Montreal:It was a solid test for Montreal’s professional hockey team last night. The PWHL boldly set an 8:00 PM game between its Montreal and Toronto clubs on a Saturday in January while the hockey team was playing the Boston Bruins. Admittedly, I had my doubts about the size of the Verdun crowd, but they had a sold-out crowd that was even louder than the one for the home opener. During post-game media availability, players from Toronto and Montreal applauded the electrifying atmosphere.
The 3,232 spectators were treated to an intriguing encounter where the two jewels of Montreal continued to shine but were unable to compensate for the team’s defensive deficiencies.
A grittier Toronto squad that created a lot of traffic in front of the Montrealiens and numerous opportunities at goals made it difficult for Montreal to compete. The side led by Kori Cheverie was by far the weakest and failed to carry out its strategy; if not for Ann-Renée Desbiens’ valiant actions, there would have been a bloodbath. Desbiens set the tone early in the game with 14 saves, three of which came during a crazy period in which she dropped her stick, but she continued to block shots from the left, right, and center, keeping La “Muraille de Charlevoix” atop her head the entire time. Despite having just six shots in the first, Sarah Bujold overcame Kristen Campbell to give Montreal the advantage.
Jocelyne Larocque helped Toronto defeat the Desbiens in the second frame, demonstrating their continued dominance. Marie-Philip Poulin gave Montreal the lead back after they capitalized on a turnover. Thirty minutes in, Toronto was ahead 29–16 in shots, but behind 2-1 on the scoreboard. It must be acknowledged that these shots weren’t simple ones either. Despite the numerous screens and deflections in front of Desbiens, she spent the entire evening showcasing her suppleness and lightning-fast glove hand.
After the visitors’ thirtyth shot on goal, Maggie Connors’ first of the season gave Toronto a one-goal lead a few minutes into the third quarter. By then, Montreal had tightened up its defense and Toronto had only nine shots on goal. With 1:24 remaining in the game, Natalie Spooner’s third goal of the campaign gave the ladies in blue the lead.
Those who believed that would be the game-winning goal were tragically incorrect because Captain Clutch can always be substituted into the lineup.With 17 seconds remaining, Poulin collected the puck at center ice and went on to outsmart everyone in her path, emerge in front of Campbell, and score the game-tying goal.
Like it had been the whole game, Montreal’s special team unit was ineffectual and failed to capitalize on numerous opportunities throughout the extra period, even earning a two-minute power play. The outcome was that the game went into a shootout, and spectators learned about the PWHL regulations under those conditions. There are five rounds of shots instead of three, and if the coach so chooses, a player can take all of his team’s shots. This is similar to.At the 2014 Olympics. T.J. Oshie performed for the United States. Not unexpectedly, Poulin’s coach sent her out for four of the first five tries; Tereza Vanisova took the other one before Laura Stacey got the sixth. While Hannah Miller and Laurianne Rougeau defeated the Desbiens to give Toronto a well-earned victory, Poulin scored the only goal for Montreal.
In and around PWHL
Erin Ambrose and Desbiens were available to the media following the game, answering questions for ten minutes. Poulin wasn’t invited to address the media for the first time, but many of the inquiries were about her.
Ambrose said, “Everything but at the same time nothing. I honestly just shook my head when she scored that game-tying goal,” in response to the question of if she was still shocked by what her captain was capable of. The girl’s build is simply unfathomably different. Marie-Philip Poulin is, in my opinion, the best female hockey player to have ever played the sport. She is the greatest captain and leader I have ever had.
Regarding Desbiens, the question was posed to her if she could recognize the excellent performance she had just delivered in the loss. The goaltender’s response was clear-cut. Desbiens declared, “I’ll be honest. I’m such a sore loser; I can’t appreciate a defeat; I always want to win no matter what I’m doing.” Yes, everything went well on an individual basis, but I still need to watch and work on a few things. I find it very difficult to understand the meaning of a loss.
The question, “So you had Desbiens having a Carey Price performance, Marie-Philip Poulin scoring McDavidesque goals, do you feel maybe you deserved a better fate than you got tonight?” was the high point of the press conference for me.
Ambrose began by stating that the squad had not performed well in the game. They all understood that, in the end, it’s a team sport, and we must play each game to the best of our abilities because, as is evident, any team in this league may win on any given night.
Ambrose later added:
“It’s an honor to be able to play in front of Ann-Renée Desbiens, who is the best goaltender in the world for a reason. I wouldn’t say we had a Carey Price.” We have a Marie-Philip Poulin, not a Connor McDavid, in my opinion. Even though that game plan didn’t work out as planned, having the best player and goalie in the world means you have an opportunity to win every single night. However, it’s unfair for us to blame Ann and Pou for that every day; I need to improve much more personally, and I believe there’s a chance we can win.many of us who have those feelings regarding tonight.
Ambrose’s response didn’t surprise me in the slightest because Desbiens and Poulin have established themselves as successful individuals and people don’t need to compare them to their male counterparts to understand how they function. These women, who proudly represent Canada every four years, left audiences with unforgettable performances. The women’s game has its own elite players and performances, making it a separate game. People need to understand and accept that.
We also witnessed a crucial PWHL rule last night, when Poulin took four shots in the shootout. Ambrose remarked, “I mean, Marie-Philip Poulin is the only person I’d want taking those shootouts, and you know that bugs her that she didn’t bury all four of them.” “ThereGiven what she performed during the game when she was on a breakaway, there was little doubt that Marie-Philip Poulin would win.
When it was Cheverie’s turn to address questions, she only said, “Why not? ” in response to the query about why she sent out Poulin four times. world’s greatest player. I mean, I think it’s a lovely luxury to be able to go back to a player like Pou when she’s feeling good, and since it’s evident that she had a great game, why not take advantage of the hot hand?
“Yeah, d zone coverage was probably missing tonight, some slot coverage, it’s hard to win games when you’re going to give up 40 shots on goal, but luckily we have the best goalie in the league, that’s why we have her,” Cheverie said in evaluation of her team’s performance.
but we’ll improve the coverage of the D zone.
With six games completed, Montreal has already played 25% of the games scheduled for this inaugural season. Thanks to the PWHL scoring system, which awards three points for a victory in regulation, two for an overtime or shootout win, and one for a loss in overtime or the shootout, Montreal is presently ranked second in the standings.
Cheverie’s squad will play the top team in the league thus far, Minnesota, on Wednesday. When the two teams faced off last, Minnesota was in complete control and won 3-0 thanks to a shutout from Maddie Rooney.
When Natalie Spooner, Laurianne Rougeau, and Troy Ryan took the stage in Verdun, they were all beaming, but Rougeau’s smile was especially radiant. Rougeau played only in Montreal before the PWHL was established. Being from the city and a member of Les Canadiennes, it meant a lot to her to score the game-winning goal in the shootout. Coach Ryan responded that they practice shootout shots during training and Rougeau had won a few of those internal competitions when asked why he put her out to try a shot. In addition, he felt that giving her a shot was the appropriate thing to do because she was at home and had practiced on Desbiens numerous times over the years.action to take. That proved to be the best choice he made that evening.
Regarding Spooner, she complimented the Montreal audience and the thrilling atmosphere. Rougeau added that it was unique to have that level of support and that the “Maltais section” was incredibly raucous even during the warm-up. The head coach expressed his happiness that his goalie handled the pressure of going up against Poulin four times in the shootout and performed admirably that evening, particularly in light of some difficult circumstances recently. Ryan believes his squad is on the right track and that the season is still early, despite the fact that Toronto is currently at the bottom of the standings.
Fans were discussing the league’s shootout rule on social media after yesterday night’s game, and whether they agree with it or not, I think the league made a great decision by bringing it to everyone’s notice. For my part, I adore the rule. When it comes down to it, I want the greatest players to step up and take advantage of the opportunity; I want them to be the ones that thrive in situations like this rather than others who shudder at the very prospect of being in the spotlight.
The more people watch Marie-Philip Poulin, the world’s best player, the more they’ll understand the potential of women’s tennis. The Montreal Canadiens played in a 12-round shootout game earlier this season. Towards the end, it was almost unbearable to watch players who didn’t want to be there being forced to take a shot. It’s not necessary for anyone to see that.
Regarding the argument that it’s a team sport and shouldn’t be determined by a single player’s ability, well, given the goalie is in the net for every shot, that argument still stands even if players are only allowed to shoot once. You’re simply giving the talented shootout forward the same chance to shine as the goaltenders with the PWHL regulations.
