PREVIEW: Boston Seeks Revenge Against Ottawa

After a rough loss on Monday, Boston hopes to find answers tonight and snap a four-game losing streak in a rematch with Ottawa.

The Basics: Wednesday, February 21, 2024- Boston vs Ottawa, Tsongas Center, Lowell, MA (NESN, TSN, PWHL Youtube Channel)

What to Expect

Monday’s game was ugly for Boston. They came out flat and despite picking it up in the third period, they were unable to come back and lost 4-2 to extend their losing streak to four. However, they have a chance to rectify that tonight as they face off against Ottawa again.

After yesterday’s game, head coach Courtney Kessel was asked about her thoughts on the quick turnaround after a tough loss.

“I think the less time that we have to think about this game, the better,” said Kessel. “I think getting into another game is good, less time to worry about the what-ifs.”

She was also asked about playing the same team back-to-back for the first time this season.

“I think it’ll be nice to play the same team back-to-back,” said Kessel. “You know what you’re going to get from Ottawa, I think they’ve played the same game since the beginning of the year, and so we just have to make adjustments.”

Coach Kessel was as frustrated as we have seen her after Monday's game and said her team needed more urgency. Forward Taylor Girard also added that one of the team’s biggest problems has been coming out flat. It’s surely being discussed in the locker room as well, so expect to see Boston come out hot tonight in hopes of turning things around. 

Meanwhile, Ottawa is feeling good after snapping their five-game losing streak. After the game, head coach Carla McLeod spoke about finally overcoming the adversity her team faced.

“It’s been a building period for us,” said McLeod. “Obviously, we faced quite a bit of adversity and have been working through some things, which has been valuable, and it was incredibly nice to see our group rewarded for what we feel the work we’ve done. Certainly, Boston is a great team, every team in this league is a great team, so it was a hard-fought battle. Nothing was given to us; we certainly had to earn it, but thought we did that tonight.

Ottawa is searching for back-to-back wins for the first time this season. Expect to see a similar performance out of them tonight, with a fast start and solid defense and goaltending. They’ll be playing a bit lighter after snapping their streak, so Boston needs to be ready to play hard from the first puck drop to the final buzzer if they hope to snap their losing streak tonight.

Expect to see Emerance Maschmeyer in goal yet again for Ottawa. They seem to have no intention of playing anyone else unless Maschmeyer is unable to play, and there’s no reason to suspect that’ll be the case tonight.

As for Boston, it's again hard to guess. Frankel has been outstanding, but she has yet to play more than two straight games this season. Before the last game, I wondered if maybe the team was more uncomfortable playing in front of Söderberg for some reason, but they didn’t exactly look comfortable in front of Frankel either. Goaltending has not been the issue in any of Boston’s games. So, they can't really choose wrong. Going back to Söderberg would be good for keeping her sharp and Frankel fresh. Plus, continuing the rotate them would reinforce the message that the losses have been near-solely on the skaters. However, an argument for Frankel is that perhaps a little more consistency throughout the lineup is what the team needs to break out of this slump. I’d probably lightly pencil in Frankel since she’s the 1A and they are desperate to win, but it’s anyone’s guess.

Boston’s Key to the Game 

Urgency. For a team on a losing streak, Boston showed a concerning lack of urgency last game. They have got to find a way to dig deep tonight and play with some fire before they spiral too far out of control. Offense is a big problem too, but that should come with more urgency. Ottawa is feeling themselves right now after finally breaking their five-game streak, so if Boston comes out flat again, there’s a good chance the losing streak reaches five.