PWHL Power Rankings: Victoire come out of Olympic break swinging
The PWHL is back, baby! The first few days of action coming out of Olympic break were fast, fun, and you could certainly tell several players were hungry to get back into some game action.
While we had some tough injury news for a couple of teams in the league, a few rose to the occasion over the past few days, setting up what should be an exciting and frantic second half of the 2025-26 season.
Today, Ben Steiner, Scott Maxwell and Tyler Kuehl break down where the teams sit as we get into the month of March.
1. Boston Fleet
Record: 8-3-2-2, +12
Last Week: 1st
Ben’s Rank: 1st
Scott’s Rank: 1st
Tyler’s Rank: 2nd
Ben: The Fleet entered the break with the best record in the PWHL and didn’t look like they had missed a step in their return. Knocking off the Ottawa Charge 3-2 in a shootout, with gold medal hero Megan Keller even posting an assist before rushing to star on Saturday Night Live. It’s been an impressive season for Kris Sparre’s team, which, despite needing to tie the game after trailing 2-1, never looked like it was bound for no points.
Tyler: I do feel a little bad knocking the Fleet down a peg, especially since they did win their first game coming out of the break, and still have a better winning percentage than the Victoire. Nevertheless, the fact that Boston had to really scratch and claw its way to force overtime wasn’t assuring. I mean, you can chalk it up to rust with some of the players, and a little fatigue from the team’s Olympians, including Alina Muller, Megan Keller and Aerin Frankel.
The way this team is structured is going to make it exciting to follow down the stretch. The two games they have on Montreal, and one on Minnesota, might be the difference in who finishes first in the PWHL.
The Fleet is off until Thursday when they visit the New York Sirens.
2. Montreal Victoire
Record: 9-3-0-5, +19
Last Week: 3rd (+1)
Ben’s Rank: 2nd
Scott’s Rank: 2nd
Tyler’s Rank: 1st
Ben:
Tyler: Missing your best player coming out of the break, and arguably one of your best defenders, could’ve led the Victoire down a tough path against the Sirens last Thursday. However, for the first time this season, depth truly carried Montreal to victory. Jade Downie-Landry played a fantastic game (and should’ve had two goals), Skylar Irving scored her first PWHL goal, and Lina Ljungblom, regardless of how lucky it was, also found the back of the net.
Then, the way the Victoire dominated against the Frost on Sunday just sets the tone for a second half where this team can shine, and truly be the unstoppable force that it’s capable of. The only question is whether they can keep it up, and if Poulin can stay healthy.
The Victoire are in action on Tuesday night against the Toronto Sceptres.
3. Minnesota Frost
Record: 7-2-3-4, +13
Last Week: 2nd (-1)
Ben’s Rank: 4th
Scott’s Rank: 3rd
Tyler’s Rank: 3rd
Tyler: I’m trying to figure out how I should feel about Sunday’s result in Laval, from the Minnesota side. For one, the Victoire just don’t lose at home, that’s a fact. Two, the Frost have had one of the toughest schedules in the league thus far, with so many road games in the first half of the season. Sure, allowing the Victoire to run over them isn’t an ideal way to welcome them back to PWHL play, but it’s just one game. This team has enough experience to get over it quickly.
One thing to keep an eye on for the Frost over the final two months of the season, eight of their final 13 games are on home ice. That could really help this squad ramp things up in its quest for another playoff run.
Ben: What was that? Too many parties? A 4-0 loss to the Montreal Victoire on the return from the Olympic break was a shocker for the Minnesota Frost. No doubt, it’s tough for a team filled with national team players to readjust to the PWHL regular season grind after the exuberance of the Olympics. Still, the level trailed their opponents significantly in the first game back.
Taylor Heise put in the best showing with four shots, accounting for nearly a quarter of her team’s attempts, as they failed to beat Desbiens between the pipes for Montreal. Regardless of circumstance, they’ll hope to avoid Montreal in the Walter Cup Playoffs, given they’ve lost all three matchups between the two this season.
The Frost don’t have to play until Sunday, when they visit the Sceptres.
4. Ottawa Charge
Record: 4-5-1-7, -2
Last Week: 4th
Ben’s Rank: 3rd
Scott’s Rank: 5th
Tyler’s Rank: 5th
Ben: Head coach Carla MacLeod returned to the Ottawa Charge bench after a disappointing Olympics with Czechia, but quickly led her team to pick up a point in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Fleet. Rebecca Leslie scored twice and has been outstanding all season, bringing her total to 10 goals and six assists through 17 games — a massive uptick from a goal and two assists last season.
Even for a team that made the Walter Cup final last season, I don’t think many people expected two Charge players to rank in the top three in league scoring after 17 games. Yet, here we are, and Ottawa fans have got to be happy with Leslie and Brianne Jenner, both with 16 points.
Tyler: That game on Sunday was a tough one for Ottawa to drop. Carrying a lead late into the game, regardless of who it was against, is a missed opportunity for the Charge. I understand the Fleet are fighting for first place, but for a team that’s fighting for its postseason lives (again), I want to see more grit and vigor, especially on home ice. There were stretches when the Charge looked catatonic, something they can ill afford to do over the next few weeks.
That said, the Charge are a hungry bunch. I don’t expect them to squander many more points if they truly want to qualify for the playoffs.
The Charge are back home on Wednesday night, hosting the Torrent, before embarking on a three-game road trip.
5. Toronto Sceptres
Record: 6-1-3-8, -14
Last Week: 6th (+1)
Ben’s Rank: 5th
Scott’s Rank: 6th
Tyler’s Rank: 4th
Tyler: Am I getting ahead of myself? Sure. Were Toronto’s two wins against the two worst teams in the league? Sure. However, for a team that couldn’t find consistency if it was staring at its face, the Sceptres played like a team that needed to out west this past weekend. They pulled out a gritty win over the Torrent, a game they definitely should’ve won. Then, thanks to Raygan Kirk, Toronto completed the West Coast sweep by beating the Vancouver Goldeneyes, one of the best home teams this season.
Going out west, coming out of the break, was a tough ask. If Toronto dropped one or both of those games, it could’ve really sent the team on a downward spiral, something the Sceptres don’t want as we close in on the trade deadline.
Ben: This week was filled with speculation around head coach Troy Ryan’s future with Canada’s national women’s team. Yet, he did himself plenty of favors with the Toronto Sceptres, turning down coaching change speculation with a 5-2 win against the Seattle Torrent and a 2-1 victory against the Vancouver Goldeneyes in the road swing.
His Olympic stalwarts were already back to top form. Renata Fast continues to log massive minutes, and Emma Matlais grabbed a goal against the Torrent. Still, it was goaltender Raygan Kirk stealing the show with 54 saves on 57 shots across both contests. That power play, though… it went 0-for-3, dropping to a measly 10% on the season.
The Sceptres begin a three-game homestand on Tuesday night against the Victoire.
6. New York Sirens
Record: 7-0-3-7, -7
Last Week: 5th (-1)
Ben’s Rank: 6th
Scott’s Rank: 4th
Tyler’s Rank: 6th
Ben: The New York Sirens are back, Kristýna Kaltounková hopes to continue her Rookie of the Year candidacy after a disappointing Olympics, and the next game is against Boston. Other than that, head coach Greg Fargo and the Sirens will probably want to forget their relatively listless 4-1 loss to the Victoire this week.
The bigger worry is Kayle Osborne in the crease. Despite stellar numbers this season, she allowed three goals on six shots and didn’t quite look as confident as she did before heading to the Milan Olympics to win a silver medal as Canada’s third-string netminder. If she can return to form, expect the Sirens to skyrocket back up these rankings.
Tyler: I don’t want to starting sounding any…sirens…but New York has lost four games in a row. Sure, they outplayed the Victoire in the grand scheme of things, but failing to start on time on home ice is something you can’t do at this point in the season. Kayle Osborne flubbing the puck around, terrible giveaways in their own zone, all that is why the Sirens fell behind early, and never recovered. The team’s makeup spells playoffs, and if they played their cards right, it could be a long run. That said, we know how bad things can get in the Garden State when the team starts to snowball in the wrong direction.
The Sirens get set for a tough matchup with the Fleet on home ice on Thursday.
7. Vancouver Goldeneyes
Record: 5-1-2-9, -9
Last Week: 7th
Ben’s Rank: 7th
Scott’s Rank: 8th
Tyler’s Rank: 7th
Ben: What’s there to say at this point, other than maybe Vancouver just isn’t primed for stellar hockey in 2025-26? While it isn’t anywhere near as bad as the Vancouver Canucks’ dismal NHL efforts, the Goldeneyes have struggled to look like a cohesive unit ever since their season-opening victory. A 2-1 loss to the Sceptres isn’t the worst-case scenario, but their struggles are defined by the lack of output from supposed-to-be stars, notably Sarah Nurse, who failed to score on a team-high six shots against her former club.
Sitting five points short of the final Walter Cup Playoff spot, not all is lost for the Goldeneyes, but any real charge towards the postseason will require some consistency, which Brian Idalski’s group hasn’t had this season.
Tyler: Just over a month after shutting out the Sceptres at home, Vancouver failed to capitalize on numerous chances against Toronto on Sunday. Yeah, they were goalie’d, but the Goldeneyes kicked off a five-game homestand, and a second half with nine of 14 games at the Pacific Coliseum, with an L. Playing at home has been a strong point for the expansion team, so giving away games at home isn’t doing them any favors in getting back into the playoff race. Even though they face three teams in postseason spots during this current stretch of home affairs, the Goldeneyes are more than capable of stringing some wins together…in theory, at least.
Vancouver has an entire week off before hosting the Fleet on March 10.
8. Seattle Torrent
Record: 4-1-2-8, -12
Last Week: 8th
Ben’s Rank: 8th
Scott’s Rank: 7th
Tyler’s Rank: 8th
Ben: The Seattle Torrent are back, baby! A charge to the playoffs! Wait… uh. Oh. Nevermind.
With Hilary Knight out injured, having played the Olympics on a torn MCL. Currently, embracing the break with plenty of public appearances, the Torrent struggled in their first week back, losing 5-2 to the Sceptres in the first game back. Now nine points back of the playoffs, that loss could effectively have been the dagger defeat, as the focus shifts to winning for the top pick in the upcoming PWHL Draft.
Tyler: Being without Hilary Knight is going to be tough, especially since she might miss most of the second half of the season. It certainly puts the last-place club in a tough spot, even though they have multiple games in hand on most of the league. If Seattle can go on a run, they might be able to challenge for a playoff spot. However, if the Torrent continue to trend downward, it might be worth taking on the seller role. I mean, if you manage to bring back a couple of the big-name veterans and take advantage of a stacked draft class, Seattle could be a team to beat in the future.
But hey, things aren’t all bad in Seattle, as fans keep showing up in droves. Too bad eight of the team’s final 13 games of the regular season are on the road.
The Torrent has just one game this week, visiting the Charge on Wednesday night.