Montreal chose Ottawa as their opening round playoff opponent as the first overall team takes on the third seed.

The two teams played several close games this season with Montreal winning the season series 4-2, although both of Ottawa's wins came in their final two games of the year. 

The two teams open their 2025 PWHL playoff series May 8 at Place Bell in Montreal.

Comparing The Offense

Ottawa scored the fewest goals in the league this season, and Montreal allowed the fewest. It's a combination that will be one to watch. Ottawa's offense can be explosive, but it has also sputtered at times this season. Tereza Vanisova, who was acquired in a trade between Montreal and Ottawa during year one topped Ottawa scorers this season with 15 goals and 22 points. Only two of her goals this season however, came against the Montreal Victoire. Beyond Vanisova, Emily Clark was the only other Ottawa player to crack the top 20 in league scoring with 19 points in 30 games. They did get late season contributions from Brianne Jenner, Gabbie Hughes, and Shiann Darkangelo providing a solid boost of secondary scoring.

Montreal leaned heavily on their top line of Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, and Jennifer Gardiner this season. Last year Montreal made the mistake of playing their top line almost exclusively in the playoffs burning them out and falling in three games to Boston. Don't expect Kori Cheverie to make that fatal error again, but it would not be surprising to see her top line get the lions share of offensive starts. Poulin led the PWHL in goals with 19, while Stacey and Gardiner were both top 20 scorers. Abby Boreen was Montreal's next scorer, but there are some questions about whether their depth can produce offense in the postseason. 

In terms of generating offense from the blueline, both teams have contributors with Ottawa's Jincy Roese, Ronja Savolainen and Aneta Tejralova as their top producers, while Montreal boasts Cayla Barnes, Erin Ambrose, and Anna Wilgren.

On The Defensive Side Of The Puck

The goaltending match up looks like it will be Ottawa's Gwyneth Philips against Montreal's Ann-Renee Desbiens. Both have reputations as big game goalies. Desbiens has the obvious advantage of experience, and was consistently one of the PWHL's best goaltenders from start to finish this year. She's a leading candidate for the PWHL's Goaltender of the Year Award and could be a difference maker. Philips however, is riding the high of a World Championship gold medal and then backstopping the Charge into their first PWHL playoff appearance. She fights hard for pucks and stays calm.

Defensively, Jocelyne Larocque has been excellent for Ottawa after settling in following the early season trade bringing her to Ottawa. Ronja Savolainen has improved for Ottawa as the season's gone on as well, filling out their top four with Aneta Tejralova and Ashton Bell. Ottawa has been sloppy coming out of their own zone and can be turnover prone. It's something they'll need to be intentional about. Montreal has an unheralded blueline that extends beyond the obvious duo of Barnes and Ambrose. Kati Tabin, Mariah Keopple, Anna Wilgren, Amanda Boulier, Dominika Laskova, and even reserve Kelly Ann Nadeau have put in quality minutes for the team.

What will be the x-factors?

First, Ottawa needs to play Montreal five-on-five. Ottawa was by far the most penalized team in the PWHL this season and subsequently allowed the most goals against while shorthanded. It's not a luxury Ottawa can provide Montreal's top unit. At the same time, Ottawa will need to fervently defend their net front keeping Montreal's forwards clear of Gwyneth Philips. While Philips is highly capable of backstopping Ottawa through the PWHL playoffs, an injury to her, or the mental wear and tear of being poked at and bumped could be a factor.

On the Montreal side of the puck, it's bench management. Last year Montreal's top five played marathon games of more than 50 minutes on ice in a single contest. They left more than a line of players cold on their bench and it backfired. The team bolstered their blueline depth which will take that load away from Ambrose and Tabin alone, with Barnes and others capable of eating minutes. Up front, Cheverie will need to trust that other players like Boreen, Lina Ljungblom, Maureen Murphy, Catherine Dubois, and Claire Dalton will need to come through. Montreal could really use Kristin O'Neill to refind her game this postseason as well. If Montreal leans too heavily on one line, it won't end well.