Two of the top teams in the PWHL, the Montreal Victoire and Minnesota Frost, face off tonight as they both continue their chase for first place.
Watch the Victoire take on the Frost LIVE at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on TSN5 and streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App.
The Frost are second in the PWHL with 42 points, while the Victoire are not far behind with 40 as they are chasing the Boston Fleet, who sit in first with 45 after picking up a 2-0 win over the Vancouver Goldeneyes on Tuesday night.
Montreal will continue to be without the services of captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who was placed on long-term injured reserve on Tuesday after missing the past two games with a lower-body injury. She is scheduled to miss at least the next four games and isn’t eligible to come off LTIR until Apr. 5 at the earliest.
She was injured Mar. 15 against the Boston Fleet in a 4-3 overtime loss. Poulin exited the game after taking a hit in the first period and appeared to be favouring her right knee, the same one she injured during the Olympics.
With long-term injuries to Poulin and forward Maureen Murphy, the Victoire have made a few signings recently, adding Italian defender Nadia Mattivi and forward Maya Labad to standard player contracts while forward Sam Isbell inked a reserve player contract on Tuesday.
The Victoire are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to the Ottawa Charge on Saturday.
For Minnesota, they have won five straight games since dropping a 4-0 contest to Montreal on Mar. 1.
The Frost boast the top three points leaders as forwards Kelly Pannek, Britta Curl-Salemme and Taylor Heise all have 22 points in 21 games this season. Pannek is also tied for the league lead in goals with 12, along with the Charge’s Rebecca Leslie.
Minnesota’s goaltenders have also done their part this season. Nicole Hensley is third among PWHL goalies in save percentage (.932) and fourth in goals-against average (1.98) while Maddie Rooney is third in GAA (1.90) and fourth in wins with eight.
The Victoire have won all three games against the Frost this season.
Sirens vs. Torrent on TSN+
Wednesday’s other contest features the New York Sirens taking on the Seattle Torrent.
Subscribe to watch Sirens vs. Torrent LIVE at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on TSN+.
The Sirens are fighting to stay in the playoff picture as they sit in sixth with 27 points, three points clear of the Goldeneyes.
New York has missed the playoffs two years in a row, finishing last in both seasons.
Rookie forward Kristyna Kaltounkova, who is second in the PWHL in goals this season with 11, has been cold since returning from the Olympics. She has yet to record a point in her past five games and was a minus-2 in her last outing.
