League success exceeding expectations

Through a wildly entertaining first 19 games for each of its six member clubs, the PWHL has exceeded expectations on every level.

From attendance to social media interactions to level of play and style of play, the hits came one after another in the first three months of league play.

At this point it’s still too close to say which team looks best situated to take home the first-ever PWHL Championship, but there has been some separation in the ranks through the first 114 games played.

FROM A TEAM STANDPOINT

After a slow start, PWHL Toronto found its rhythm and reeled off a ridiculous 11-game winning streak that came to an end in Ottawa just before the break.

That stretch allowed Toronto to take over sole possession of first in the league, though its lead remains very tenuous.

Minnesota, a team that was strong out of the gate and then took a step back when its best player, Taylor Heise, was out for a month with an injury she suffered during Rivalry Series play with Team USA, is right there with Toronto, sitting just three points back.

The only other team that came close to the success Toronto and Minnesota enjoyed was Montreal, though it missed its own leading scorer, Marie-philip Poulin, for the four games before the break and fell off a little because of that.

Ottawa would appear to have the inside track on the fourth and final playoff spot following some bold moves at the trade deadline that led to a strong push going into the break.

Ottawa celebrated three regulation wins aat thnd an overtime loss in its final four games before the break bringing them within four points of third-place Montreal and giving them a five-point edge on fifth-place Boston.

Again, because the league scoring allows for three points for a regulation win very little has been settled, but a separation from the top three to the bottom three is visible.

Ottawa picked up both Tereza Vanisova and Shiann Darkangelo at the trade deadline which has given them a second scoring line and added veteran presence in the locker room.

At this point Minnesota probably has the edge in their trade with Boston which saw Sophie Jaques head to Minnesota and Suzanna Tapani and Abby Cook move to Boston.

TOP DEFENSIVE TEAM

Through 19 games, this is a two-horse race between Toronto and Minnesota with the team from the south coming out just ahead at this point in the year.

Backed by the strongest tandem goalie duo in the league in Nicole Hensley and Maddie Rooney, and a defence that got a boost via the trade market with the arrival of Sophie Jacques, Minnesota has allowed just 35 goals against this year, or four fewer than the next-best team, which is Toronto.

Hensley and Rooney have split the duties almost evenly (Hensley with 11 starts, Rooney with eight) and both stand with sub-2.00 goals against averages and at least at the .925 save percentage mark.

Toronto’s Kristen Campbell leads all goalies with 12 wins and three shutouts in addition to being the toughest to score on in a shootout, having allowed just one goal in 10 attempts.

Strictly from a blue-line perspective, Toronto probably holds an edge with the top international tandem in the game in Renata Fast and Jocelyne Larocque in the fold to say nothing of the puckmoving skills of Kali Flanagan and the intimidating presence of Yarmouth's Allie Munro, who is one of the toughest players in the league to play against.

Minnesota relies heavily on Lee Stecklein (27 1/2 minutes a night) with the newcomer Jacques and Natalie Buchbinder also playing big minutes.

And no defensive list would be complete without mention of Megan Keller, who has been a rock in Boston.

TOP OFFENSIVE PRODUCERS

Toronto’s Natalie Spooner caught fire in the eighth game of the season and really hasn’t slowed down since. Spooner leads the league in points with 20 and goals with 15, and has been unstoppable when she gets near the blue paint.

Injuries have held a couple of PWHL stars from keeping pace. Montreal’s Poulin still sits third in scoring with 17 points despite, as mentioned, missing those four games with a lower body injury.

Minnesota’s Heise came out guns blazing until an injury cost her a month of the season.

Hot on Spooner’s heals and equally as healthy is New York’s Alex Carpenter, who has 19 points including eight goals.

Ottawa’s Katerina Mrazova is up there, too, with 17 points including six goals.