Game 2: Saturday, May 16, 2026 | 2 p.m. ET | Place Bell
WATCH LIVE: TSN 1, TSN.ca, opens in a new tab, TSN App, RDS, ION, Scripps Sports, PWHL YouTube, opens in a new tab & thepwhl.com (U.S. / International), More
EN: Kenzie Lalonde (Play-by-Play), Cheryl Pounder (Analyst), Rob Pizzo (Reporter), Jamie Hersch (Host), Becky Kellar (Panelist), Alison Lukan (Panelist);
FR: Claudine Douville (Play-by-Play), Isabelle Leclaire (Analyst), Catherine Savoie (Reporter), Andrée‑Anne Barbeau (Host), Karell Emard (Panelist)
OTTAWA CHARGE (4)
Top Scorer: Rebecca Leslie – 5 GP, 3-2-5 PTS
Goaltender: Gwyneth Philips – 1.86 GAA, .940 SV%
Special Teams: PP 2/15 (13.3%) | PK 18/19 (94.7%)
MONTRÉAL VICTOIRE (1)
Top Scorer: Laura Stacey – 6 GP, 3-3-6 PTS
Goaltender: Ann-Renée Desbiens – 1.62 GAA, .938 SV%
Special Teams: PP 3/15 (20.0%) | PK 18/20 (90.0%)
2026 PWHL WALTER CUP FINALS: MONTRÉAL LEADS THE BEST-OF-FIVE SERIES 1-0
Game 1 at MTL: 3-2 MTL (OT) | Game 2 at MTL (May 16) | Game 3 at OTT (May 18) | Game 4 at OTT (May 20) | Game 5 at MTL (May 23)
2025-26 SEASON SERIES: MONTRÉAL WON 10-2 IN POINTS (MTL LEADS 31-14 IN POINTS ALL-TIME)
Jan. 13 at MTL: 2-1 MTL | Jan. 24 at MTL: 3-1 MTL | Mar. 22 at OTT (WINNIPEG): 2-1 OTT (OT) | Apr. 3 at OTT: 3-0 MTL
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The final shot of Game 1 was Abby Roque’s game-winner in overtime for Montréal’s 26th shot on goal of the game compared to Ottawa’s 25 shots on goal. The only other Walter Cup Finals game to have a SOG differential of no more than one was Game 4 of the 2024 Finals (both Boston and Minnesota finished with 33).
The Charge were 2.1 seconds away from giving the Victoire their first regulation loss at Place Bell since Game 1 of the 2025 semifinals on May 8, 2025, a 3-2 Ottawa win.
Ottawa has been outshot in all five games of the playoffs. Their 10-5 advantage in shots in the first period of Game 1 marked just the third regulation period this postseason in which they have outshot an opponent. The Charge scored first in just 14 games during the regular season, fewest among playoff teams, but have scored first in all five playoff games.
Rebecca Leslie scored both Charge goals on Thursday to become the first Ottawa player to ever score multiple goals in a single playoff game. Her four multi-goal games this season are the third most in a season in PWHL history (regular season & playoffs), behind Natalie Spooner’s six in 2024 and Marie-Philip Poulin’s five in 2024-25. Her offensive output has improved in all three postseasons, first with one goal in five games with Toronto in 2024, two goals and three points in eight games in 2025, and three goals and five points in five games so far in 2026. The Ottawa native scored in Game 4 of the semifinals and Game 1 of the finals in consecutive seasons.
Charge defenders were kept off the scoresheet for the first time in five playoff games Thursday. They factored in eight of the team’s 10 goals in the semifinals against Boston, including two goals scored by Ronja Savolainen and one each by Brooke Hobson and Jocelyne Larocque. The team’s entire defense scored just eight goals during the regular season.
The Charge have not allowed a power-play goal in any of their last eight road games, dating back to the regular season. That is the longest streak on the road within a single season in PWHL history (regular season & playoffs).
Dating back to the regular season, each of Montréal’s last five home games have been decided by one goal with four of those going to overtime. The only longer streak of one-goal home games in team history (incl. playoffs) was a seven-game run to end last season.
Roque became the second player in PWHL history to score multiple goals and an overtime goal in the same playoff game. The other player to do so was Britta Curl-Salemme, also against Ottawa (Game 2 of 2025 Walter Cup Finals) including the game-tying tally with 16 seconds remaining at TD Place. Game 1 was also the first in postseason history where players from opposing teams had multi-goal performances. Roque has scored seven of her 22 career goals against Ottawa and has points in eight straight games against them.
Nicole Gosling’s tying goal with 2.1 seconds remaining in the third period of Game 1 was the latest regulation goal scored in postseason history. It was also the first playoff goal scored by a rookie defender since 2024 (Minnesota’s Sophie Jaques had two and Maggie Flaherty had one). The Victoire first-round pick is up to 22 points across the full season, all since Jan. 2, including 11 points (2G, 9A) in 12 games since Apr. 3.
Poulin has points in seven straight games at Place Bell, including all six of her playoff points (2G, 4A) in four games, plus three goals in her last three home games during the regular season. The last time the Victoire captain was held off the scoresheet at home was Jan. 24 against Ottawa.
Since the beginning of 2025, all five Walter Cup Finals games have gone to overtime with six of the 10 all-time games in the final round extending beyond regulation. For comparison, there has been one streak of at least five straight OT games in Stanley Cup Final history – a six-game stretch spanning 1950 and 1951.
In playoff history, the winner of Game 2 has gone on to win six of eight series. This was the case in both of this year’s semifinals where Ottawa beat Boston on the road and Montréal beat Minnesota at home.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“Our team has been going really well for quite a while and I certainly thought it was the case again in the first game of the finals. Yes, that was an unfortunate goal with 2.1 seconds left, of course, but again, we're in this industry to stay true to what we've been doing. It's a five-game series. It's not a one and done. For us, we've been building all week. I think we put a lot of it on display in the first game and we'll be excited to go back at it on Saturday.” – Charge Head Coach Carla MacLeod
“I think we got to really focus on the moments that we were able to play our style game on Thursday, and luckily for us, a lot of it came in the last little bit. We had some big pushes after their first goal, and then after their second goal. These are the moments that you want to capture. You want to put them in your pocket, and you want to keep them going until the next game. Luckily for us, we get to go right back at it again, which I think plays in our favour. We'll need to clean up the moments that we want to do better in the next game and hopefully ride the momentum.” - Victoire Head Coach Kori Cheverie
SATURDAY’S GAME: The 2026 PWHL Walter Cup Finals, presented by Scotiabank, continue today at Place Bell between Montréal and Ottawa, where the Victoire lead the league’s first-ever all-Canadian championship series 1-0. Following Thursday’s win, the Victoire improved their all-time home playoff record to 4-4, which includes a 2-1 record in Game 2 action. With the loss, the Charge are now 2-5 all-time on the road in their playoff history and hold a 1-2 record in Game 2 of a series. In eight all-time playoff series, the home team and higher seed is 4-4 in Game 2. The first two Walter Cup Finals were both 1-1 after two games. This afternoon marks the fourth time in nine days that both the Victoire and the Montréal Canadiens have a playoff game on the same day. Thursday was the first time both teams won a playoff game on the same day, following May 8 where the Victoire lost Game 4 to the Frost but the Canadiens won Game 2 against the Sabres, and May 12 when the Victoire won Game 5 but the Canadiens lost Game 4. Should Buffalo win at Bell Centre tonight, Montréal’s two playoff schedules will overlap again on Monday. The Canadian anthem will be performed this afternoon by Kim Richardson, and Place Bell energy will be high throughout the afternoon with music from DJ Montana. Today’s referees are Jared Cummins and Sydney Harris, with linespersons Patrick Dapuzzo and Sophie Thomson. Following the game, fans can tune-in for live reaction with Jocks in Jills streaming on the league’s YouTube channel.