Minnesota and Montreal Ready For Round Two

Minnesota and Montreal are set for their second match up of the PWHL season. Both teams have settled in, and are set to vie for important points.

On paper, the Jan. 24 matchup between Montreal and Minnesota is a rematch of the top two PWHL teams in the standings.

In reality, Minnesota is at home and has yet to lose in regulation this season, while Montreal is coming off a loss to a Toronto team due for a win; scratching, clawing and avoiding a waved-off goal to do so.

Here’s what to expect:

Shots on goal will be a statistic of interest. Montreal mustered 24 shots against Toronto, and in their first game against Minnesota as well. Against an average goaltender, this isn’t a low number, but against Nicole Hensley or Maddie Rooney—who tote .946/1.65 and .943/1.45 totals respectively—it will be a tall task to handle. If Rooney is positioned between the pipes, she’ll look for repeat success following her shutout versus Montreal in game one.

Montreal has additionally been plastered with 71 shots in their last two games, but Minnesota was held to just 18 in their last game against Ottawa. It’s important to note, however, that in the last 11 minutes of play in their first matchup, Montreal did not register a shot on goal against Minnesota.

Anne-Renée Desbiens stopped 19 of her 21 shots faced in game one, meaning that these two teams could very well display another low shot total affair. Against Toronto, Desbiens has stood on her head stopping 37 of the 39 shots on Saturday. Whether it’s her or Elaine Chuli, who stopped 30 of 32 shots against New York, a goaltending battle is set for round two.

This isn’t to say this game will be without offence. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

If you haven’t decided on an anytime goal scorer selection, Grace Zumwinkle is a safe bet. Not only is she second in the PWHL goals scored category, but three of those tallies came in game one against Montreal. Couple that with first-overall draft pick Taylor Heise’s ability to teleport to the front of the net with the puck on her stick and Montreal’s crease is due for heavy traffic.

Additionally, forward Susanna Tapani is on a point-per-game pace this season. She played the hero in the game against Ottawa, burying the OT winner for her second goal and fifth point.

While in the initial matchup, Montreal’s Marie-Philip Poulin was still vying for her first goal on the year, heading into game two, MPP leads the league in goals scored. In her last four games, she has tallied six goals.

While Maureen Murphy and Tereza Vanišovã have contributed five assists each, they have yet to find the back of the net. As of late, Montreal has scored enough goals to compete, but it has been Marie-Philip Poulin who has—as her nickname implies—performed well in clutch moments. Yet, the reliance on MPP in these moments can go stale. The shootout loss against Toronto emphasizes this, given that Poulin went one for four, with her final shot nonchalantly steered away by Kristen Campbell’s right pad.

Both teams have been heavily penalized this season. Looking at the top 20 players in penalty minutes, Montreal has five players on this list. Poulin, Vanišovã, Dominika Lãskovã, Catherina Daoust and Leah Lum have combined for 28 penalty minutes. Minnesota hasn’t faired much better with Lee Stcklein and Abby Cook combining for 16 penalty minutes between the two skaters.

What is interesting is that both teams have only tallied one goal on the power play this year—Daoust and Tapani—and Zumwinkle has the lone short handed marker for Minnesota. This means that if the arms go up, and the players are sent to the box, it will be interesting to see if the now settled in power play units can get their special teams going.