Sarah Nurse has been on fire offensively in recent games, but as Jordan Jacklin breaks down, her offensive increase is coming through Nurse's two-way defensive awareness.
Sarah Nurse has been on fire offensively in recent games, but as Jordan Jacklin breaks down, her offensive increase is coming through Nurse's two-way defensive awareness.
In front of 21,105 fans at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Sarah Nurse scored twice, including the overtime winner, to propel Toronto to a 3-2 win. The Hamilton native was centering a line with Maggie Connors and Emma Maltais, as Toronto head coach Troy Ryan put them together a new combination. This week against New York, she scored her first hat trick in the PWHL.
In Montreal, Nurse played 21:58 TOI, with 13:07 coming at even strength, where her line primarily matched up against the Marie-Philip Poulin unit.
By the end of the game, Nurse completed 8 passes on 9 attempts at 5v5, showcasing that Montreal made it difficult for her line to make passes through the neutral zone. Often, the first forward was forced to dump the puck in, and forecheck after the puck to retrieve it.
With the lack of possession, Montreal’s forecheck forced defensive zone turnovers, but it was the stellar play of Toronto goaltender Kristen Campbell to keep the game close early on.
Montreal outshot the Nurse line 12-9 at 5v5, along with 21-14 shot attempts, but they settled into the game as it progressed. With 14:32 left in the second period, Sarah Lefort transitioned the puck with her straight-line speed and side-stepped Jocelyne Larocque to get the puck into the corner. Nurse realized that her defender needed support, engaged Lerfort in the corner, and used her stick to generate a takeaway.
As a center, the responsibilities include playing down low in the defensive zone and providing support. Nurse helped Renata Fast with 5:29 left in the second period, when she was pressured down low by two Montreal forwards, and needed support. Nurse retrieved the puck after Fast and Kristin O’Neill fell onto the ice, skated around Poulin’s poke check, and launched a saucer pass into the neutral zone with Connors moving in that direction.
Nurse won 50% of her face-offs in this game, but when she lost, she recovered quickly. With 4:22 remaining in the second period, she lost a defensive zone face-off against Poulin, but immediately had her head up to find the puck. Laura Stacey set up for a wrist shot, but Nurse blocked the attempt at the slot, and launched the puck into the neutral zone.
Nurse had four successful stick checks, along with two takeaways at even strength, and it was her commitment to defense that limited the Poulin line offensively.
As her line began to maintain puck possession, they played to their strengths and generated chances off the rush. Nuse had three controlled zone entries, and her deceptive skating led to an increase in Toronto's scoring chances during the second half of the game. The Nurse line generated four high danger shot attempts in the second period alone.
On Nurse’s first goal of the matchup, she won the face-off, and put herself into a scoring position in the slot. As she noticed that the puck was passed back to Allie Munroe, she pivoted to separate herself from O’Neill, and scored on the redirection. The goal was scored with 19:20 remaining in the second period, and the trio continued to pressure the Montreal defense.
With 6:25 left in the second period, Nurse retrieved the puck in the neutral zone and created the controlled zone entry. With her head up during the entire sequence, she noticed that half of the Toronto players were changing, with only Connors providing offensive support. To sustain offensive pressure, Nurse skated through the middle of the ice and cut back to draw three Montreal players on her. She launched a backhand pass to Maltais, who fed Connors for a high danger scoring attempt that narrowly missed the net.
The unit continued to generate momentum in transition, and the chemistry began to develop. With 1:47 left in the second period, Nurse and Connors stopped at the blue line to remain onside as Maltais accelerated into the offensive zone. Montreal’s Sarah Bujold was caught puck-watching in this sequence to allow Nurse to sneak past Erin Ambrose. This set up a 2-on-1 where Nurse shot glove side on Ann-Renée Desbiens, who made the impressive save.
Nurse finished the game with two goals on a team-high seven shots, with three coming at 5v5, and the remaining four on the powerplay. Toronto’s powerplay is structured with a 1-3-1 setup, which plays to the center’s strengths. Her position on the ice is to the left of the offensive zone, at the half-wall, where she can retrieve the puck on her forehand, providing her multiple options for setting up plays. She can cleanly shoot the puck on the net, set a shot pass to Connors or Maltais to redirect, or send a cross-ice feed to Victoria Bach for the one-timer.
Sarah Nurse brought out her best for Toronto, as they clinched a playoff spot with the victory in front of the largest crowd in women’s hockey history. The 29-year-old continues to show why she is one of the best players in the sport on a nightly basis.