PWHL Power Rankings: Montreal continues to pace the field while New York drops off

Not a lot of movement across the Professional Women’s Hockey League as we enter the month of March. However, it is still obvious who the best team in the league is.

Hunter Crowther and Tyler Kuehl deliver their thoughts on why the favorites are separating themselves from the pack in this week’s Power Rankings.

1. Montreal

Record: 6-3-3-2, +5
Last Week: 1st
Hunter’s Rank: 1st
Tyler’s Rank: 1st

Hunter: It’s one thing when a team like Montreal puts on a solid performance from start to finish, outshooting the other team and their star players play like stars (see: Marie-Philip Poulin’s goal and two assists). It’s another when the backup goalie who hasn’t played in two weeks stops 30 of 31 shots against Boston, adding fuel to the theory that Montreal has two No. 1 goalies. 

I gave Elaine Chuli the Goalie of the Week honors in my column this week, and deservedly so. Montreal’s neverending list of talented players continues to grow with the addition of Melodie Daoust, the two-time Olympic gold medalist for Canada. Gosh, this team is fun to watch. 

Tyler: Melodie Daoust is a wonderful human, and I’m not just saying that because she showed up on my old podcast once. I was happy to see her back on the ice on Saturday, and the fact that she scored off a feed from Poulin (*chef’s kiss*) it was perfect.

To be honest, I was running out of things to say about this Montreal team before Daoust’s return. They have the best tandem in the league with Ann-Renée Desbiens and Elaine Chuli, Captain Canada keeps producing, and they are doing an excellent job at shutting down the opposition’s top players.

After having just one game last week, Montreal is busy over the next five days. They face New York on Wednesday before visiting Toronto on Friday. Montreal ends the week with a home clash with Ottawa next Sunday.

2. Toronto

Record: 6-3-0-5, +4
Last Week: 2nd
Hunter’s Rank: 2nd
Tyler’s Rank: 2nd

Hunter: I can tell my Toronto bias pops out from time to time, but how can you not be loving what this team has been doing the past few weeks? Seven straight wins off the improved play of Kristen Campbell, the offensive dominance of Natalie Spooner, and this week, the breakout performance of Sarah Nurse, who had two goals and two assists in Toronto’s two games last week. 

Rewatching their 5-2 win over Ottawa, you can tell this team is clicking on every line and defensive pairing. Quick shoutout to Victoria Bach, who has only gotten into the lineup for the past six games but has made an impact, scoring a goal and three assists, including three combined assists from last week’s games.

Tyler: If it were not for Montreal staying at the top of its game, I would have moved Toronto up to P1 (sorry, Formula 1 is messing with my brain).

I guess if you want to make the comparison, Toronto is playing like Max Verstappen in 2022. Slow at the start of the season, they are picking up steam at the right time and are back to being championship contenders. They have won seven straight games, really showing up in the win against Minnesota last Tuesday before finally picking up a win against provincial rival Ottawa on Saturday.

Toronto has a pair of home games this week, taking on Boston on Wednesday before meeting with Montreal on Friday.

3. Minnesota

Record: 6-2-3-4, +2
Last Week: 3rd
Hunter’s Rank: 3rd
Tyler’s Rank: 3rd

Hunter: They lost in overtime to Toronto but bounced back with a dominant 2-0 win. Credit should go to New York’s Corinne Schroeder for making it seem closer than it was (more on that later). This team may have taken a step back towards the end of February, losing three of four since Feb. 18, but they still have plenty of talented players to bounce back. 

Speaking of which, it was nice to see No. 1 overall pick Taylor Heise return to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 3. She may have been held off the scoresheet against New York but don’t expect that to last long. The 2022 Patty Kazmaier Award winner should provide a massive boost to Minnesota and keep them near the top of the standings as we get deeper into March and April. 

Tyler: Yeah, you have to hope Heise’s return brings some more life to Minnesota. It obviously sparked them to beat New York, but they need to find more offensive juice. Dating back to before Heise’s injury, Minnesota has scored over two goals just once in its last eight games. I did like Jaques’ performance last week, and if she can continue to produce like we know she can, that will help Minnesota get things back on track.

Minnesota has an easy week, as their only game sees them host Ottawa on Tuesday.

4. Boston

Record: 4-2-2-5, -4
Last Week: 5th (+1)
Hunter’s Rank: 4th
Tyler’s Rank: 4th

Tyler: I know moving Boston up after a loss in their only game last week might be confusing, but when you see the next team, it will make more sense.

I think Boston still has more to give. However, the best thing going for them is Hilary Knight slowly warming up. She scored the lone goal in the 3-1 loss to Montreal and has three points in her last four games. With her on a line with Alina Müller and Loren Gabel, her production will continue to rise.

Hunter: No shame in losing to the best team in the league, but before they won two games last week, Boston had lost four in a row. There were flashes of that team during Saturday’s game in Montreal. 

It was important for Hilary Knight to get on the board, but this team really needs to solve their lack of scoring. Beyond Alina Müller’s 11 points and defender Megan Keller’s 10, it’s slim pickings. Gabel and Taylor Girard are tied for the team lead with only four goals, and recent addition Susanna Tapini has two points in her six games with Boston. If they want to hold onto a playoff spot in the second half, the offense needs to step up.

Boston hits the road to face Toronto on Wednesday, before returning to Lowell to host New York on Sunday.

5. New York

Record: 2-4-2-6, -2
Last Week: 4th (-1)
Hunter’s Rank: 5th
Tyler’s Rank: 5th

Tyler: You’re New York, you have a home game against a struggling Minnesota team. What do you do?

Well, getting shut out isn’t ideal.

Yes, it was only a 2-0 loss, but that is because Schroeder gave them a chance. N.Y. started off slow, and those two quick goals given up in the second hurt their confidence. After picking up points in five straight games, New York lost both games last week, losing to lowly Ottawa as well.

You can tell New York has the talent to be in a playoff spot, but the execution is not there, and it needs to be.

Hunter: I’ve had a hard time evaluating New York this season. The number of games that go into overtime or a shootout throw me off, because either A) you won but you probably shouldn’t have, or B) you lost but that’s one you should have had. But they lost both of their games last week cleanly, 4-2 to Ottawa on Wednesday and 2-0 to Minnesota on Sunday. 

I think Howie Draper is one of the smarter minds in the league, and there’s no denying that netminder Schroeder is a massive reason why they’re still in the race for the fourth and final playoff spot. But it can’t just be Alex Carpenter and Ella Shelton every night. Like Boston, someone needs to step up. 

New York’s metal will be tested this week when they host Montreal on Monday before visiting Boston on Sunday.

6. Ottawa

Record: 4-0-4-6, -5
Last Week: 6th
Hunter’s Rank: 6th
Tyler’s Rank: 6th

Tyler: You want me to change my thoughts on Ottawa? Fine, I will once they change something, and not just their lines.

If this team wants to make it into the playoffs, they need to start looking at getting more talent, because the lack of depth that was concerning before the season is starting to catch up to them. Yes, they picked up a win over New York last week, but the way Toronto and Montreal beat them up shows this team is not on the same level as the contenders.

I wrote about how Ottawa needs to find a goaltender to help support Emereance Maschmeyer. If they find a competent no. 2, that will be a step in the right direction.

That is, if they event want to take a step in the right direction.

Hunter: I think I’ve figured out how to classify Ottawa. You ready? They’re a rebuilding team. “Well Hunter, how can you be a rebuilding team if it’s the first year of both the team and the league’s existence?” Well first off, shut up, I’m taking no questions, but second, if you look at it through that lens, it makes more sense. 

While Ottawa has talented players like Gabbie Hughes, Lexie Adzija, Savannah Harmon, Emily Clark and Brianne Jenner, their lineup just isn’t built to win games over a full season. Not to mention, as my colleague Tyler pointed out, they’ve run Maschmeyer into the ground. I said at the start of the year that lack of depth would hurt this team, and so far, it’s proven true.

Ottawa has two tough road matchups this week. They head to St. Paul to face Minnesota before visiting Montreal on Sunday.