to play for this past Sunday. The Frost don’t only have to win their final two games of the season, but they’ll need help as well.
Hunter: To the Sirens??? If there were ever a game the Frost could use a three-point effort to help them get back into the playoff race, it would be against the last-place Sirens. But after losing 2-0 at home over the weekend, Minnesota no longer controls their playoff fate. The Frost now need a regulation win against the Charge on Wednesday, another regulation win against the Fleet on Satuday, and a partridge in a pear tree.
Okay, maybe not that last part, but it’s not looking good for Minnesota. Three regulation losses in March ahead of the international break didn’t help, but the number of points left on the ice throughout the season will leave Frost fans wondering if their chances of repeating were ever legitimate, to begin with.
The Frost will try and keep its hopes alive on Wednesday when they face the Charge.
6. e – New York Sirens
Record: 8-4-4-12, -7
Last Week: 6th
Hunter’s Rank: 6th
Tyler’s Rank: 6th
Tyler: I really hoped the Sirens would make some ridiculous push for fourth place. Unfortunately, they never got a chance coming out of the break. Granted, it didn’t help that they put themselves in this spot long before the final international break. Unlike what we see from teams eliminated from playoff contention in the NHL, I think the way New York plays in this final week can show they have the foundation for a better future, especially with a couple of highly-touted prospects to choose from if they clinch the first-overall pick in the PWHL Draft.
Hunter: Yes, the Sirens are officially eliminated from playoff contention, and yes, it’s looking more likely they’re going to “earn” the No. 1 overall pick in the PWHL Draft for the second straight season. But when the chips are down and there’s no chance of advancing, what’s more fun than playing spoilsport?
With two games left against the league’s top-two ranked teams in the Victoire and Sceptres, New York has a chance to take home-ice advantage away from Toronto. Heck, a regulation win over the Sceptres on Tuesday could be the drop of chaos non-Toronto fans could use in the final week of the season.
The Sirens play the Sceptres on Tuesday before wrapping up their regular season against the Victoire on Saturday afternoon.