Friday, May 16, 2025 | 7:00 p.m. ET | The Arena at TD Place
WATCH LIVE: TSN 1/4, TSN.ca, TSN App, RDS, RDS.ca, RDS App, MSGSNHD/Z1/Z2, PWHL YouTube & thepwhl.com (U.S. / International), more below.
EN: Kenzie Lalonde (Play-by-Play), Cheryl Pounder (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)
MONTRÉAL VICTOIRE (1)
Top Scorer: Anna Wilgren – 3 GP, 0-3-3 PTS
Goalie: Ann-Renée Desbiens, 1-2, 1.43 GAA, .949 SV%
Series Stats: PP 2/8 (25%) PK 6/7 (85.7%)
OTTAWA CHARGE (3)
Top Scorer: Brianne Jenner – 3 GP, 2-1-3 PTS
Goalie: Gwyneth Philips, 2-1, 1.18 GAA, .957 SV%
Series Stats: PP 1/7 (14.3%) PK 6/8 (75%)
2025 PWHL PLAYOFFS: OTTAWA LEADS BEST-OF-FIVE SERIES 2-1
Game 1 at MTL: 3-2 OTT | Game 2 at MTL: 3-2 MTL (4OT) | Game 3 at OTT: 1-0 OTT | Game 4 - May 16 at OTT | Game 5 - May 18 at MTL
2024-25 SEASON SERIES: MONTRÉAL WON 11-7 IN POINTS (MTL WON 10-5 IN 2024)
Nov. 30 at MTL: 4-3 MTL (SO) | Dec. 6 at OTT: 2-1 MTL | Jan. 19 at MTL (QUÉBEC): 2-1 MTL | Jan. 29 at MTL: 4-1 MTL | Feb. 22 at OTT: 3-1 OTT | Apr. 26 at OTT: 3-2 OTT
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Of the five series in PWHL postseason history, this is the third where the lower seed leads 2-1 after three games. The team leading, 2-1, has gone on to win the previous two instances (Minnesota over Toronto in the semis this season, and Minnesota over Boston in the finals last season).
The Victoire were shut out in Game 3, their first ever shutout loss in the playoffs. Montréal was shut out in the regular season twice this year (Feb. 18 vs. Minnesota, Apr. 1 vs. New York), but this was the first time on the road. Both times, the Victoire fell to the Charge in the following game.
Montréal has scored five goals on 115 shots (4.35%) in three games, compared to four goals on 145 shots (2.76%) in three games of last season’s playoffs.
Laura Stacey (24) and Marie-Philip Poulin (23) lead the PWHL Playoffs in shots on goal. Last season, Kati Tabin (21) led Montréal in playoff shots, followed by Poulin (18) and Stacey (17). Hilary Knight led the entire 2024 PWHL Playoffs with 31 shots on goal in eight games.
Ann-Renée Desbiens posted a .960 save percentage in the Game 3 loss. She also posted a .962 save percentage in an overtime loss to Boston in Game 2 of the playoffs last season. She is the only PWHL goalie with multiple playoff losses with a .950 or better save percentage.
Montréal and Ottawa both played in the most one-goal games during the regular season with the Victoire winning 12 of 18 and the Charge winning 9 of 16 such games. All three games of this series have been decided by one-goal.
This will mark the third Friday night game for both teams in 2024-25. Montréal is undefeated in their two previous Friday night games, including a 2-1 win against the Charge at Canadian Tire Center on Dec. 6. The Charge are winless in their two previous Friday games.
The Charge’s 1-0 win in Game 3 was the third 1-0 win in PWHL playoff history. The previous two were both double-overtime results in Game 4s last season (Minnesota over Toronto in the semifinals, Boston over Minnesota in the finals). There have only been two 1-0 wins in regulation in PWHL regular season history, both this year by the road team (Jan. 21, Ottawa over Minnesota and Apr. 1, New York over Montréal).
Mannon McMahon scored the Charge’s lone goal in Game 3. At 23 years old, McMahon is the youngest player to score a goal in this year’s playoffs. The only younger player in PWHL history to score a playoff goal was Minnesota’s Sophie Jaques last year (a slightly younger 23). The rookie scored for the first time in 17 games (Feb. 13) and has the honours of recording Ottawa’s first home goal of the regular season and playoffs at TD Place. All five of her goals this season have been scored on home ice.
Ronja Savolainen got the secondary assist on McMahon’s goal for her first career playoff point. The Finnish defender leads the series with a +3 differential and has been on the ice for each of Ottawa’s three goals in the last two games.
Gwyneth Philips’ 26 saves in Game 3 were tied for the second most in a postseason shutout win in PWHL history. The most was by Boston’s Aerin Frankel in the final against Minnesota last year (33 saves). Philips tied Toronto’s Kristen Campbell from last year’s first round against Minnesota. The rookie leads all playoff goaltenders with a 1.18 GAA and .957 SV%, which is on par with her NCAA career stats at Northeastern where she maintained a 0.96 GAA and .958 SV%. There has now been eight shutouts in 20 playoff games all-time.
Philips attended Thursday’s NSL game at TD Place and did the official field walk-on with Rapid FC goalie Mollie Eriksson.
Ottawa’s game-winning goal was their 25th third period goal of the entire season, which ranks fifth in the PWHL, ahead of only Montréal (18). The Charge have allowed the most third period goals across 2024-25 with 33, while the Victoire have allowed the fewest with 23.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“The team is certainly coming together even more in these moments. And right now, we've got to find a way, and there's no better way to do it, or better time to do it than now in the playoffs. I think that we're ready for the adjustments that we want to make. Then it just comes down to grit determination, playing desperate hockey, and the willingness to do the hard things.” - Victoire forward Laura Stacey
“This is the best place we can be right now. Everyone wants to be in the playoffs. It's such a privilege to be in the playoffs, and when you're in that position, you'll literally do anything you can to help the team win. So, I honestly feel great, and the girls are having a lot of fun. We're doing everything we can, and it's been really fun so far.” - Charge defender Zoe Boyd
FRIDAY’S GAME: The PWHL Playoffs, presented by SharkNinja, continue in Canada’s capital city where the Charge are just one win away from their first trip to the PWHL Finals, while the Victoire look to push the series to a Game 5 on Sunday. Fans will be welcomed to TD Place by a drum line and trumpeters outside of entrance gates, on the concourse and inside the arena bowl. While the city is buzzing from the voltage of the Charge, more celebrities will be in attendance including Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, singer Jamie Fine, members of the Ottawa Rapid FC - the new NSL team based at TD Place, and Ottawa Atletico - sitting on top of the CPL standings. Members of the Czech Embassy and the Carleton University Women's Hockey Team will also be in attendance. CTV News at 6 will air live from TD Place. Face painting will be available for fans inside of Gate 2, and fans can show their support and creativity at the Canadian Tire ‘My Team. My Sign’ station outside Section 25.
In addition to live broadcast coverage exclusively on TSN and RDS in Canada, today’s game will be available to fans in the U.S. on MSG Network, on various stations distributed in partnership with Gray Media (Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network, Tennessee Valley Sports & Entertainment Network, Cedar Rapids), Scripps Sports (Denver and Las Vegas), the Sinclair Broadcast Group (Seattle), and on YouTube. Internationally, the game will be distributed by NOVA Prime in Czechia and Slovakia.