Takeaways: Fleet Struggle Offensively in 3-2 Overtime Loss to Victoire

In front of a raucous crowd at Montréal’s iconic Bell Centre, the Boston Fleet’s win streak ended with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Montréal Victoire. Kati Tabin led the way offensively for Montréal with two goals, while Boston’s depth got them on the scoreboard despite a lackluster offensive effort from the whole team.

Goal Rundown

Just 36 seconds into the game, Tabin rifled a shot past a screened Aerin Frankel to open the scoring. 

After getting hit in the defensive zone, Amanda Pelkey popped back up, forced a neutral zone turnover to spring herself on a breakaway, and ripped a slapshot past Ann-Renée Desbiens to tie the game at 7:39.

In the second period, Sidney Morin tipped home a Susanna Tapani shot from right outside the crease to give the Fleet their first lead at 6:33.

The Victoire dominated the third period, and they were rewarded for it when Tabin fired another puck past a screened Frankel to tie the game at 13:01. At that point, shots were 12-0 Montréal in the period.

For the seventh time in ten meetings, regulation wasn't enough for these two clubs. Both got some grade-A looks in overtime until finally, Laura Stacey dove to whack a loose puck past Frankel with just 17 seconds remaining.

In goal, Frankel made 27 saves in the loss, while Desbiens made 15 for the win.

Takeaways

1. Boston’s recent struggles to generate offense finally cost them.

For the past few games, I’ve been harping on the Fleet to generate more quality scoring chances, and just more shots in general. They had been sneaking away with wins but today, it finally cost them. They landed just 17 shots on Desbiens, which ties their season-low. Most of those were also low quality, and they didn't do a good job of causing chaos out in front during them. To make matters worse, in the third period, they became the first team in PWHL history to not register a shot for a full regulation period. Desbiens leads qualified PWHL goaltenders (minimum 360 minutes played) in goals-against average (1.76) and save percentage (0.934) this season, so 17 shots, most of which she can see, simply isn’t going to cut it against her. 

2. The Fleet’s power play struggles gave Montréal momentum.

The Fleet’s power play hasn’t been great lately, but until today, it hadn't been an outright problem. However, when playing a team as good as Montréal, letting four opportunities slip away is not a winning strategy. Three of those power plays came in the first period alone, including 27 seconds of a 5v3, yet the Fleet never really got a quality look, let alone a goal. With their schedule getting stronger down the stretch, the Fleet's power play needs to find a way to get back closer to what it was at the beginning of the season, or it will continue costing them.

3. After Tabin's tying goal, both teams seemed focused on getting this game to overtime.

As mentioned, the Fleet didn’t land any shots on goal in the third period, while Montréal tallied 12. However, neither team landed another shot in the seven minutes after Tabin’s tying goal. Both teams did a reasonable job of limiting good chances all game, but after it was tied, most of the offensive urgency faded away. Both clubs seemed to be more focused on making sure they got at least one point than trying to get all three, which is not something you see very often. It could have led to a boring overtime, but instead, they wasted no time picking things back up. Boston managed three shots to Montréal’s one, and both sides also got multiple grade-A looks that didn’t register as official shots. There are ebbs and flows to every game, but it's rare to see ebbs that look intentional like the end of the third period did, especially with a third of the regular season still to go.

4. The Fleet showed some grit to get a point.

While the Fleet's offensive struggles were frustrating, they still showed a lot of grit to earn a point in Montréal. It’s difficult in any situation to allow a goal on the first shift, but it's even worse when you consider how electric that atmosphere was for the Victoire. The game could have easily spiraled out of control quickly. But instead, the Fleet rallied and tied the game, and even got to carry a lead into the final period. Then, the third certainly didn’t go how they wanted it to, but they weathered that storm and came out with a point against the clear-cut best team in the league.

“I didn’t think it was one of our best games this year,” Boston head coach Courtney Kessel said postgame. “I think we knew coming in that the crowd was going to be electric and I think sometimes nerves get the best of you. But for us to battle back after our first shift was a goal against, I think it’s a testament to our team’s resilience this year, and we got a point, and points are hard to get in this league right now so we’ll take it.”

The Fleet return home for their final meeting of the season with the New York Sirens on Wednesday. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass., and you can find the game on NESN, MSGSN2, TSN, the PWHL YouTube Channel, and thepwhl.com.