PWHL Ottawa has yet to beat PWHL Montreal, but it will be a tough feat on the road against the PWHL's second place team.
PWHL Ottawa has yet to beat PWHL Montreal, but it will be a tough feat on the road against the PWHL's second place team.
After going 1-1 on the road against Boston, PWHL Ottawa will cap off their road trip against Montreal. In their third match against each other this season, Ottawa will look for their first win against the second placed team.
Last matchup: 2-1 OT Win for Montreal on January 27th
Despite outshooting Montreal 44-24 on the road in their last game against each other, Ottawa fell to Montreal in overtime on a Maureen Murphy goal. Hayley Scamurra was the lone goal scorer that game, tying the game up in the third period on the power play. Scamurra has scored in both of her games against Montreal, including the first goal in PWHL Ottawa history back on January 2nd. Ann-Renee Desbiens went 43/44 in the save department, stealing a win for Montreal on home ice.
PWHL Montreal
Arguably the leagues most consistent team, Montreal has never lost two or more games in a row this year. Their last game on Wednesday saw them fall 3-2 in the shootout against New York. Despite that loss, they have won four of their last six games. Montreal's special teams are middle of the road, sitting fourth in power play (7.7%) and penalty kill (88%). Despite winning four of their last six, their goal scoring has taken a dip as of late. After 16 goals in their first six games, they’ve followed up with ten in their last six. But due to solid goaltending and low event hockey, they’ve managed to stay near the top of the standings.
Player to watch: Marie-Philip Poulin
The face of the league, Poulin started off the season strong with seven points in her first six. Since then, though, she has just two assists. It’s no coincidence that the team’s drop in goals scored has followed suit. On home ice, watch to see how Poulin can snap her slump.
PWHL Ottawa
After snapping their five-game losing streak against Boston on Monday, Ottawa followed that up with a 3-1 loss in the same arena. In another game outshooting the opponent, they could only beat Aerin Frankel once on 30 shots. Beating Desbiens or Elaine Chuli will be no easy feat as they’ve combined for a .938 save percentage. Ottawa's power play continues to be strong at a league best 25%, but their penalty kill has slipped at 83.3%, which sits them fifth in the league.
Player to watch: Hayley Scamurra
Scamurra has gone pointless in her last four games but has been Ottawa’s most lethal shooter as the year has continued. Almost four shots on average per game, she has been able to find the back of the net twice against Montreal this year, both on the power play. Playing on the right wing with Emily Clark and Gabbie Hughes, the line has been Ottawa’s most dominant trio in recent games. As Montreal is a team that allows quite a few shots, look for Scamurra to put some rubber on the net.
In their last game of the road trip, Ottawa will look to go 2-1 on their longest stretch away from TD Place this year. The game will start at 2:30 EST, and will broadcast on Sportsnet+, Ici TOU.TV, Sportsnet Pittsburgh and will be live streamed on YouTube.