Tuesday’s Toronto–Montreal contest illustrated the strategy behind the PWHL shootout — and why teams keep turning to their most reliable scorers.
When a PWHL game reaches a shootout, the spotlight shifts quickly from systems and structure to instinct and trust.
Tuesday night’s Toronto–Montréal matchup showed how those decisions play out in real time.
The shootout stretched into extra rounds before Montreal secured a 4–3 victory on Marie-Philip Poulin’s winner. The sequence produced seven goals, a new PWHL record, and marked the first time a team has scored four times in a single shootout.
As the rounds extended, to no one's surprise, Montreal's approach was: when in doubt, go back to Poulin.
The Victoire captain had three attempts in the shootout, scoring twice — including the deciding goal — underscoring the trust the team places in its most reliable finisher.
When asked about the decision-making process for the shootout, head coach Kori Cheverie initially joked the question might be better directed at her captain.
“Maybe talk to Pou?” Cheverie said with a laugh. Then she gave a more direct answer, pointing toward Poulin.
“You know which players are going to automatically score.”
Beyond that obvious option, Cheverie said the choices often come down to confidence and feel in the moment.
“It’s also who’s having a good night, who might be feeling a little bit more confident,” she said.
That thinking also led Montréal to turn twice to Abby Roque, who has strong numbers in the shootout, and Natálie Mlýnková, who had a noticeable presence during the game.
“We kind of have a group of players that we’re going to go to,” Cheverie said. “And then honestly it’s just a feeling of who might be able to put it in.”
On the other side, Toronto head coach Troy Ryan described a slightly more structured approach. He said he has recently spent more time studying shootout strategy as the season moves into its stretch drive.
“I kind of dove into it a lot more than I normally do,” Ryan said. “I’ve put together more of a shootout plan — who we want to go to.”
Ryan said those plans have to remain flexible.
“You go through a shootout plan with a clear head,” he said. “But it’s important to have that plan going into it and be willing to adjust based on what may potentially happen in the game.”
Toronto sent out a mix of shooters including regulars like Natalie Spooner (who was stopped) and Daryl Watts (scored once, stopped once). Emma Woods and Maggie Connors both scored before the shootout went to the additional round.
“Using Woods is probably not as popular a decision — some people may not expect Woods to go, some people may not expect Connors to go,” Ryan said. “But when we work on it in practice, they’re the ones that execute it with the most confidence.”
For the Sceptres, the loss continued a difficult pattern beyond regulation this season. Toronto has dropped shootouts to both Seattle and Montreal and also lost an overtime decision to Ottawa.
On Tuesday, however, the final moment belonged to the player Montreal trusts most in those situations, Marie-Philip Poulin — and their captain delivered.
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