By the Numbers: PWHL Boston vs PWHL Montréal

The Boston-Montréal semifinal series kicks off tonight, and if the regular-season series is any indication, it’ll be an intense, gritty series. Since there likely won’t be much new to say before each game, I’ll have a few different comparison pieces going up through the series instead of traditional game previews. To kick things off, here’s a by-the-numbers look at their offense, special teams, and goaltending.

Season Series

Before diving into the stats, here’s how the regular season series went. It was a perfect split, with each team winning one at home in regulation and one on the road in overtime.

• Sat, Jan 13 @ MTL - 3-2 BOS OTW
• Sun, Feb 4 @ BOS - 2-1 MTL OTW
• Sat, Mar 2 @ MTL - 3-1 MTL W
• Sat, May 4 @ BOS - 4-3 BOS W

The semifinal schedule and where to watch information can be found here.

Offense

In total, 19 goals were scored on 237 shots (8%). Boston tallied nine goals on 108 shots, while Montréal tallied ten on 129 (7.8%). 14 different Boston players banked points in the series compared to ten Montréal players.

Boston Leading Scorers (Series)

• Goals- Hilary Knight (2)
• Assists- Hannah Brandt (3)
• Points- Hannah Brandt (4)

In the series for Boston, they got offense from every line and multiple defenders, but only Hilary Knight notched more than one goal. However, seven skaters tallied multiple points. 

Montréal Leading Scorers (Series)

• Goals- Erin Ambrose (3)
• Assists- Marie-Philip Poulin (4)
• Points- Marie-Philip Poulin (6)

Montréal’s offense was top-heavy in the season series. The trio of Marie-Philip Poulin, Erin Ambrose, and Laura Stacey were highly productive, notching seven of the ten goals and adding a combined seven assists. Mélodie Daoust also tallied a goal while on a line with Poulin and Stacey, and then notched a power-play assist in the final game. Mikyla Grant-Mentis was the only other goal scorer in the series, tallying two power-play goals in the final matchup. Overall, eight players tallied multiple points.

Boston Leading Scorers (Season)

• Goals- Hilary Knight (6)
  • Lexie Adzija also has six, but five of them came as a member of PWHL Ottawa
• Assists- Alina Müller and Megan Keller (11)
• Points- Alina Müller (16)

Over the season, Boston had a more balanced, albeit less potent, offense. Seven skaters recorded at least ten points, but only Alina Müller and Megan Keller cracked over 0.5 points per game. However, 25 skaters appeared in a game this season for Boston, and only Sophie Jaques (seven games) and Taylor Wenczkowski (16 games) failed to record a point. Meanwhile, 22 of the 23 point-getters recorded more than one.

Montréal Leading Scorers (Season)

• Goals- Laura Stacey and Marie-Philip Poulin (10)
• Assists- Erin Ambrose (14)
• Points- Marie-Philip Poulin (23)

Montréal also had 25 skaters appear in a game for them, and only Dominika Lásková (seven appearances) and Alexandra Poznikoff (eight appearances) failed to record a point. 22 of the 23 point-getters recorded more than a point. Montréal had two players hit the ten-goal milestone and Marie-Philip Poulin produced at over a point-per-game rate. Meanwhile, only five Montréal skaters cracked the ten-point threshold and six skaters tallied over 0.5 points per game.

Special Teams

42 penalty minutes were racked up in this series across 21 minor penalties. 

Boston took 13 penalties, with defenders Jessica Digirolamo and Emily Brown tying for the team lead with two a piece. They were 11/13 on the PK for an 85% success rate. Taylor Girard also tallied a jailbreak goal in the first game. Meanwhile, they went 0/8 on the power play.

As for Montréal, they took eight penalties and killed them all successfully. Defenders Dominika Lásková and Catherine Daoust tied for the team lead in penalties taken with two a piece. They were 2/13 of the power play (15.4%), with both goals coming in the final game by Mikyla Grant-Mentis.

Goaltending

Boston only used Aerin Frankel in the regular-season series, while Montréal split it between Ann-Renée Desbiens and Elaine Chuli.

Frankel went 1-1-1-1 against Montréal and allowed ten goals on 129 shots for a 2.50 GAA and 0.922 SV%. She has been a brick wall in goal all season, ranking third in the PWHL with a 2.00 GAA and 0.929 SV%. As a bonus, she is extremely familiar with most of Montréal's stars thanks to her time with Team USA. So, it would be a shock if she didn't start every game this series barring any uncharacteristic poor performances. Should that happen, Boston has Emma Söderberg waiting in the wings, who has been great when called upon despite her numbers, especially down the stretch.

Meanwhile, Desbiens started Games 1 and 4 and went 0-0-1-1. She allowed seven goals on 56 shots, for a 3.50 GAA and 0.875 SV%. Chuli, on the other hand, went 1-1-0-0 while allowing two goals on 58 shots for a 1.00 GAA and 0.966 SV%. While her numbers against Boston aren't pretty, she has been rock-solid for most of the season. Through 16 games, Desbiens has a 2.28 GAA (sixth overall) and 0.923 SV% (fifth overall). She is one of the best goaltenders in the world and their number one, so look for her to get the crease. That said, Chuli has also been outstanding all season, ranked first in the PWHL with a 1.61 GAA and 0.949 SV% through eight games. So, if Desbiens struggles, head coach Kori Cheverie shouldn't hesitate much to make the switch.