All 3 Canadian teams go into PWHL break in playoff positions

It was a small much than a week agone that the Ottawa Charge collapsed successful the 3rd period, surrendering six unanswered goals to the New York Sirens.

Speaking to CBC Sports a fewer days ago, Charge GM Mike Hirshfeld had a wide message: No substance what radical thought aft the New York loss, his squad inactive had a accidental to marque the playoffs. They were precise overmuch successful the race.

What a quality a week tin make. Ottawa has earned six invaluable standings points after back-to-back regularisation wins implicit the Boston Fleet. Rookie goaltender Gwyneth Philips, who gave up 5 against New York, allowed lone 1 extremity implicit 2 games against Boston.

The Charge went into the 3rd play connected Wednesday with a three-goal lead, but it was a antithetic communicative than the illness against New York. The Charge matched the Fleet's physicality to clasp the squad disconnected the scoreboard.

The regulations wins person propelled Ottawa into the 4th and last PWHL playoff spot heading into the planetary break. The league is paused until April 26 portion players vie successful the women's satellite championship, which begins adjacent week successful the Czech Republic.

Wednesday's triumph was, arsenic caput manager Carla MacLeod told players successful the dressing country aft the game, "a hellhole of an effort." 

She told players to vessel up that vigor and momentum to support it with them erstwhile the Charge travel backmost from the break.

"We've got to commencement with [that momentum]," MacLeod said aft the game. "That's going to beryllium the situation for us. It's not mislaid connected us, but that's the mission."

All 3 Canadian teams beryllium successful playoff spots heading into the break, with the Montreal Victoire the lone squad successful the league that has clinched its spot.

No squad has been mathematically eliminated yet, though it's looking little apt that the Sirens volition beryllium capable to ascent retired of past spot and into the playoffs. New York is six points retired of the last playoff spot.

A agelong break

Only 2 points abstracted the fifth-place Minnesota Frost and third-place Boston Fleet, which volition marque for an absorbing agelong tally aft the break. Each squad volition person lone 3 games near to play earlier the Walter Cup playoffs begin.

"We person to beryllium better," Fleet caput manager Courtney Kessel said aft Wednesday's loss. "Took our ft disconnected the pedal here, reasoning we're successful playoffs and we're not. So present it's a race."

Last season, the world-championship interruption was a monolithic reset for Montreal, which entered having mislaid 4 successful a row. Several Canadian players came backmost with golden medals and a boost of confidence.

On the flip side, Minnesota, and respective American players who mislaid successful the last astatine the satellite championship, struggled aft the break. Minnesota hardly made the playoffs aft losing 5 successful a row.

How teams travel backmost unneurotic aft 3 weeks isolated volition find who is playing for the Walter Cup successful May, and who's connected the extracurricular looking in.

WATCH | Mic'd Up with New York Sirens defender Jaime Bourbonnais:

The interruption has been portion of the PWHL's docket for the archetypal 2 seasons of the league, but it whitethorn not beryllium that mode forever.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) confirmed to The Canadian Press that it's discussing the timing of the satellite championships and the PWHL season, but didn't supply further details.

"That would marque sense, honestly, to not marque a interruption successful our season," Victoire and Team Canada skipper Marie-Philip Poulin told The Canadian Press. "It's a agelong 3 weeks for the PWHL to beryllium connected break."

Deadline acquisitions paying dividends

Ottawa's archetypal triumph implicit Boston was acknowledgment to 2 speedy goals from Tereza Vanišová, who Hirshfeld acquired astatine past year's commercialized deadline. Hirshfeld and MacLeod, who also coaches Vanišová connected the Czech nationalist team, saw a top-six subordinate with velocity and violative ability. 

That's precisely what she's brought this season. Vanišová is tied for 2nd successful PWHL extremity scoring with Boston skipper Hilary Knight (15 goals).

"This is the subordinate we expected erstwhile we made the commercialized past year," Hirshfeld said a fewer days ago.

That aforesaid deadline, Hirshfeld sent instrumentality favourite Lexie Adzija to Boston successful speech for Shiann Darkangelo. The GM faced questions astir the commercialized astatine the time, but stressed that Darkangelo could beryllium a dependable beingness down the middle. She could assistance the squad adjacent retired games.

Darkangelo besides has a winning pedigree, having won 2 championships successful the shuttered Premier Hockey Federation, including 1 skipper of the Toronto Six successful the league's last season.

In the past month, she teamed up with Vanišová and skipper Brianne Jenner connected the 2nd line. It was Darkangelo's chapeau instrumentality that sealed the woody implicit Boston connected Wednesday.

It has taken immoderate time, but some 2024 deadline deals person paid disconnected for Hirshfeld.

WATCH | Darkangelo's chapeau instrumentality powers Ottawa to 4-0 triumph implicit Boston Fleet: 

One origin that could assistance the Charge, should it extremity up successful a necktie for a playoff spot astatine the extremity of the regular season: The squad has built a cushion of regularisation wins, which is the apical tiebreaker erstwhile teams person played an adjacent fig of games.

The MVP lawsuit for Renata Fast

Ottawa's triumph besides prevented the second-place Toronto Sceptres from clinching a playoff spot earlier the break.

The Sceptres person climbed retired of the basement acknowledgment to a unsafe powerfulness play and much reliable goaltending from Kristen Campbell.

Digging deeper into that powerfulness play, overmuch of the question starts connected the bluish enactment with Renata Fast distributing the puck. She has much powerfulness play assists (11) than immoderate different subordinate this season.

She besides leads the league successful hits (58) and is tied for 3rd successful shots blocked (48), according to the league's stats. It's hard to reason against Fast arsenic a campaigner for the league's MVP honours this season.

The Sceptres yet person a steadfast roster for the archetypal clip this season, thing Toronto fans volition anticipation holds done the satellite title tournament. Fourteen Sceptres players volition correspond their countries, including 8 connected Team Canada.

Every subordinate of Toronto's apical power-play portion was acceptable to play for Canada astatine worlds earlier the IIHF deemed Hannah Miller ineligible. She was replaced with Julia Gosling, who has besides spent clip connected Toronto's apical portion astatine points this season.

'We request to people goals'

The Victoire spell into the interruption with the comfortableness of a playoff spot secured. But there's a lot to amended heading into the regular-season finale. 

Montreal has won conscionable 1 crippled successful regularisation since the opening of March. The past game, a 1-0 nonaccomplishment to the New York Sirens, saw the squad enactment up lone 16 shots, and precise fewer from unsafe areas.

"We request to people goals," Victoire caput manager Kori Cheverie said aft Tuesday's nonaccomplishment to New York.

Much of the offence among the forwards has travel from Poulin, Laura Stacey and Jennifer Gardiner. Cheverie has juggled the lines, presumably to effort to find a scoring spark among different players. It hasn't rather worked yet.

"At the extremity of the day, the players person a large accidental to instrumentality a spot, to tally with it," Cheverie said. "And they're not."

Another post-worlds bump successful violative accumulation and confidence, similar the 1 immoderate of the team's apical players experienced past year, could beryllium conscionable what the Victoire need.

One agleam spot has been Elaine Chuli, who has been a coagulated fill-in for injured starter, Ann-Renée Desbiens. Chuli has allowed lone 4 goals implicit the past 4 games.

Defender Erin Ambrose credited Chuli for keeping her squad successful the crippled implicit New York, particularly during a 2nd play erstwhile Montreal was outshot 15-5.

"The large saves aft large saves that Chuli's making, that's what a goalie needs to bash and she's been doing that for us," Ambrose said. "She gave america a accidental to beryllium successful that game."

The PWHL is backmost connected April 26, erstwhile the Victoire volition sojourn Ottawa astatine TD Place, and the Boston Fleet volition big the Toronto Sceptres.