Monday, December 30, 2024 | 7:00 p.m. ET | Place Bell
WATCH LIVE: TSN 1/5, TSN.ca, TSN App, RDS, NESN, PWHL YouTube & thepwhl.com (U.S. / International)
EN: Daniella Ponticelli (Play-by-Play), Becky Kellar (Analyst), Kelly Greig (Reporter);
FR: Claudine Douville (Play-by-Play), Isabelle Leclaire (Analyst), Catherine Savoie (Reporter), Andrée-Anne Barbeau (Studio Host), Karell Émard (Studio Analyst).
BOSTON FLEET
2-0-0-3 | 6 PTS | 6TH PLACE
Top Scorer: Hilary Knight – 5 GP, 2-3-5 PTS
Last Game: 4-2 L at TOR on Dec. 27
MONTRÉAL VICTOIRE
2-2-0-1 | 10 PTS | 2ND PLACE
Top Scorer: Abby Boreen – 5 GP, 2-2-4 PTS
Last Game: 3-2 W at MIN on Dec. 28
2024 SEASON SERIES: BOSTON AND MONTRÉAL TIED 6-6 IN POINTS
Jan. 13 at MTL: 3-2 BOS (OT) | Feb. 4 at BOS: 2-1 MTL (OT) | Mar. 2 at MTL: 3-1 MTL | May 4 at BOS: 4-3 BOS
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The Fleet and Victoire are meeting for the first time since Boston swept Montréal out of the playoffs with three overtime victories. In total, five of the seven all-time meetings between the teams have needed OT and one of the other games had a game-winner scored with 80 seconds left in the third period.
This is the first regular season meeting between the two teams at Place Bell. In two playoff games here last May, the teams played 186:09, including a PWHL record 111:44 (3 OT) in GM 2.
Boston has scored at least one goal in the third period of each of its last four games. In December, 50% of the Fleet’s goals have come in the third period (5/10).
Captain Hilary Knight has had exactly one point in all five games this season with the last three all coming on assists. It’s the second-longest assists streak in team history, behind Alina Müller’s four-game streak last season (Jan. 17-27).
Boston has already equaled their power play success from the inaugural season with four goals and lead the PWHL with a 40% conversion rate despite having the fewest opportunities (4/10). Loren Gabel and Hannah Bilka scored PPGs on Saturday. Montréal ranks sixth on the PP at 9.5% (2/21).
This is the second of six straight games away from home for Boston, including the first stop of the PWHL Takeover Tour this Sunday in Seattle against Montréal. The Fleet are winless in two road games so far this season. Conversely, the Victoire are the only team without a regulation win at home (0-1-0-1).
Montréal is on a three-game winning streak, one win away from a new team record. The Victoire had two different three-game winning streaks last season.
The Victoire are coming off a 3-2 win over Minnesota Saturday in spite of allowing the first goal. Despite having 10 points through five games, Montréal has allowed the first goal in 80% of their games this season, the highest such percentage for any PWHL team.
In Saturday’s win over Minnesota, Alexandra Labelle scored her first goal of the season matching her goal output from last season with New York. Labelle also had a +1 rating in the victory, and she has had a positive +/- in four different games this season.
Captain Marie-Philip Poulin is riding a three-game point streak (2G, 1A), matching her longest streak from last season, which she accomplished twice. She scored six points (2G, 4A) in her last three regular season games against Boston.
Kristin O’Neill leads the PWHL with a face-off percentage of 78.1% (57/73). She’s one of 11 players who have a winning percentage and have taken more than 50 draws along with Poulin at 59.2% (58/98) and Labelle at 56.9% (33/58).
Both Montréal and Boston have allowed just 13 goals this season, tied for the fewest in the PWHL. Last season, the teams allowed the same number of goals as well (57, includes extra goal given in shootout loss).
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“After Toronto, we're focused on tightening up our game and staying disciplined. This team is built for resilience, and we'll use these lessons early in the season as motivation to bounce back here in Montréal.” - Fleet Head Coach Courtney Kessel.
“We are coming off an important win and will need to continue to work hard if we want the same outcome. We know our fans have been patiently waiting for us to return to Place Bell, and we’ll do our best to offer them a performance that will make them happy prior to entering the new year.” - Victoire Head Coach Kori Cheverie.
MONDAY’S GAME: Montréal forward Maureen Murphy, who won the PWHL’s inaugural Hockey For All Award presented by Scotiabank in June, is leading a winter clothing drive with her Victoire teammates. Fans can donate warm clothes at Place Bell entrances starting at 5:00 p.m. to benefit Chez Doris whose mission is to support and empower all women in precarious situations so that they can reach their full potential. Samantha Neves returns for a second straight home game to perform the National Anthems, DJ Montana will help fans celebrate the New Year one night early, and the Richelieu Pumas will play a mini match during the first intermission.