Sarah Nurse pushed Toronto over the top at the Duel at the Top. She stepped up, as did Toronto's entire roster at the record setting game.
PWHL Toronto completed the season sweep of Montreal as they squeaked out a 3-2 overtime win in the Bell Centre Saturday afternoon.
Toronto’s win saw a two-goal performance by Sarah Nurse including the game-winner in overtime. The win clinches Toronto’s spot in the playoffs and keeps them atop the standings.
Here are key takeaways from the game.
Bodies To The Net
In this afternoon's matchup, Toronto took a new approach to creating offence after struggling to score in their last game against Boston.
From the drop of the puck, Toronto’s strategy was to get as many bodies in front of Ann-Renee Desbiens to block her vision as much as possible.
Tips by these bodies in front created most of Toronto’s offence as they won the battles against Montreal's defence just outside of the blue paint. Toronto's first goal from Turnbull in the opening frame came as she fired the puck through Desbiens as she couldn’t see past the screen set by Hannah Miller.
The net front presence would lead to more offensive production in the second as Sarah Nurse used her strong hand-eye coordination and tipped Allie Munroe’s shot from the blue line in the back of the net to put Toronto back on top.
They were able to do this because of their ability to control the puck for long periods on Montreal's end of the ice. This allows them to set up and create space for shots from the point as the defence tended to sag back towards the crease.
Final minutes cost them
Costly late-period goals kept Montreal in the game. In the first two periods of the game, Toronto seemed to lose focus in the final minute of the period, and Montreal took advantage.
Overall, Toronto did allow Montreal to find many open looks in the slot. This didn’t cost them until late in the first period when Sarah Bujold walked into the high slot with space and beat Campbell glove side to tie the game at one with just 19 seconds remaining in the period.
Similarly, in the final minutes of the second Montreal would be able to strike once again this time from Erin Ambrose who beat Campbell with a clean shot from the point with just 26 seconds left in the second period to tie things up at two.
Luckily Toronto was able to escape with the win but shutting down your opponent late is something this team will need to do to be in playoff form down the home stretch.
Toronto will end their three-game road stint next Sunday as they take on New York at 1 pm.