The New York Sirens were in the playoff picture, but as the 2025-26 PWHL season passes their midway point, their current losing skid has the team sitting at a crossroad with alarm bells sounding.
The New York Sirens have clearly reached a crossroads in this 2025-26 PWHL season.
The team that roared back from a four-game losing streak in December to become the talk of women's pro hockey with a sensational turnaround is suddenly nowhere to be found.
Instead, it appears the misfortunes that the Sirens experienced earlier this season have come back to haunt them and that should set off alarm bells.
During the 2024-25 campaign, any hope for playoff contention was doomed by a nine-game losing streak that pretty much assured a second straight last-place finish in the PWHL standings.
Fast forward to this season.
When all seemed right with the world just over a month ago, and especially after a gritty victory in a PWHL Takeover Tour game against Montreal in Washington, D.C., New York's success has suddenly vanished and the team now finds itself on yet another four-game losing streak.
Three of those losses came before the Olympic Break, which presented an opportunity to right the ship and clean up the deficiencies leading to that streak. But a dismal first-period showing in last Thursday's 4-1 setback to the Victoire has brought more questions than answers.
During their winning ways in which they achieved four straight three-point results that catapulted them from six to 18 points, the Sirens were clicking on all cylinders. The check engine light is now glaring.
The Sirens hold the dubious distinction of being the first team in the PWHL this season to post two four-game losing streaks, previously dropping four straight from Dec. 3-21. But even more concerning than that stat is the downhill trajectory in terms of the Xs and Os on the ice and the fundamental execution in virtually all areas that was witnessed in the first 10 minutes of Thursday's game. New York looked nothing like the squad that held down second place in January.
Yes, the Sirens outshot Montreal, but the overall 60 minutes of play is what matters and the outcome on the scoreboard is more important than any positive in a statistical area. Any member of this Sirens' squad would confirm that fact.
This past Thursday, the Sirens left the Prudential Center crowd silent and in disbelief by giving up three goals within a very short span during the first 10 minutes of the game. With Ottawa's point on Friday night, New York sits only one point ahead of the Charge (24 to 23) for the final playoff spot with 13 games remaining.Ottawa could take over that last playoff spot from New York on Wednesday when the Charge hosts Seattle. The Sirens don't play again until Thursday when they welcome to Newark a Boston team that they have struggled against.
New York Head Coach Greg Fargo did not mince words concerning Thursday's Victoire game at what should have been a better effort coming off the Olympic Break.
"We've got to be ready to play," he said during the post-game press conference.
“I think [it was a] slow start ... there was that stretch there for six or seven minutes where we got away from some of our habits, and (Montreal was) able to capitalize on those looks that they got. It's unfortunate...”
Unfortunate? Yes, but not yet time to panic. There are 39 points still on the table and this New York team has shown before that they can switch into warrior mode and respond. It's a young and exciting team with the ability to surge back.
Having said that, the season is now into March and is rapidly approaching that homestretch turn. The Sirens need to make their move pretty soon.
OF NOTE: Casey O’Brien on Thursday scored her fifth goal this season and is now tied for first in rookie scoring alongside teammate Kristýna Kaltounková. O'Brien is riding a four-game point streak, a new career high. She leads all rookies with three power-play goals and now has points in nine of her last 11 contests. Sarah Fillier recorded the tenth assist of the season. The Olympic silver medalist, who tied for the league scoring lead as a rookie last season, sits second in team scoring (1G, 10A) and is one point shy of team co-leaders O’Brien and Kaltounková. Filly has seven assists in her last six games. Maja Nylén Persson has recorded assists in back-to-back games for the first time this season (2A) and has points in consecutive games for the third time in her PWHL career. The Swedish Olympian now has five points (1G, 4A) in 16 games. Her assist total matches her 2024–25 output, and she is one point shy of equaling her total points from last season, in 23 games played. Backup goalie Callie Shanahan made her second appearance this season, coming in for starter Kayle Osborne. Shanahan made her debut between the posts on Jan. 20.