It’s really hard to score in the PWHL, and in the playoffs, it’s even harder.
Every game except for two this postseason have been decided by just one goal.
The first two games of the Walter Cup final between the Ottawa Charge and Montreal Victoire required overtime. The third game looked to be headed there, too, until Ottawa forward Rebecca Leslie’s game-winning goal came with just 56 seconds left on the clock.
That’s by design. The league and all of its teams are owned by one entity. When the league was created, the goal was for every team to have the same resources and the same chance of winning on any given night.
It means you aren’t seeing 8-3 or even 4-1 games, like we’ve seen in the NHL playoffs.
“It’s just created an incredible environment,” Charge head coach Carla MacLeod said after her team’s win on Monday night. “My hair is maybe a little greyer than other days, but in the same breath, I wouldn’t trade it. This is what you want. This is how you grow the game and man, the product is unbelievable.”
Rebecca Leslie scores her first game-winning playoff goal with just 56 seconds left to down Montreal. The Charge force a PWHL final Game 4 with the 2-1 win.
It means teams need to focus on managing the last few minutes of a game, knowing that any lead is likely to be a slim one.
It’s something the Montreal Victoire will look to improve on Wednesday, when the team has another chance to win a championship. Montreal leads the best-of-five Walter Cup final series against Ottawa, 2-1.
The Victoire opened the scoring in the third period of Monday’s Game 3, but couldn’t hold the lead. Ottawa seized the momentum in front of a playoff-record crowd of nearly 17,000 fans, and scored two unanswered goals in the final five minutes of the game.
“I think both teams are desperate to find a way to come out with the win,” Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie said. “The game is never going to be won or lost in the first period, and I think that’s something everybody needs to realize as well. It’s a long game. It’s a chess match. It’s establishing your game plan and trying to establish it before the other team.”
Game 4 will return to Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET. If necessary, Game 5 will be back in Laval, Que. on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Rebecca Leslie scored with 56 seconds left as the Ottawa Charge beat the Montreal Victoire 2-1 on Monday to stay alive in the PWHL Walter Cup final. Montreal still leads the best-of-five championship series 2-1, with Game 4 set for Wednesday in Ottawa.
“It all comes down to the details and habits,” Cheverie said. “It’s a puck that maybe doesn’t go in or just skips over the blue line. It’s a puck that doesn’t get below the goal line. It’s an over-pursue in the [defensive] zone. It’s a matter of inches. So when you look at it that way, it’s less about what needs to change and more about where does your focus or your attention need to be.”
No power-play goals
One area of focus for both teams going into Game 4 is the power play. Neither team has scored with the player advantage yet in the Walter Cup final.
It’s not due to lack of opportunity. Each team has had seven power play chances over the series, so far. With goals so hard to come by in this league, they are golden opportunities.
Ottawa might have had the best chance in Game 3 with a lengthy five-on-three advantage, but the team couldn’t capitalize.
“Special teams become such an important component when games are this tight,” MacLeod said. “Our power play, we’re still doing video, we’re still trying to find ways to get through and get that goal that could make a difference.”
Asked on Tuesday if she was concerned about her team’s power play, Cheverie had a short answer.
“Nope,” she said.
You can also credit strong goaltending on both sides. Shot blocking helps, too.
Nicole Gosling, a rookie defender on the Victoire, leads all players with blocks in the playoffs (16 in eight games).
Players to watch
There were several good chances in Monday’s loss for Montreal captain, Marie-Philip Poulin, who seemed especially dialed in with the chance to win her first Walter Cup.
Poulin led all skaters with seven shots on net. She played 18:42, her highest ice time in a game that’s ended in regulation dating back to January.
The captain leads all skaters with seven points in eight playoff games, despite a lingering injury that has left her looking to be in pain at times.
Sometimes it’s been a big goal for Poulin, like her two game-winning tallies in the series against Minnesota. Other times, it’s a no-look pass to set up a teammate for success.
On the Charge, forward Emily Clark seemed to be everywhere on the ice during Game 3.
Her name didn’t make it to the scoresheet, but Clark’s forechecking played a big role in the game-tying goal from rookie, Peyton Hemp, in the third period.
“She’s always going to be all-in for our crew, and she has been every game she’s played here in Ottawa for us,” MacLeod said about the alternate captain.
That kind of relentless, desperate play will need to continue for Ottawa to have a shot at forcing a deciding Game 5.
Another thing the Charge rely on? A little bit of belief, both from their coach and in each other.
“We had belief we were going to win that game, however it was going to look,” Clark said the day after her team’s big win.
Expansion creating more roster spots
On Tuesday morning, several Ottawa Charge players were on the ice at Canadian Tire Centre for an optional skate. That included several reserve players, as well as the Charge’s second and third goaltenders.
They’re players who may not get the opportunity to touch the ice during the playoffs, but who still work hard every day in case the opportunity comes knocking.
CBC Sports insider Karissa Donkin sets the scene for the Walter Cup final in Montreal and gives her insight on the PWHL expansion decisions.
There’s no development league for female hockey players in North America, like the NHL has the AHL.
If a player doesn’t make a PWHL team, there are few options available for them, They can look for a spot in Europe. Or they could try to get a spot as a reserve player with a PWHL team, where the number of games you play is dependent on other players’ health.
The league doesn’t feel it’s feasible to create an entire new minor league system at this point, so PWHL expansion also serves as a way to continue developing talent. Four new teams next season — San Jose was the announced as the latest expansion team on Tuesday — means more than 90 more jobs for players, in addition to all the other roles that come with running professional hockey teams.
For players like Kendra Woodland, who has only seen game action once as the Charge’s third goaltender, it’s an exciting sign of growth in women’s hockey. It’s also opportunity for the University of New Brunswick alum.
“I absolutely love the Charge,” she said. “I bleed Charge. But I think having 12 more goalie spots is really good for this league. For girls like myself that already have our foot in the door, it’s a little bit more promising for us to be able to stay here and have a job at the end of the day.”
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