Minnesota Looks To Hold First Overall

Minnesota and Montreal will face-off tonight. A regulation win for Montreal would leap frog them into first overall. A win from Minnesota would keep the top seeded team in atop the standings.

After a week-long hiatus, PWHL Minnesota (4-0-1-0) is back in action as Marie-Philip Poulin and PWHL Montreal (3-1-1-1) enter the Xcel Energy Center for the second time this season.

The PWHL's top two teams in the standings face off again, with Minnesota still yet to lose in regulation. Montreal's sole regulation loss happened on Jan. 6 at the hands of Minnesota. Minnesota's 3-0 victory came off the back of a 24-save shutout by Maddie Rooney and a hat-trick performance from Grace Zumwinkle.

Should Montreal defeat Minnesota in regulation, they will overtake them atop the standings in points. As of now, they have 12 and 10, respectively.

A surprising storyline from the PWHL's first few weeks is Montreal and Minnesota's lack of success on the power play. Both teams possess otherworldly talent—Zumwinkle, Taylor Heise, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and co. on Minnesota, while Poulin, Erin Ambrose, and Maureen Murphy, among many, headline Montreal's attack.

Despite having some of the best hockey players in the world, their power play percentages—Minnesota's 9.1 and Montreal's 5.0—sit fourth and sixth, respectively.

Minnesota's single goal on the power play is one of the very few stains on what is a tremendous start to their season. Montreal also has just one player advantage goal, but a league-high 20 power-play opportunities make their results much more surprising. However, their lack of special team success extends to their penalty kills.

Montreal's 85.7% penalty kill percentage sits second-worst in the PWHL and worst among teams not named Minnesota, who is at 71.4%.

The two top teams in the PWHL face off Wednesday night—both boast some of the world's best talent, both have a struggling power play, and both have a prime opportunity for their power plays to explode for goals. Especially for Montreal, as five-on-five goals may be challenging to come by.

No team has given up fewer goals at five-on-five than Minnesota. Minnesota has only relinquished three five-on-five goals and four at even-strength.

Their combination of impeccable goaltending from Nicole Hensley and Maddie Rooney—who boast a .946 and .943 save percentage, respectively— and a suffocating defensive structure spearheaded by the duo of Lee Stecklein and Maggie Flaherty makes it nearly impossible for opposing teams to find success at five-on-five.

In contrast, Montreal leads the PWHL in five-on-five and even strength markers. They have scored 12 five-on-five goals, 15 of which have come at even strength. Amid their aforementioned power play struggles, by the stats, it appears Montreal is the best scoring team when special teams aren't factored into the equation.

If Minnesota can neutralize Montreal's five-on-five attack, special teams will take on a larger role in tonight's match.

Maureen Murphy has five assists on the season and is tied for the league lead. Five other players are matching Murphy's assist totals, including her linemate, Tereza Vanišová.

However, despite Murphy's high assist totals, she has yet to find her first goal of the season. Only two players on Montreal's roster have more than one marker on the season—Poulin (6) and Laura Stacey (2). Her linemate, Vanišová, is in a similar boat, also unable to find the back of the net six games into her PWHL career.

Watch for Murphy to continue bringing her excellent playmaking ability while she looks for her first goal.

Susanna Tapani looks to extend her point streak to three games as Montreal comes to town. The Finnish forward is coming off arguably her best PWHL game to date, notching two goals, including the overtime winner, while winning 50% of her draws against Ottawa last Wednesday.

Tapani got two assists the last time Montreal and Minnesota played each other. Both helpers came on two of Zumwinkle's three goals in the contest. She will look to find similar success tonight as the two teams square off once again.

Minnesota kicks off their first of three games in five days against a formidable foe in Montreal. Watch the game on Bally Sports North Extra, or stream it on YouTube, TSN+, or TOU.TV. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. CST, 8:00 p.m. EST.