Finally, there was a playoff hockey game in Montreal (well Laval) last night and the Place Bell looked packed with excited fans who were ready and willing to cheer their team on. While there would be so much to say about this game, I will limit myself to three takeaways or we’ll be here until the next game on Saturday. Last night’s game ended 2-1 Boston in overtime.
It’s Not the Quantity, It’s the Quality
Montreal had a dominant first frame, the puck hardly left their sticks and they had 12 shots to Boston’s two. However, the more shots you take without scoring, the more confident the goaltender becomes. Aerin Frankel is already a great goaltender, she’s Team USA’s number 1 but, if you pump up her confidence as well, she becomes excellent in a hurry.
Last night, Montreal took a whopping 54 shots on Frankel’s net. Only one of them went in. Why? Simply because it’s not about the quantity of shots you take, it’s the quality of said shots. 100% of the time, shots aimed at the goaltender’s chest will not go in. It’s way too easy for the goalkeepers to smother the puck. So, not only do you have no chance of scoring, but you’ve also got no chance of getting a rebound.
In a league with six teams and only 18 goaltenders, you can be sure these women are the very best in the game. Last night’s battle featured Team Canada’s starter vs. Team USA’s. Of course, you won’t score many goals, but you won’t get many rebounds either if you do not make the goaltender move, reach, and work hard for her saves.
Worst still, if you take an insane amount of shots and nothing goes in, slowly but surely, the opposing goaltender will get into your players’ heads. They’ll start thinking “Oh my god, how am I ever going to beat her?” or “We’re not beating her tonight.” In both cases, those are damaging thoughts that can give the opponent an important edge. When Laura Stacey found herself in alone on Frankel on a breakaway, she missed the net because she told herself she had to launch the perfect shot to beat the Boston goalie. Last night, Mikyla Grant-Mentis took eight shots, Kati Tabin seven, and Stacey six.
Kudos to Frankel though, she played a near-perfect game and is the reason Boston is ahead 1-0 in the series right now. Can she repeat that kind of performance on Saturday? If she can, Montreal will be in deep trouble.
Related: Get to Know the 2024 PWHL Montreal Players
Stacey’s game wasn’t all bad though. Early in the second period, it was her hard slapshot up high that Frankel couldn’t handle that put Montreal in the lead when Kristin O’Neil tapped in the rebound.
These 2 Teams Do Not Like Each Other
If we were initially surprised by the physicality of PWHL hockey in January, we were equally shocked last night when we saw the body checks flying when there was no puck in sight. O’Neil might as well have had a target on her back the way the Boston players were headhunting her. The Montreal forward is neither very tall nor big and everything in a white jersey was trying to take advantage of that.
O’Neil got caught a few times, but she wised up to it and put her head down a bit to brace herself for contact, which might have saved her life a time or two. As the game went on, the referees called fewer penalties, and behaved exactly like NHL refs, putting their whistles away in the playoffs. It would have been refreshing to see the rules stay the same in the postseason, but I guess that’s too much to ask. Hopefully, this won’t lead to more injuries as we can foresee quite a lot of physicality.
All night long, there were hard hits and not much ice available to work with. Early in the game, Gabrielle David was hit by Megan Keller and as she fell, she received a hard hit to the head. Keller was sent to the penalty box, but not Hilary Knight. Granted, Knight’s hit was accidental, but the incident set the tone for the rest of the evening.
There’s a Reason There’s a Crease
Goaltenders have a special status in their crease, they cannot be interfered with when they are in the blue paint. When they come out of it though, they are fair game. Last night, Ann-Renée Desbiens was lucky to get an interference call when Kelly Babstock bumped into her when she was out of her crease in the third period.
In overtime though, the ref who had received a good talking to by Boston head coach Courtney Kessel after making the call in the third frame, would not have entertained any interference claim from Montreal as Desbiens was even more out of her crease then.
Ironically, Susanna Tapani scored the game-winning goal exactly in the same fashion as O’Neil had opened the scoring in the second frame. Meghan Keller, Boston’s Laura Stacey, let a rocket rip high up. Just like Frankel couldn’t control Stacey’s shot earlier, Desbiens couldn’t handle Keller’s. It took a couple of Boston players to tap at the puck, but eventually, they found the back of the net and took the lead in the series 1-0.
Game 2 of that series will also be played at Place Bell on Saturday with a 7:00 PM start time. Montreal better correct some part of its strategy if they do not want to find themselves on the brink of elimination when they leave for Boston and Game 3.