Three Keys: Ottawa And Montreal Ready For Round One
The Ottawa Charge and Montreal Victoire will drop the puck on round one of their PWHL playoff series tonight. The Victoire were the regular season champions choosing Ottawa as their opening round opponent.
While Montreal enters as the favorite, anything can happen in playoff hockey, and anything could happen, particularly depending on how these keys to the series play out.
1. Gold Medal Goaltending Rematch
On paper, Ann-Renee Desbiens is a leading candidate for the PWHL's Goaltender of the Year award, and has the international resume to make her an eventual Hall of Fame candidate. At the other end is PWHL rookie Gwyneth Philips, entering her first year in the league, first ever playoff game, but coming off a head-to-head win over Desbiens and Canada in overtime of the World Championship gold medal game.
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Goaltending will certainly be a key to this series. In particular, Ann-Renee Desbiens did miss time this season with injury, and Philips is the only active netminder for Ottawa who has played a game this season. Both are capable of big game performances and will need to be sharp. Could a hot goalie be the difference?
2. Discipline On Both Sides
Ottawa is the PWHL's most penalized team and it's not by a close margin. At times this year, it hurt the Charge. They need their best players, including the PWHL's penalty minutes leader Tereza Vanisova, on the ice. Luckily for Ottawa (and Montreal), this series will probably be decided 5-on-5 as the Charge and Victoire have the two worst power plays in the league. That doesn't mean penalties can't change momentum and provide spurts of offense. Both teams will need to remain disciplined, but the emphasis here is on Carla MacLeod getting her roster to play physical, but within the lines. Some of Ottawa's penalties recently have come following sloppy zone exits resulting in turnovers trapping tired groups, or causing players to reach after being out of position.
3. Top Line Trouble For Ottawa
If there's one key that will decide this series, it's how Ottawa manages to handle Montreal's top line of Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, and Jennifer Gardiner. No line in the PWHL scored more goals this season than the trio, and that's troublesome for Ottawa. The Charge will likely look to line match, but as the away team for the opening two games of the PWHL playoffs, it will be difficult. For Ottawa to match Montreal's attack, it will need to come from mismatches Ottawa can create with the players with offensive upside the have sprinkled lower in their lineup. At some point, Danielle Serdachny has to break out. And with a second line that often features Brianne Jenner and Tereza Vanisova, and Katerina Mrazova landing up and down the lineup, there are opportunities for Montreal to attack beyond their top unit. In fact, it's not unlikely Ottawa's top line ends up playing a checking role, and the offensive expectations gets shifted to their other groups. However they manage it, it's about Ottawa finding a way to combat Montreal's dynamic trio, and Montreal trying to find better match ups in the first games for that group.
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