Montréal looks to clinch, New York tries to stay alive in playoff race
MONTREAL, QC (April 24, 2024) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season continues with a pair of Wednesday night games, including Montréal against New York, at 7:00 p.m. ET at Verdun Auditorium.
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans across Canada can stream the game live on TSN+. The game will also be available to fans in the United States live on MSG/MSGHD, streaming on the Women’s Sports Network, and on the league’s YouTube channel. Kenzie Lalonde will have the play-by-play call alongside analyst Becky Kellar. French coverage is available on RDS with studio host Andrée-Anne Barbeau and analyst Karell Emard. Claudine Douville will have the play-by-play call with analyst Isabelle Leclaire.
TONIGHT’S PLAYOFF CLINCHING SCENARIOS
Montréal can clinch a playoff berth tonight with a win in regulation, or if Ottawa beats Boston tonight in regulation. Montréal can also clinch with an overtime/shootout win if Boston does not beat Ottawa in regulation, or with an overtime/shootout loss combined with a Boston loss of any kind. Even though Minnesota does not play tonight, they can clinch a playoff berth if Boston loses to Ottawa in regulation. To stay alive in the playoff race, New York needs a win over Montréal in regulation combined with a Boston win over Ottawa.
TONIGHT AT VERDUN AUDITORIUM
Montréal’s final home game of the regular season will be a tribute to community leaders and fan appreciation at Verdun Auditorium. A ceremonial puck drop will feature honourary guests that include Verdun Mayor Marie-Andrée Mauger, and women’s hockey community leaders Josée Lebel, Nathalie Déry and Jonathan Larrivée. After the final whistle, team leadership will deliver a speech thanking fans for their unwavering support throughout our inaugural season, and players will skate a lap around the ice to applaud the fans.
SETTING THE STAGE
A 15-point gap between these two teams in the standings does not change the importance of winning tonight’s game. Montréal (8-3-5-5) has 35 points and are tied with Minnesota for second place, just three behind first place Toronto and five up on fourth place Ottawa. They are looking to lock up a playoff spot and improve positioning, while New York (3-4-3-10), who is in sixth place with 20 points, can disrupt those plans and potentially stay in the playoff picture. Both teams are coming off Saturday losses on home ice. Montréal suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss to Toronto at the Bell Centre before a record crowd of 21,105 in their second game following the break. Last Thursday they returned to action with a 4-3 comeback victory over Minnesota at Verdun Auditorium. New York dropped a pivotal matchup against Boston by a 2-1 score at Prudential Center in their first game since the break. This marks Montréal’s final home game of the regular season and sixth appearance at Verdun Auditorium where they’ve collected a point in each of their first five games and have won three straight in regulation. In total, Montréal has six wins and 20 points in 10 games played in their home province. This is New York’s final road game of the season where they’ve played to five wins and 14 points in 11 appearances to date. Both teams are in the bottom half in average goals-per-game but rank among the league’s best on the powerplay which could be difference maker offensively.
THE SEASON SERIES THROUGH FOUR GAMES
Montréal has won three of four games against New York and hold a 10-2 advantage in head-to-head points this season. Montréal won 5-2 at UBS Arena on Jan. 10, followed by a 3-2 victory at Place Bell on Jan. 16. New York picked up a 3-2 win in a shootout at UBS Arena on Feb. 21. The most recent matchup was a 4-3 victory for Montréal at Bridgeport’s Total Mortgage Arena on Mar. 6. In that contest, Montréal built a 3-0 lead in the first period, but the game was kept close by three New York powerplay goals, including two from Jessie Eldridge. Marie-Philip Poulin led the Montréal offense with two points including the game winning goal. She has five goals and one assist in the series, and teammate Maureen Murphy has a goal and five assists. Eldridge leads New York with four goals and one assist, and Ella Shelton has a goal and four assists in the series. Ann-Renée Desbiens has started three games against New York with two wins and a .914 save percentage. Corinne Schroeder started the first and fourth games and has a .877 SV%. Tonight’s game will be the fourth different venue the teams have played each other in this season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Montréal captain Marie-Philip Poulin is tied for the scoring lead with 21 points, including nine goals and 12 assists in 18 games. She has 12 points in her last six games and recorded her fourth three-point performance in last Thursday’s win. Erin Ambrose (4G 11A) climbed into first in league scoring among defenders with 15 points, powered by a PWHL single-game record four assists last Thursday. She also scored the team’s tying goal on the powerplay at the Bell Centre. Laura Stacey (8G 7A) is tied with Ambrose for second in team scoring with 15 points and recorded a career-high three points last Thursday. Maureen Murphy (4G 10A) is fourth on the team with 14 points, and Claire Dalton (5G 3A) is fifth with eight points. New York’s Alex Carpenter (8G 12A) is third in league scoring with 20 points, including a league-high nine points on the powerplay. Defender Ella Shelton (4G 9A) is tied for second at her position with 13 points and leads all blue liners with eight powerplay points. Jessie Eldridge (7G 5A) scored the team’s lone goal on Saturday and has 12 points on the season, followed by Abby Roque (4G 7A) with 11 points. Jade Downie-Landry (6G 4A) and Jaime Bourbonnais (3G 7A) are tied with 10 points each.
DANGEROUS DAOUST RETURNS TO LINEUP
Montréal forward Mélodie Daoust returns to the lineup for the first since Mar. 10 having signed her second 10-Day contract of the season. The 32-year-old has two goals in three games and found instant chemistry alongside Marie-Philip Poulin in her season debut on Mar. 2. She will play on the team’s top line tonight at left wing with Poulin at centre and Maureen Murphy on the right side. Daoust has 11 shots on goal in her three appearances.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“Today, against New York, a team that’s fighting for their life, we need to come in with that same energy. We’re also fighting for our life. We want to clinch a playoff spot. We want to clinch a spot that we want to be in.” – Laura Stacey, Montréal
“It’s an important one for us, and it’s an important one for New York too. I think it’s important for our players because we’re going to be playing against a desperate team and we have to match that type of desperation to try to finish first.” – Kori Cheverie, Montréal
“Today’s game is critical for us. Montréal is a strong team and we’ll have to be our best today to keep our playoff hopes alive for tomorrow. I’m eager to see how our team rises to this challenge.” – Howie Draper, New York
QUICK HITS
Montréal (-1) is fourth in goal differential and New York (-11) is sixth…Montréal (2.38) is fourth in goals-per-game average and New York (2.00) is tied for fifth…Montréal (2.43) allows the third most goals-per-game and New York (2.55) allows the most on average…Montréal has scored first in 12 games and won nine of them, New York has scored first seven times and won five…Montréal has scored its most goals in the first period with 19, New York’s best offensive period is the third with 15 goals…Montréal leads the league with 14 one-goal games and have won eight of them, New York has five wins in 12 one-goal decisions…Montréal (-47) is fifth in shot differential and New York (-145) ranks sixth… Montréal (28.10) is fifth in shots-per-game average and New York (27.05) ranks sixth…Montréal (30.43) allows the second most shots-per-game and New York (34.25) allow the most shots on average…Montréal has outshot its opponents 11 times, New York has outshot its opponents twice…These are the two most penalized teams in the league with New York (7.05) and Montréal (6.95) holding the two highest penalty minute averages per game…New York (15/64) is second in powerplay efficiency at 23.4%…Montréal (9/72) is third on the PP at 12.5%…New York (52/57) is second in penalty kill efficiency at 91.2%…Montréal (56/68) is fourth on the PK at 82.4%…Marie-Philip Poulin (MTL) is tied for first in the league with 21 points…Alex Carpenter (NY) is third in league scoring with 20 points…Carpenter and Poulin share a tie for first in the league with 12 assists…Erin Ambrose (MTL) leads all defenders with 15 points…Ella Shelton (NY) is tied for second in scoring among defenders with 13 points…Carpenter leads the league with nine power play points followed by Shelton with eight and teammate Abby Roque with seven…Claire Dalton (MTL) leads the league with a 27.8% shooting percentage…Roque is second in the league with 31 penalty minutes…Laura Stacey (MTL) is second in the league with 87 shots on goal…Jessie Eldridge (NY) leads the team with 75 shots…Poulin (228/396) leads the team in face-offs and with a win-rate of 57.6%…Roque (167/272) leads the team in face-off percentage at 61.4%…Carpenter (59.8%) leads the team with 378 draws…Ann-Renée Desbiens (MTL) has won five of her 13 starts with a goals-against-average of 2.35 and a save percentage of .918…Corinne Schroeder (NY) has won six of her 13 starts with one shutout and a 2.22 GAA and a .936 SV% that ranks second…Carley Olivier (NY) will make her PWHL debut on defense.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
MONTREAL:
Daoust | Poulin | Murphy
Grant-Mentis | O’Neill | Stacey
Lefort | Dempsey | Dalton
Dubois | David | Poznikoff
Tabin | Ambrose
Keopple | Boulier
Bizal | Daoust
Laganière
Desbiens | Chuli
Scratches: Bettez, Boissonnault, Bujold, Lásková, Lum, Marchment
NEW YORK:
Woods | Carpenter | Giguère
Saulnier | Roque | Eldridge
Labelle | Downie-Landry | Norcross
Vespa | Gruschow | Packer
Hobson | Shelton
Zandee-Hart | Bourbonnais
Fällman | Zafuto
Olivier
Schroeder | Levy
Scratches: Aurard, Baker, Levis, Post
OFFICIALS:
Referees: Elizabeth Mantha (Longueuil, QC) and Christopher Rumble (West Seneca, NY).
Linespersons: Jarrett Burton (Kingston, ON) and Stéphanie Gagnon (Princeville, QC).
Follow the league on all social media platforms @thepwhlofficial plus team accounts @pwhl_montreal and @pwhl_newyork.