PWHL Power Rankings: Record-breaking Fleet are carrying the load
In just the league’s third season, the Boston Fleet have become one of the best teams in PWHL history. Coming out of the trade deadline, the team isn’t only on a path to the playoffs, but they are looking like a unit that doesn’t get flustered, making them a scary team come the postseason.
While the Fleet remains atop the league standings heading into the final month of the regular season, Ben Steiner, Scott Maxwell and Tyler Kuehl look at the teams that are trying to keep up.
1. x-Boston Fleet
Record: 13-5-2-4, +23
Last Week: 2nd (+1)
Ben’s Rank: 1st
Scott’s Rank: 1st
Tyler’s Rank: 1st
Ben: With a Cup Playoff spot clinched and already surpassing the record for most points in a single regular season, the Boston Fleet are sailing into the final stages of the season. Not only has Aerin Frankel continued her standout form, but the team has found consistency, even when a player like star defender Megan Kelller is held off the scoresheet for back-to-back games. After three wins this week against Vancouver, Toronto and Minnesota, they’ve proved to be the league’s best team by a wide margin.
Tyler: I know everyone keeps pointing to Aerin Frankel as the reason why the Fleet are the best team in the league, but look at how they went into St. Paul and took care of the Frost. First, they went with rookie Amanda Thiele in her first PWHL start – she was exceptional. Then, thanks to a pair of goals from Sophie Shirley, Boston scored four goals in back-to-back games for the first time this season. Going up against a team like Minnesota, on the road, and putting together a complete team effort without their MVP netminder in action shows that the Fleet is a deeper team than one might perceive.
Goal scoring will be imperative if the Fleet wants to make it back to the Walter Cup Final, but with the type of depth they have, and Frankel between the pipes, they have a unique recipe for success.
Boston has plenty of time to rest up before chasing more history, as they don’t play against until April 7, when they take on the Vancouver Goldeneyes in Edmonton.
2. Montreal Victoire
Record: 12-4-2-5, +26
Last Week: 3rd (+1)
Ben’s Rank: 2nd
Scott’s Rank: 2nd
Tyler’s Rank: 2nd
Tyler: No Poulin? No problem. The Victoire pulled out a couple of notable wins this week, restoring a little bit of confidence with this group, even without their captain still out of action. Two stellar performances from Ann-Renee Desbiens against both the Frost last Wednesday and the New York Sirens in Detroit this past Saturday have pushed Montreal back up into second place.
On top of a big week from Catherine Dubois, the thing that impressed me the most was how the Victoire were able to take over games, even when they might’ve had a bad start. Look at the win over the Sirens – outshot 11-2 in the first period, but controlled the last half of the game. Maybe not a complete 60-minute effort, but the ability to dominate when the time comes.
Did I forget to mention that the Victoire have points in 11 straight games, tying a league record?
Ben: Two wins against the New York Sirens and Minnesota Frost helped the Montreal Victoire move up the standings and power rankings this week. Ann-Renne Desbiens was at her best in the crease, making 45 saves on 46 shots over the two games, finding her standout play ahead of the season’s final stretch. At the same time, Catherine Dubois’ three-goal week takes some of the reliance off top players, especially considering the doubts around Marie-Philip Poulin’s health now and through the rest of the season.
The Victoire have a chance to break the PWHL’s record for most consecutive games with a point on Wednesday, when they host the Goldeneyes.
3. Minnesota Frost
Record: 11-3-3-6, +20
Last Week: 1st (-2)
Ben’s Rank: 3rd
Scott’s Rank: 3rd
Tyler’s Rank: 3rd
Ben: There are plenty of sports teams that say they want a little bit of adversity to sharpen them for tougher tests ahead. Well, that was this week for the Minnesota Frost, dropping a 4-2 result to the Boston Fleet and a 3-0 defeat to the Victoire.
After winning both of their games the week before by a combined score of 8-1, last week was a massive step back, dropping them to third in the standings and costing them home advantage in the first round of the Walter Cup Playoffs if they began today. Yet, maybe this is exactly the wakeup call they needed to give themselves a push through to the end of the regular season and into the playoffs.
Tyler: Two home games, two disappointing losses. For a team that’s hoping to finally have home-ice advantage in the postseason, the way Minnesota looked last week portrayed the flaws that have plagued it over the previous two regular seasons. Even with captain Kendall Coyne Schofield returning to the lineup on Sunday against Boston, there wasn’t enough finish to keep the Frost within striking distance of first place.
It seems like quite the setback compared to what the team had accomplished heading into the week, winning five straight games and showing the scoring attack that has earned them the label as the best offense in the PWHL. Minnesota has a chance to get back on the winning horse this week, and they need to if they want to host Game 1 of the playoffs.
The Frost head to New Jersey on Wednesday to take on the Sirens.
4. Ottawa Charge
Record: 6-7-1-9, -6
Last Week: 5th
Ben’s Rank: 4th
Scott’s Rank: 5th
Tyler’s Rank: 4th
Tyler: I guess they don’t ask how, they ask how many. How many goals did Ottawa give up over its past two games? One. How many wins did they have? Two. In the fight for the fourth and final playoff spot, every point matters, and for a Charge squad that leads the league in extra-time wins, earning the max three points is huge.
After outlasting the Victoire in Winnipeg the Sunday before, Ottawa finally picked up a regulation win this past Sunday, with Gwyneth Philips earning a shutout over the Seattle Torrent. It was also the Charge’s first regulation win in general since March 4. With a two-point lead over Toronto as we head into April, the Charge have a chance to give themselves some space if they can meet their potential.
Ben: Win the games on your schedule and beat the team that is in front of you. The Ottawa Charge were only in competition once this week, but swiftly defeated the Seattle Torrent 2-0 to pick up valuable points in the race to the playoffs. It’s nothing league-shattering or shocking, given Seattle’s struggles, but a loss could have spelled the start of a late-season collapse. Disaster averted, points gained, time to move on!
Ottawa is in Calgary on Wednesday for a crucial game against the Sceptres, before hosting the Victoire at Canadian Tire Centre on Friday.
5. New York Sirens
Record: 8-0-3-12, -13
Last Week: 6th
Ben’s Rank: 5th
Scott’s Rank: 4th
Tyler’s Rank: 6th
Tyler: I’m trying to think of words to describe how I’m feeling about the Sirens that I haven’t used in the team’s first two seasons of existence. Disappointment. Baffling. Confusing. This team is riding a four-game losing streak and has failed to earn points in six of its seven games since the Olympic break. They started off so well against the Victoire on Saturday, but just allowed one of the most skilled rosters in the league to turn the tide.
GM Pascal Daoust tried to address some offensive woes, giving up defender Jincy Roese to get Denisa Krizova from the Minnesota Frost ahead of the trade deadline. Yet, missing Kristyna Kaltounkova has created a massive hole in the offense and Kayle Osborne is being thrown to the wolves every night.
Once again, a miserable March has all but killed the Sirens’ playoff chances.
Ben: With seven games remaining heading into this week, the New York Sirens are in crunch time when it comes to chasing their first Walter Cup Playoff berth. The 3-1 loss to Montreal and 4-1 defeat against Seattle didn’t help this week, but there’s still hope. Will Kayle Osborne rekindle success in the crease, and how about the early-season production from Sarah Filler and Kristýna Kaltounková? Surely, they’ll turn into form when the results become even more influential to the playoff race.
It goes without saying that this is an important week for the Sirens. On top of having to host the Frost on Wednesday, New York is set to host the Torrent in front of a capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, which will certainly break the U.S. attendance record for a women’s hockey game once again.
6. Toronto Sceptres
Record: 8-1-5-10, -17
Last Week: 4th (-2)
Ben’s Rank: 7th
Scott’s Rank: 6th
Tyler’s Rank: 5th
Tyler: I love how we tout that home-ice is so important to a team’s success in the PWHL, and then the Sceptres do their part to prove us all wrong. After getting goose-egged by the Fleet last Friday, the Sceptres lost at Coca-Cola Coliseum to the Goldeneyes, with Vancouver winning a true road game for the first time this year. You can’t be losing at home at this point of the year when you’re chasing a playoff spot, especially in regulation.
The absence of Raygan Kirk is proving to be a bigger issue than we probably first expected. She had been playing so well since suffering an upper-body injury at some point last week, and Elaine Chuli has struggled to pick up the slack.
Ben: The Toronto Sceptres’ playoff hopes are not quite hanging by a thread, but time is running out. They’ve played a game more than all other opponents in the tight race for the final Walter Cup playoff spots, and lost twice this week to Boston and Vancouver. They have scored just 45 goals this season, second-worst in the PWHL, and while they scored a power-play goal against the Goldeneyes, it was their only one in four attempts this week, raising their power-play percentage to a measly 9.6 percent.
There’s no question, Wednesday’s Takeover Tour game against the Charge could make or break Toronto’s season.
7. Vancouver Goldeneyes
Record: 7-1-4-11, -11
Last Week: 7th
Ben’s Rank: 6th
Scott’s Rank: 8th
Tyler’s Rank: 7th
Ben: The Vancouver Goldeneyes’ 3-2 win over the Toronto Sceptres on the weekend could reign as one of the most important in the PWHL this season, as it kept them within two games of the final playoff spot. Sarah Nurse picked up her output with an assist and has been a more reliable player as of late. With seven games remaining, they’ll be confident in a late-season push for the postseason.
Tyler: I was very close to pushing the Goldeneyes up a spot in the rankings. Winning a game away from home, that wasn’t a Takeover game, for the first time in franchise history, could give the team enough of a jolt to make a final push for fourth place. Sure, it won’t be easy, and Vancouver will have to find even more success on the road, with four of their final seven games coming outside of British Columbia.
The big thing will be if the Goldeneyes can keep that fire that carried them to a win over the Sceptres on Sunday into every game the rest of the way. Sarah Nurse and Izzy Daniel played with a chip on their shoulder against their former team, but Vancouver, which is six points out of a playoff spot, needs that energy against every team from here on out.
The Goldeneyes have a difficult two-game road trip this week, heading to Laval to face the Victoire on Wednesday before meeting with the Frost on Saturday.
8. Seattle Torrent
Record: 6-1-2-14, -22
Last Week: 8th
Ben’s Rank: 8th
Scott’s Rank: 7th
Tyler’s Rank: 8th
Ben: For a roster that so many heralded as a standout contender ahead of the season, the Seattle Torrent have been a regular disappointment. While a 2-0 loss to Ottawa highlighted their issues, there was a glimmer of hope in a 4-1 win over New York, featuring three-point nights from Theresa Schafzahl and Danielle Serdachny. They’re hard-pressed to make the playoffs this year, but a strong end to the season, getting Serdachny scoring regularly and winning the first overall pick should set the stage for a better sophomore campaign.
Tyler: I know a lot of us had our doubts about whether the Torrent could compete for a playoff spot – but I don’t think any of us would’ve thought they would be this bad. On top of the fact that the team has lost six games in a row, Seattle has scored a measly three goals over that span.
Maybe Seattle can get a little bit of a spark if it can beat the Sirens at MSG on Saturday? If not, they might become the first team to start playing for Gold Plan points. If the Charge were to win at least one of their games this week and earn a point in the other, and the Torrent loses in Manhattan, Seattle will be officially eliminated from playoff contention.