PWHL Players of the Week: Murphy, Nurse and Desbiens take center stage at midway point of 2025-26
We’re at the halfway point of the 2025-26 PWHL regular season, and so far we’ve seen plenty of impressive performances from the league’s top players. Last week was no different, with two members of Canada’s National Olympic Team showing signs of brilliance, while a reliable depth forward made her mark on the scoresheet.
Here are this week’s Daily Faceoff players of the week.
Maureen Murphy, F (Montreal Victoire)
After scoring three goals through the entire 2024-25 campaign, Maureen Murphy tied that number in just two games this week, getting the opening goal in the Montreal Victoire’s 2-1 OT win over the Minnesota Frost, then potting two in the first period of their 3-1 win over the Ottawa Charge over the weekend.
QUEL TIR DE MAUREEN !!! HOLY SHOT !!!!
Despite the lack of production through the first half of the 2025-26 season, recording just one assist in her first 12 games, the Victoire coaching staff have been comfortable playing Murphy in critical moments, as she averages more than 16 minutes a game, the most among forwards not named Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey and Abby Roque.
If Murphy and her teammates can add some much-needed depth scoring for Montreal, they could be a force to be reckoned with in the second half of the season and beyond.
Sarah Nurse, F (Vancouver Goldeneyes)
If you predicted ahead of the season that Sarah Nurse would be either leading or tied for the team lead in goals at the midway point, most observers would say that would be a safe bet. If you added in the fact she would only play three games at that point, those odds might change.
Three games as a Vancouver Goldeneye. Three goals for Sarah Nurse. 🫡
But with four goals in just three regular-season games — two of which came in a 5-0 win over her former team in the Toronto Sceptres last Thursday — Nurse has shown no signs of rust after missing nearly two months due to an injury. In fact, the Vancouver Goldeneyes’ forward has shown flashes of pure dominance since she returned to the lineup Jan. 17 in Toronto, a game that saw her score midway through the second.
Nurse struggled for parts of 2024-25 with the Sceptres and only finished with six goals in 21 games. Now with a new team and filled with motivation, she’s reminding fans that she remains one of the game’s premier forwards.
Ann-Renee Desbiens, G (Montreal Victoire)
It feels like we’re just repeating a recorded message when we discuss Ann-Renee Desbiens, but at this point, what else can we say? The Victoire netminder has won five of her last six games, and just this week stopped 23 of 24 shots in back-to-back games, giving Montreal wins over the Frost and Charge.
BRICK WALL OF MONTRÉAL 🧱 Ann-Renée Desbiens stands alone as the first goaltender to reach 30 regular season wins!
The 5-foot-9 netminder now has a league-leading .951 save percentage in 12 appearances, combined with a 4.03 even-strength goals saved above expected. With a win on Saturday, she became the first goalie in PWHL history to reach 30 career wins, and is quietly making the case as a candidate for the Billie Jean King MVP Award.
Whether or not the voters would consider a goalie to begin with is one thing, but if Desbiens continues to play like this, she might not leave them with a choice.