PWHL Best Bets: Minnesota becomes first team to win at home

The PWHL drops the puck Saturday afternoon with Montreal traveling to the Gopher state to take on Minnesota. Montreal is coming off a big win on the road in Ottawa and will look to continue their winning ways against a Minnesota team that is also coming off a big-win over Boston, who was the favourite to take home the championship.

It is sure to be an exciting matchup and if you are looking to get in on the action, here is our best bet for Saturday’s PWHL showdown in Minnesota. 

All betting odds listed are from Bet365 and are subject to change.

Montreal plays up offense facing tough Minnesota front-end

Montreal couldn’t catch a break with capitan Marie-Philip Poulin getting a penalty shot but skating away unsuccessful, then having forward Leah Lum get a bad delay of game penalty, which resulted in Ottawa’s first franchise goal. They couldn’t do much being on the penalty kill but did catch a break in the slot and responded just more than a minute later. 

They kept things even for some time before giving up a goal to Czech forward Katerina Mrázová early into the third and couldn't find a response until five minutes left in the game. They caught another huge break with forward Laura Stacey charging toward the net and taking a shot that deflects off Ottawa forward Becca Gilmore’s stick and goes far side on goalie Emerance Maschmeyer and tying the game. They then go on to win the game in overtime and secure their first franchise win on the road.

If Montreal wants to stay competitive in this one, they will need to put up more points and find ways to score like their slot chance that resulted in their first goal by Claire Dalton. It’ll be hard against a Minnesota team with a dynamic offense that beat a highly-touted Boston team. They will need to keep up or they will get caught when they are down again and struggle to keep up.

Minnesota keeps rolling in two-way game

It was surprising to see the pre-season favourite to win the Championship in Boston getting downed by Minnesota at home. It was certainly a tight game from start to finish with the PWHL having their third consecutive under game in total goals and their third consecutive game where the road team has come out victorious. This appears to be bad news for Minnesota as they look to defy the odds and be the first team in the league to win a home game. 

They will look to their offensive talent and chemistry with former Golden Gopher linemates Taylor Heise and Grace Zumwinkle, both getting on the board with goals. That still doesn't include efforts from Women’s hockey legend Kendall Coyne, who was in on Heise’s goal with an assist, and Finnish forward Susanna Tapani, who impressed during her time on the ice with Heise and Zumwinkle, culminating in two shots and a plus two rating on the night.

Their offense is loaded with talent but they walked away from their 3-2 win with only 16 shots on net during the contest. They will have to apply more pressure in this one against a Montreal team coming in with momentum after an uplifting overtime win. 

The team identity this season should look to be between the pipes with Boston struggling to get anything past second-round pick Nicole Hensley, who dominated with 33 saves and only a pair of goals against. If defenders Maggie Flaherty, Natalie Buchbinder and company can give even a half decent effort to stop opposing offenses then they can let Hensley take care of the rest.

Best Bet: Minnesota ML (+100)

I’m a little worried with the brief history of the league only seeing under bets hit so far. This league has shown to be tightly contested in almost every game with stellar defensive plays and goaltending efforts. The biggest thing keeping me away from suggesting a bet on the total is Minnesota’s Nicole Hensley who we mentioned can be a difference-maker like she was in their win over Boston and makes me question if Montreal can do much to get by her. I think Minnesota backs up their efforts from their first game and solidify themselves as one of the top two teams in the league.