PWHL Power Rankings: Week 7 (02/19-02/25)

Welcome to The Ice Garden’s weekly PWHL power rankings! Check back for new installments every week, and remember: if you think your team is ranked too low, it’s definitely totally 100% because we hate them.

There was some more shuffling in the middle of the power rankings this week, but the best and worst teams remain the same. Multiple losing streaks were snapped this week, and some new ones were started. Meanwhile, Toronto continued their red-hot ways to extend their win streak to five. Every team has hit the halfway mark of their schedules, so we’ve got a pretty good idea of who they are. The second half of the season should be incredibly exciting to watch, as teams push for the playoffs.

For this week’s theme, I’ve compared each team to a member of the original Avenger team from the 2011 Marvel movie. As someone who has seen every MCU movie, I needed to narrow down the field somehow, and this felt like the best way to do it. Surely, everyone will agree with my assessment of the Avengers, and I won’t anger anyone…

#1. Montréal (5-3-3-2, 24 points)

Last Week’s Ranking: 1 (-)

This Week’s Results:

• Weds, Feb 21 @ NYC- 3-2 SOL
• Sat, Feb 24 vs OTT- 6-3 W

Upcoming Schedule:

• Sat, Mar 2 vs BOS- 4 p.m. EST, Verdun Auditorium, Montréal, QC (NESN, GEM, RDS, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Avenger: Hulk

Out of all the original Avengers, I’m taking Hulk to win in a fight every single time. He’s simply too strong, and nothing seems to hurt him. Meanwhile, Montréal is the team to beat right now in the PWHL. They have just two regulation losses this season (no one else has less than four), and they look like the league’s most complete team. Not much seems to bother them, and I don’t see any reason why they can’t sustain this pace all season.

Montréal just keeps on rolling this season. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but their offense, defense, and goaltending are all solid. Sure, they drop a game here or there, but it’s been extremely rare they don’t at least get a point. This week, they lost to New York in a shootout after a highly controversial overturned goal. Then, they thumped Ottawa 6-3 and set the PWHL record for goals scored by one team in a game (the previous record was five). Simply put, they’re just plain good at hockey.

#2. Toronto (5-2-0-5, 19 points)

Last Week’s Ranking: 2 (-)

This Week’s Results:

• Fri, Feb 23 vs NYC- 2-1 SOW

Upcoming Schedule:

• Tue, Feb 27 @ MIN- 8 p.m. EST, 3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis, MN (Bally Sports North Extra, GEM, PWHL Youtube Channel)
• Sat, Mar 2 @ OTT- 3:30 p.m. EST, TD Place, Ottawa, ON (CBC, GEM, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Avenger: Thor

Without a doubt, Thor is one of the most powerful Avengers, original or otherwise. After all, he is a Norse god. Right now, Toronto is one of the PWHL’s best teams. There were questions about Thor’s ability to lead, much like there are questions about Toronto’s ability to sustain this level of play. However, when it mattered most, Thor came through and served both his people and later the universe, and right now, Toronto is coming through where it matters most for them: on the scoreboard.

Toronto only played one game this week, a shootout win over New York. They’re now on a five-game win streak, and despite the question marks on the roster, they’re cruising. Kristen Campbell looks great and they’re finally getting a little more offense from players not named Natalie Spooner. Sure, she scored the shootout winner this week (which doesn’t count in her stats), but Spooner now accounts for 35% of Toronto’s total goals. That’s down some from a peak of 42% following their game against Boston on February 14, which is a good sign for Toronto. Overall, the vibes are great in Toronto at the moment.

#3. Boston (4-2-2-4, 18 points)

Last Week’s Ranking: 4 (+1)

This Week’s Results:

• Mon, Feb 19 vs OTT- 4-2 L
• Wed, Feb 21 vs OTT- 3-1 W
• Sun, Feb 25 @ MIN- 2-0 W

Upcoming Schedule:

• Sat, Mar 2 @ MTL- 4 p.m. EST, Verdun Auditorium, Montréal, QC (NESN, PWHL Youtube Channel, GEM, RDS)

Avenger: Iron Man/Tony Stark

Boston embodies the Tony Stark spirit. There are times when they’re absolutely maddening and get in their own way, and then there are times when they’re great and it makes you wonder why that version can’t show up all the time. Meanwhile, Iron Man is one of the most powerful original Avengers with all the technology in his suit. But, Boston has also got to find a way to stop getting in their own way, much like Tony Stark had to learn there were times he must put his ego aside to be a good hero. 

Boston and Ottawa had the busiest weeks in the league this week, making it the easiest for them to move in the rankings. After kicking off the week with an ugly loss, Boston turned it around and is now on their first two-game regulation win streak. They finally played with some urgency and outplayed Ottawa on Wednesday. Then, yesterday, Minnesota largely outplayed them, but Aerin Frankel turned into a brick wall and willed her team to victory while the rest of the team did a bunch of little things right despite getting hemmed in their zone for long stretches. Boston showed resilience this week coming off that four-game losing streak, and they got six points to show for it. They started the week dead last in the standings and now sit just one point back of Toronto for third place. That earns them the right to move up a spot for now.

#4. Minnesota (5-2-2-4, 21 points)

Last Week’s Ranking: 3 (-1)

This Week’s Results:

• Sun, Feb 25 vs BOS- 2-0 L

Upcoming Schedule:

• Tue, Feb 27 vs TOR- 7 p.m. CST, 3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis, MN (Bally Sports North Extra, PWHL Youtube Channel, GEM)
• Sun, Mar 3 @ NYC- 11:30 a.m. CST, UBS Arena, Elmont, NY (MSGSN, Bally Sports North, TSN, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Avenger: Captain America

Minnesota has largely been a great team this season. They sit in second in the standings for a reason. Meanwhile, Captain America is one of the best of the original Avengers. Between his super soldier strength and his shield, he’s one of the strongest on the team. However, I’m still taking one of the Avengers mentioned above over him because fighting-wise, he’s only good in direct hand-to-hand combat. Right now, I’m also not running to pick Minnesota as the PWHL’s best. Like Captain America, they’re very good and deserve respect, but others are simply more powerful.

Minnesota is currently on a two-game losing streak. It’s the first time they’ve lost back-to-back games in regulation. They’re struggling with a few injuries right now, most notably to star forward Taylor Heise, but they’re doing their best to tread water until they return to full strength. Tuesday is a huge game for them because not only do they want to snap their losing streak, but Toronto is only two points back in the standings and they have a game in hand. So, a loss, especially in regulation, would be costly, and Minnesota will need to shake off a frustrating one against Boston if they hope to turn things around.

#5. New York (2-4-2-4, 16 points) 

Last Week’s Ranking: 5 (-)

This Week’s Results:

• Wed, Feb 21 vs MTL- 3-2 SOW
• Fri, Feb 23 @ TOR- 2-1 SOL

Upcoming Schedule:

• Wed, Feb 28 @ OTT- 7 p.m. EST, TD Place, Ottawa, ON (MSG2, TSN, PWHL Youtube Channel)
• Sun, Mar 3 vs MIN- 12:30 p.m. EST, UBS Arena, Elmont, NY (MSGSN, Bally Sports North, TSN, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Avenger: Black Widow

Black Widow is a highly skilled fighter. She’s a great Avenger, both in terms of keeping the group running and in actual battles. Meanwhile, New York has shown flashes of being a great team, and they have Corinne Schroeder, who always does everything she can to get the team a win. However, ultimately, Black Widow is one of the most beatable Avengers because she doesn’t have any special powers or suits. So far, New York has proven to be one of the PWHL’s lesser teams, with just two regulation wins.

Is keeping New York at #5 a little unfair? Probably. But no one else deserved to drop down here, and while New York’s win this week was over the #1 team, it was in a shootout and there was a highly controversial overturned Montréal goal. So, at #5 they stay, for now. New York has settled into a groove after a Jekyl-and-Hyde start to the season. They’re still not particularly good, but they’ve stopped being particularly bad too. Each of their four games this month has gone past 60 minutes, and they hold a 0-3-1-0 record, so that’s something. There are some pivotal points on the line this week against Ottawa and Minnesota, and they would do well to get at least one regulation win if they don’t want to keep losing ground in the standings.

#6. Ottawa (3-0-4-5, 13 points)

Last Week’s Ranking: 6 (-)

This Week’s Results:

• Mon, Feb 19 @ BOS- 4-2 W
• Wed, Feb 21 @ BOS- 3-1 L
• Sat, Feb 24 @ MTL- 6-3 L

Upcoming Schedule:

• Weds, Feb 28 vs NYC- 7 p.m. EST, TD Place, Ottawa, ON (TSN, MSG2, PWHL Youtube Channel)
• Sat, Mar 2 vs TOR- 3:30 p.m. EST, TD Place, Ottawa, ON (CBC, GEM, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Avenger: Hawkeye

Hawkeye is highly skilled. However, no one is going to call him first when they get into trouble. Meanwhile, Ottawa is a skilled team that no one will call the best in the PWHL. Few would probably even argue that Ottawa doesn’t belong in the basement. At least Hawkeye can say he consistently puts his skills to use, but Ottawa doesn’t even have that going for them at the moment. 

Oh, Ottawa…how I feel bad for you and your fans. This has been a frustrating season in Canada’s capital, with the team rarely playing poorly, but frequently finding new and spectacularly devastating ways to lose. They looked like they might be turning things around after soundly beating Boston on Monday, but they’ve since lost two straight in regulation. Sure, they’re not that far out of the playoff picture, but they’re rapidly running out of time to turn things around. They have simply got to find a way to string together more than one win at a time, and soon, or Ottawa won’t be playing come the second week of May.