Can the New York Sirens Revive Their Season?

For the first two months of the season, the New York Sirens looked like a brand new team from last year. The biggest difference, of course, was the arrival of first overall draft pick and superstar rookie Sarah Fillier. In 13 games during those first two months, she had 5 goals and 14 points, and playing on the wing of Alex Carpenter, it looked like they might be able to carry the team to the playoffs by themselves.

Unfortunately, when Alex Carpenter went out with a broken jaw in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Boston Fleet on January 31st, the Sirens’ lack of depth scoring became impossible to ignore. While Corinne Schroeder and Kayle Osborne fought valiantly to keep their team in games, the Sirens couldn’t get the goals to make it count. They went on an excruciating 9-game skid, breaking their own previous record for the longest winless streak in PWHL history. By the end of it, they were in the bottom of the league by a wide margin. 

Those five weeks without a win are not very far in the rearview, but for the moment, it looks there might be light at the end of the tunnel. A very dim one, but a light nonetheless. By the end of their losing streak, the Sirens had gotten Alex Carpenter back and seemed to have found their game again, but despite playing well, they couldn’t get the results. They finally got a win to snap their skid on March 12 in an OT win against the Montreal Victoire. Then, they got their first regulation since January 27, beating the Minnesota Frost. That’s when I started thinking: could there be hope?

Of course, they followed that up with two regulation losses, and I thought to myself, “Well, I guess that answers that question.” But of course, like any decent sports fan who lives and dies excessively by individual game results, two regulation wins later (one a shocking comeback win where the Sirens scored 6 goals in the final frame) I’m once again ready to start planning the parade. The path for the Sirens to squeak into the post-season is admittedly a narrow one, but there is a path. 

As of the international break, the Sirens still sit at 6th in the league, with 33 points. They are 5 points behind the 5th-place Minnesota Frost, and 6 points behind the Ottawa Charge, who currently occupy the final playoff spot. The Boston Fleet are only one point ahead of the Charge. Every team in the league has three games remaining once the season resumes after the Women’s World Championship. 

Realistically, the Sirens will need to win all of their remaining 3 games in regulation to have a shot at the playoffs. They can earn a possible 9 more points this season for a total of 42. 

They will also need to hope that Minnesota and Ottawa struggle mightily to end their seasons. Those teams play each other once more, so hoping neither of them win for the remainder of the season is unfortunately impossible. If Ottawa wins that game in regulation, then the Sirens would essentially be done, as Ottawa has them in tie-breakers. However, if the game goes to overtime or Minnesota wins, the Sirens will have a chance to move ahead of them in points.

Minnesota’s other two games following the break are against New York and Boston respectively. Ottawa’s other two games are against Montreal and Toronto. The Sirens will have to temporarily cheer for the Fleet, Victoire, and Sceptres as they fight for their playoff lives.

Regardless, it’s looking to be a thriller as the regular season draws to a close. (Unless the Sirens lose to the Frost in their first game back on April 26th, in which case all of this is null and the Sirens will be functionally out of the playoff race. Who’s to say what the future holds?)