Despite Poulin’s two-goal effort and Desbiens’ 36 saves, Montreal drops a 4-3 shootout loss to Toronto.
Despite Poulin’s two-goal effort and Desbiens’ 36 saves, Montreal drops a 4-3 shootout loss to Toronto.
A heroic two-goal game by captain Marie-Philip Poulin paired with a 36-save performance from goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens was not enough to secure Montreal the victory on Saturday, as they dropped a 4-3 shootout loss to Toronto in their first meeting of the PWHL season.
For a second consecutive time, tickets sold out at the Verdun Auditorium with 3232 in attendance. Fans from both teams came in numbers, cheering and booing after each and every play.
Montreal fed off the intensity early on, as forward Sarah Bujold located a rebound and lifted it over Kristen Campbell's glove to open the scoring midway into the first period. The goal was the first of the 27-year-old’s PWHL career.
Montreal held the one-goal lead going into the first intermission thanks to Desbiens, who made three back-to-back saves at the end of the period. A turnover by Montreal forced Desbiens to sprawl out and deny forwards Natalie Spooner and Sarah Nurse, losing her stick in the process.
“At the end of the day, it’s about trying to keep the puck out of the net, and I’m someone who’s very competitive,” Desbiens said in French. “I wasn’t going to give them a chance just because I didn’t have a stick.”
Defender Jocelyne Larocque leveled the score for Toronto in the early stage of the second period, but Montreal regained momentum minutes later with Poulin’s breakaway goal at 8:20, showcasing a head fake and a lethal wrist shot.
Third period goals by Spooner and Maggie Connors put Toronto ahead with just under two minutes remaining. However, there is no such thing as a safe lead in hockey, notably when facing Canada’s top clutch threat.
With less than 20 seconds to go, Poulin gathered the puck from defender Erin Ambrose before bursting past Toronto’s defence and slipping it by Campbell to force overtime. After the game, Ambrose shared high praise for her teammate.
“I honestly just shook my head,” Ambrose said of Poulin’s game-tying goal. “The girl is just built different beyond belief. Marie-Philip Poulin is, I would say, the greatest female hockey player to ever play this game.”
Overtime highlighted Montreal’s power play struggles, as the top unit with Poulin and Ambrose failed to establish offensive zone time. The power play has now gone 1-for-16 after the first quarter of the season, converting on 6.25 per cent of their chances.
“It’s something that takes time,” Ambrose said. “I think we’re kind of building from the ground up, and it’s something I do think is going to start to turn around eventually.”
Despite Poulin scoring one of four shootout attempts, defender Lauriane Rougeau emerged as the hero, winning it for Toronto in the sixth round on her return home.
“I think we stole a point tonight,” Ambrose said. “When you have the best goalie in the world and the best player in the world, you’re going to have a chance to win every single night, but it’s also not fair to put that on [Desbiens], to put that on [Poulin] every game.”
Looking ahead, Montreal aims to reset and rebound in their upcoming game against Minnesota at the Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.