PWHL Power Rankings: Red-hot Toronto takes over the top spot
As we creep toward the Women’s World Championships, one of the teams loaded with national team talent, is seeing the fruits of its labor pay off.
Hunter Crowther and Tyler Kuehl discuss where they think the teams in the Professional Women’s Hockey League stack up heading into trade deadline week.
1. Toronto
Record: 8-3-0-5, +9
Last Week: 2nd (+1)
Hunter’s Rank: 1st
Tyler’s Rank: 1st
Hunter: Nine straight wins? Natalie Spooner continuing to buy ink by the ton and put it on the scoresheet? Sarah Nurse finding her groove? Oh, and Kristen Campbell is now among the league’s best goaltenders?
There’s no doubt about it: Toronto’s the best team in the league, and it’s the first time I’ve placed them in the top spot. Their 3-0 win over Montreal last Friday had real big Ric Flair “To be the man, you gotta beat the man!” vibes, and the club’s secondary scoring is starting to shine. most notably Hannah Miller, who has three goals in six games. At this rate, Toronto may need to start figuring out who they’ll choose to play in the first round of the playoffs.
Tyler: When we discussed who we believed was going to be the best team in the league, Toronto was up there (though Hunter picked them as his no. 1). I did have my doubts when they were, at one point, at the bottom of the league standings. Yet, they have turned things around.
Kristen Campbell has quietly played herself back into the Canadian National Team conversation, and Natalie Spooner continues to chug along as one of the top-scoring threats in the league, but with players like Emma Maltais and Hannah Miller coming alive offensively, Toronto is looking like a major championship favorite.
Toronto’s lone game this coming week sees them square off with Montreal in Pittsburgh, nine days after their chippy affair in Toronto.
2. Montreal
Record: 7-3-3-4, +1
Last Week: 2nd (-1)
Hunter’s Rank: 2nd
Tyler’s Rank: 2nd
Hunter: After being No. 1 for a few weeks, Montreal dropped to No. 2 on my list. They went 1-2-0 last week, starting off with a 4-3 win over New York but followed it with two losses against Toronto and Ottawa. Yes, you can make the case they were without Marie-Philip Poulin (one of our Players of the Week this week) on Sunday vs. Ottawa, but they’re objectively a better team and needed a better performance after getting shutout by Toronto.
As mentioned earlier, they play Toronto next Sunday, their only game of the week. A strong performance against the new No. 1 would reaffirm their spot near the top of the league. But Montreal has been outscored 6-0 in their last two matchups against Toronto. Something’s got to give.
Tyler: I still have faith in Montreal, but getting shut out by Toronto, where they were heavily outplayed, followed up by a loss to lowly Ottawa, is raising cause for concern.
We still do not know the status of captain Marie-Philip Poulin, as she was held out of the lineup on Sunday against Ottawa. You could tell the team had a different aura about them. Every team has bumps in the road, and I think Montreal will turn things back around.
Montreal’s only this week will see them duke it out with Toronto in the Steel City on Sunday.
3. Minnesota
Record: 6-3-3-4, +3
Last Week: 3rd
Hunter’s Rank: 3rd
Tyler’s Rank: 3rd
Hunter: After dropping off from the top for a few weeks, Minnesota has had a strong start to March with two straight wins against New York and Boston, and could climb higher with their next two games being against Boston and New York.
So much of this season has been made over the all-world goaltending from Maddie Rooney and Nicole Hensley, or the all-world rookie season from Grace Zumwinkle — and deservedly so — but let’s give a quick shoutout to Czech forward Denisa Krizova, who scored her first two goals of the season in Minnesota’s 4-3 shootout win over Ottawa last Thursday. It’s a good thing for the sport when international players start to make their mark on the game, and Krizova is certainly doing that.
Tyler: As I wrote in my takeaways this week, I think Minnesota is starting to find that confidence that we saw earlier this season. Sure, the scoring still needs to improve, but how they controlled the play against Ottawa in their lone game last week gives me hope that Minnesota can return to the top of the standings. The goaltending is still there, and with Taylor Heise back near 100%, they have a good chance to do just that.
Minnesota is one of a few teams this week to play multiple times, as they host Boston on Wednesday, before taking on New York on Saturday.
4. Ottawa
Record: 5-0-5-6, -4
Last Week: 6th (+2)
Hunter’s Rank: 4th
Tyler’s Rank: 5th
Hunter: Well, we’re movin’ on up! I’ve had Ottawa ranked No. 6 in the last few weeks, but I liked their game in both of their matchups last week, especially after defeating a Poulin-less Montreal squad 4-2 on Sunday. Speaking of international players, another shoutout to Katerina Mrazova, who had two multi-point games last week, scoring twice against Minnesota and assisting on fellow Czech Aneta Tejralova’s game-winning goal against Montreal.
I keep repeating myself, but this team works harder than anyone in the league, and it was nice to see them rewarded with a big win against their Canadian rival. It’s going to be a battle between them, Boston and New York for the fourth and final playoff spot, but at this moment, my money’s on Ottawa.
Tyler: Hunter’s just pumping Ottawa up because we are both seeing them in Detroit during Takeover Weekend.
In all seriousness, this team played a couple of tough games last week. The fact Carla MacLeod started Sandra Abstreiter for a SECOND time this season proved the team needed to freshen things up (sorry, I felt the caps lock was necessary to erase any misinformation). Abstreiter was fantastic, and Maschmeyer returned to pick up a big win against Montreal. If they can build off this momentum and maybe pick up someone before the deadline, they can sneak into the playoffs.
Ottawa’s lone game this week will be against Boston at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.
5. Boston
Record: 4-3-2-6, -5
Last Week: 4th (-1)
Hunter’s Rank: 5th
Tyler’s Rank: 4th
Hunter: Boston went 1-1-0 last week, taken down by Toronto but pulling ahead in a “battle of the brutal” with New York on Sunday, winning 3-2 in overtime. Hannah Brandt had two goals in her first 14 games this season, but a two-goal performance, including the OT-winner, helped get Boston to a tie with Ottawa for fourth in the standings (technically, Boston is ahead of Ottawa because they have more regulation wins). Goaltending could be the difference in who secures the fourth playoff spot, which means Aerin Frankel and Emma Soderberg will have to step up in the final nine games of the season.
Tyler: What hurt Boston last week was that they had to travel to Toronto to face the hottest team in the league, and they were trailing before they even got settled into the game. If there is a team that I feel is one move away from being a contender, it’s Boston. They have some big-name players, and a solid duo in goal, but they need one more scoring weapon to help them compete with teams like Montreal and Toronto.
Before Boston heads to the Motor City on Saturday, they pay a visit to Minnesota on Wednesday.
6. New York
Record: 2-4-3-7, -4
Last Week: 5th (-1)
Hunter’s Rank: 6th
Tyler’s Rank: 6th
Hunter: Losers of five straight. Where do we go from here? New York came back from a 3-0 deficit against Montreal on Wednesday but couldn’t push it to an extra frame. On Sunday, Boston outshot New York 46-23 and secured the win in overtime. To put it in perspective, New York hasn’t had a regulation win since Jan. 20.
Corrine Schroeder might be the best goalie in hockey, as her .942 SV% and 1.98 GAA are the highest-ranked for starting goalies. Despite putting up MVP-caliber numbers, her teammates haven’t provided any offensive support, as New York hasn’t scored more than three goals in a game since Feb. 4. In a six-team league where two of them miss the playoffs, it feels like New York is solidifying its spot as one of those two teams.
Tyler: New York has to start picking up wins, not points, or else they are at risk of falling out of the playoff race. With just three games before the Women’s Worlds break, which sees them face Boston and Ottawa during that time, N.Y. has a great opportunity to do that. I believe they have the weapons to get into the postseason, but if their big guns do not step up in their final nine games, they will be looking at a nice draft position this offseason.
But hey, at least Elizabeth Giguere finally scored!
New York visits Minnesota for their lone game of the week on Saturday.