PREVIEW: Boston Tries to Extend Win Streak Against Montréal

After six days off, Boston looks to extend the win streak to three as they visit Montréal this afternoon for the second (and final) time this season.

The Basics: Saturday, March 2, 2024- Boston at Montréal- 4 p.m. EST, Verdun Auditorium, Montréal, QC (NESN, PWHL Youtube Channel, GEM, RDS)

What to Expect

These teams have met twice previously, with both games going to overtime. In the first game back on January 13, Boston walked out of Verdun with a 3-2 OTW. Then, on February 4, Montréal got payback and left the Tsongas Center with a 2-1 OTW. 

Boston is coming off a 2-0 win over Minnesota, largely on the back of Aerin Frankel. Minnesota was the better team for most of the game. However, Boston was opportunistic offensively, and Frankel made a whopping 41 saves to secure her first PWHL shutout and set the record for most saves in a shutout. Boston just wrapped up an extremely busy stretch of four games in a week and five in 11 days. So, it will be interesting to see how they look now that they’ve had the chance to practice consistently for the first time in weeks. They are currently in fourth place in the standings, two points ahead of Ottawa with a game in hand. They trail Toronto by three points, although they have a game in hand over them as well. Toronto plays Ottawa at 3:30 p.m. EST today, so if you’re a Boston fan, keep an eye on that game as well.

Montréal has had a full week off, and their most recent game was a 6-3 feast of Ottawa. Claire Dalton scored her first PWHL hat-trick as Montréal set the record for most goals scored in a game. They currently sit pretty securely in first place in the standings, with a two-point lead over second-place Minnesota and a game in hand.

Recent history has not been kind to my goalie predictions, so listen to me at your own risk. For today, Montréal’s is truly a coin flip. Both Elaine Chuli and Ann-Renée Desbiens have been excellent. Chuli is 3-1-0-0 with a league-leading 1.24 GAA and 0.961 SV%. Meanwhile, Desbiens is 1-3-3-2, with a 2.16 GAA (sixth in the league) and 0.923 SV% (fifth in the league). Each of them has gotten a start in the season series. Desbiens was solid when called upon for the 3-2 OTL in their first meeting this season, while Chuli was great in her team’s 2-1 OTW in Lowell a couple of weeks ago. Overall, Desbiens has played the last two games while Chuli hasn’t played since February 18.

Montréal has three games this week, and Chuli is bound to get at least one. There are arguments to be made for either of them today. On the one hand, you want to keep Chuli fresh, and not only has she been phenomenal when called upon, but Boston hasn’t been a big offensive threat lately. Meanwhile, Desbiens has been playing 2-3 games to Chuli’s 1. So, say they want Desbiens to play two out of the three this week, it’d make more sense to start her today and Chuli Wednesday to break up the week. That said, my gut is saying it will be Chuli today, so lightly pencil her in with the understanding it’s anybody’s guess.

Meanwhile, guessing the Boston goaltender has been ~fun~ lately. The more confident I've been, the more likely it's been that I'm wrong. But, given that Montréal is the best team in the league and Boston wants to make sure they walk out of Verdun with something, my money is on Aerin Frankel getting the start. She has been lights-out lately and they just seem to trust her more. Boston also has three games this week, and Emma Söderberg should be in one of them, but it feels unlikely that’s today. Frankel has started both games against Montréal this season and made 31 and 28 saves (respectively), and she's more experienced against Montréal’s best players. She’s started the past four games, but after six days off, I don’t think that will factor much into head coach Courtney Kessel’s decision. Frankel is 3-1-2-2 on the season, with a 1.72 GAA and 0.940 SV% (both third in the league).

Boston’s Key to the Game 

Get quality shots. Given the strength of Montréal’s goaltending, Boston is going to need to get plenty of quality shots today to get one past them. They have not been doing a great job of that lately despite the wins, so hopefully all the practice has helped them find ways to dig deep and get to the dirty areas. Minimizing Montréal’s quality chances will also be vital, but you have to score to win. That said, limiting the number of saves Frankel has to make where we go “that’s the save of the game” is also a good idea. It’s great for her highlight reel, but perhaps a game against the league’s best team where you need points is not the place to build up a highlight reel.