Victoire Vibe Vol. 2.6

Before embarking on what I am going to generously call the ‘East Coast trip’ of two games against the Boston Fleet and one against the New York Sirens, the Victoire had a six-point lead in the standings over second-place Toronto with a game in hand. Now, having collected four points on that road trip and none in a regulation loss to the Sceptres, the Victoire’s standings lead has thinned to three points over Toronto.

Montréal’s record over their last ten games is 1-4-4-1. One regulation win, four overtime or shootout wins, and a shootout loss is good for 12 points out of a possible 30. These results are a far cry from the team that won six straight earlier this year. What is harshing the Victoire's vibe?

What’s not working?

The Victoire’s forward lines were thrown into disarray after the loss of third line center Alexandra Labelle to LTIR on Feb. 18. It’s not a coincidence that the depth scoring that characterized this team early on in the season has dried up as the team has been moving pieces around to find a new balance. For the three games of the East Coast road trip, only one line remained consistent: the third line of Lina Ljungblom, Clair DeGeorge, and Maureen Murphy. That line does not belong in the ‘What’s not working?’ section, so more on them later.

The second line saw a rotation of Mikyla Grant-Mentis, Abby Boreen, Laura Stacey, and Dara Greig around Kristin O’Neill. Although some of these line combinations produced intriguing offensive looks, the second line was burned for a goal in three of the last four games. The most promising combination I noticed was Greig, O’Neill, and newcomer Kaitlin Willoughby, who played a few shifts together against Toronto on March 23. I expect we’ll see more experimentation here in the hopes of finding a second line combination that reaches a net positive.

While the Victoire’s forward roster is full of intelligent, athletic players who are capable of scoring and playing good defense, they have yet to build the kind of chemistry that we saw with the lines that existed earlier with the season. There have been a lot of good plays that have not crystallized into good chances. The solution to that is to keep playing, and trust that the players will pick up on the intricacies of their teammates. 

What’s kind of working?

Across the last four games, the Victoire’s power play earned three goals– with two coming from defenders– on 12 chances, including a five-minute major in New York. That’s 25%, which is notably above the season average of 15.9% conversion, so one might think that ought to move the power play to the ‘what’s working?’ section. However, I am yet to be fully convinced, so I created a new section about it.

The Montréal power play did debut some new techniques in New York. Both power play units have started utilizing a screen in front of the goaltender more often; this has been particularly successful when it’s Catherine Dubois parked in front of the net, but Laura Stacey netfront has also seen some good looks. The second unit in particular, which has been incorporating three defenders as of late, has been dynamic in their skating and passing, creating lots of chaos and chances. I would like to see more of this willingness to skate freely from the top unit, which represents the bulk of the team’s power play time.

What is working?

The new third line combination of Ljungblom, DeGeorge, and Murphy showed promise in their first game at Agganis Arena on March 8 and have only looked more comfortable together since then. Ljungblom’s powerful shot and ice awareness, DeGeorge’s defensive instincts, and Murphy’s tenacity combine to make a strong forechecking line that also refuses to let their opponents get comfortable in the defensive zone. I think this could be the reliable, grindy, energizing line the team has been missing since Labelle’s injury. They can keep play in the other team’s zone, tire them out, and occasionally notch a goal with dogged plays like this one:

The fourth line looks to be finding some stability as well. After playing wing for much of the season, Catherine Dubois has looked good at center. She and Claire Dalton have been kept together and they make a strong pair: Dubois is undeniable when she wants to advance with the puck and Dalton has a great knack for getting to the right places, particularly when that place is around the net:

Head coach Kori Cheverie spoke about the decision to have Dubois center her own line:

“We obviously have a very close eye on what's working and what isn't and we want the players to kind of take a little bit of ownership too of what makes them successful on the ice. Trying Dubois at center, we know she's had a long history in the middle. Putting a player that has that type of speed, I think other players are nervous to play against her, so to have the speed like that through the middle of the ice was something we wanted to try.”

I don’t think I talk enough about how great Montréal’s defenders have been, but I never want to take it for granted. The Victoire have the second-most points and goals from the blue line in the league. A stat like that speaks to how much these defenders are involved in moving the puck up the ice and how much they’re involved in the play in the offensive zone. It’s the strength on the back end that has allowed the Victoire to continue taking a point or two from the last several games, even as they have struggled in the forward lines: four of the seven goals Montréal has scored in their last four games came from blueliners.

When one of Montréal’s defenders scored a goal, the team earned a point or two. When they didn’t, the team lost in regulation. 

Coach Cheverie spoke on how her blueliners contribute to the team up front:

"We ask them to be a part of our offense. They are a catalyst, they shoot the puck, we ask them to join the rush, we ask them to be in the blue paint if we need them to be in the blue paint offensively. I think that that's kind of an important aspect of it. They can be forwards just as much as our forwards are forwards as long as our forwards are filling in for our D."

And similar to the impact of the Victoire’s defense, their netminders have been holding back the tides, posting the lowest Goals Against Average in the league. When the Victoire haven’t been able to score two goals in regulation, they’ve lost. But when they’ve hit that marker, they’ve taken away at least a point– often in overtime or the shootout.

That’s the definition of goalies giving their team a chance to win. In this league, with the kind of attackers they’re facing, it’s impossible to ask a goalie to get a shutout every night. But when a team can consistently earn a point or two in the standings for below-league-average goal-scoring, it’s enough to keep you afloat. 

Vibe check

Kaitlin Willoughby was asked about the emotions of her trade by Radio Canada:

"I felt valued. You can tell yourself it's sad to have been traded, but you can also tell yourself that someone values ​​you. That's the first thing they made me feel. Kori told me how she saw me as a player. From the very beginning, the contact was very positive. They know what I can bring and I don't have to change when I come to this team. I can remain myself.”

She also commented on one of the benefits of playing for Montréal:

“I'm glad I'm not getting crushed by Pou anymore. It's a big bonus. In the last game, she gave me quite a check.”

What’s next?

The Victoire will face the Minnesota Frost tonight in St. Paul. The Frost’s speed has crumbled Montréal’s structure in the past– that’s something they’ll be trying to avoid tonight, particularly against a team they may end up facing in the playoffs.

Then, the team will have nearly a week off before playing a home game against the Sirens on Tuesday, April 1. That will be their final game before the international break, when nearly half the roster will be departing for the Women’s World Championship in Czechia.