A star-studded class is heading to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Led by a couple of Norris Trophy-winning defensemen, Zdeno Chara and Duncan Keith, along with former Hart Trophy winning Joe Thornton, and Jennifer Botterill, a three-time Olympic gold medal winner with Team Canada, the Hockey Hall of Fame will welcome eight new members in November. A vote on Wednesday by the selection committee in Toronto also guaranteed fall enshrinement for Brianna Decker and Alexander Mogilny as players and longtime NCAA men’s coach Jack Parker and Daniele Sauvageau, who served Team Canada as a general manager, coach and consultant, as builders.

Mogilny made the Hall of Fame in his 17th year of consideration.

Sauvageau will be the first woman to enter the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder.

An induction ceremony will be held on Nov. 10 in Toronto.

A candidate’s entire hockey career is considered by the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee, but Chara, Keith, and Thornton built overwhelming resumes based solely on their respective accomplishments in the NHL.

Chara played the most games by a defenseman with 1,680. He won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2009 and captained the Boston Bruins to the Stanley Cup in 2011.

Keith was a key figure on the Chicago Blackhawks’ Cup champions in 2010, 2013, and 2015, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason MVP for that third championship run. His Norris wins came in 2010 and 2014.

Thornton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 NHL Draft, is most remembered for his time with the Bruins and San Jose Sharks, and is one of only 15 players to score 1,500 points. And though he never played for a Cup champion, he won a gold medal for host Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Mogilny debuted in the NHL in 1989 with the Buffalo Sabres. A dynamic offensive player, he finally won the Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 2000. He is a member of the IIHF Triple Gold Club, winning Olympic gold (1988) and the IIHF World Championships (1989) for the former Soviet Union in addition to the Cup.

Botterill was a first-team All-American in each of her four seasons at Harvard University. She played professionally until 2011 and was a mainstay for Canada’s national team at the Olympics and IIHF World Championships, where she was named MVP in 2011.

Decker played collegiately at the University of Wisconsin and earned awards, but her star turn came for Team USA, with whom she won the gold medal six times at the IIHF World Championships and gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Parker captained Boston University in his final season as a player and became his school’s head coach in 1973. His teams won the NCAA championship three times and appeared in an NCAA-record 24 tournaments during his 40 seasons.

Sauvageau’s contributions to the women’s game are unrivaled among non-players in Canada. She was part of seven Winter Olympics in various roles with Team Canada. Sauvageau also was the first woman to coach in the QMJHL, as an assistant with the Montreal Rocket.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks, NHL, Women's Hockey

2025 The Athletic Media Company

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Good morning to everyone except front offices that say “as per team policy, terms were not disclosed” when they make transactions.

It’s game night, let’s get into it.

While You Were Sleeping

… you didn’t miss any hockey. The weekend delivered our first three-day break of the Stanley Cup Final. We’ll get another before Game 4, and again before Games 6 and 7 (if necessary). Weirdly, the only two-day break left on the schedule is between Games 4 and 5, which have travel in between. Edmonton is close to Sunrise, right?

The good news is that the extra night off gave everyone one more day to get rested and healthy for a crucial Game 3 …

Game 3 goes tonight

The series shifts to Florida, tied 1-1 after the Panthers’ Friday night win. We’ve got a lot of moving parts here. In fact, let’s break out the bullet points:

We’re not sure if Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will play tonight. He missed practice yesterday, a bit of a surprise given he never left Game 2, and coach Kris Knoblauch called him a game-time decision. It sounds like he’s more likely to suit up than not, but obviously any sort of significant injury to the former 100-point forward could be big.

The Oilers already sound like they’re tired of the Panthers “accidentally” falling onto their goalie. Mattias Ekholm says “enough’s enough,” but he’s not a referee, so his opinion won’t matter much. Lobbying the officials between games is part of the playoffs, and the Oilers certainly have a case here. Let’s see if it earns them a call in the blue paint at some point the rest of the way.

Notably absent from the scoresheet so far in this series: Sasha Barkov and Sam Reinhart, both of whom have been pointless. Wait, that sounded harsh — I meant that they haven’t scored any points, not that they’ve been … you know what, you get it.

As Daniel Nugent-Bowman points out, the ice has been tilted in the Panthers’ favor in the two second periods we’ve seen so far. That could be a fluke, or it could be a lack of focus from the Oilers. (It could also be the long change, although that hasn’t been an issue in overtime.)

Game 3 is tonight at 8 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV, Max and Sportsnet.

Has this been the best 2-game start of the era?

I think it has been. If we’re just going based on the first two games of every Stanley Cup Final since 2005, this one is at least on the podium, if not taking home gold.

That’s partly because it’s been a legitimately great start, with a pair of overtime games, plenty of offense and multiple highlight-reel plays. It’s also because the bar is kind of low. In fact, this is only the sixth time in the cap era that a Stanley Cup Final has been split 1-1 after two games. The other 14 series all saw a team take a 2-0 lead.

Of the five previous splits, three — the finals in 2015, 2018 and 2020 — didn’t feature any overtime at all. We did get one overtime in 2019, when the Bruins won Game 1 in regulation only to have the Blues come back with an OT win to square the series in Game 2. But with all due respect to those Gloria-infused days, the only final whose start really compares to this one was in 2013, when the Blackhawks and Bruins served up a triple-OT classic in the opener that was won by Chicago, followed by a Boston win midway through the first extra period in Game 2.

That series ended up being one of the better finals in recent memory, featuring an additional overtime in Game 4 and the 17-seconds game in Game 6. It didn’t go seven games, though, which I think we can all agree would be unacceptable for the Oilers and Panthers. For now, at least, we can’t complain. If this hasn’t been the best two-game start to a final in the cap era, it’s been awfully close.

Trivia time💡: Which team holds the record for the most appearances in the Stanley Cup Final without ever having a player win the Conn Smythe? Answer at the bottom of this email … among other places.

Coast to Coast

🚨 The only thing weirder than an NHL goalie is a third-string NHL goalie. Peter Baugh had a fun piece on some of the guys who held that role for championship teams, and the weird thing that connects many of them during the Cup handoff.

🐀 Speaking of weird connections, Michael Russo found one between veterans Corey Perry and Brad Marchand.

🥅 We can enjoy the final, but let’s not forget how we got here. I’ve got you covered with a ranking of the 14 series that led us to this one.

👶 The NHL Scouting Combine has wrapped up, meaning your favorite team now has a good idea of which player it will claim to be shocked was still available when their pick came up. Eric Stephens has more on the week and how much the draft process has changed over the years.

🍁 And finally, be sure to check out this slick YouTube video in which we try to explain the Canadian Cup drought. Come for the high-quality content, stay for the nagging feeling that you didn’t think my voice would sound like that.

PWHL Expansion 🔥

And then there were 8

It’s expansion draft night in the PWHL. We covered some of the basics in the last edition of Red Light, but a lot has changed since then. New homes for superstars such as Sarah Nurse and Hilary Knight are taking the spotlight, but you can track all of the moves right here. With the draft set for 8:30 p.m. ET tonight (we’ll have live coverage), I asked Hailey Salvian to check in with an update.

Sean: As someone who follows the PWHL but doesn’t know all the ins and outs, the last few days have seemed stunning to me. Are league insiders surprised too, or is this more a case where casual fans just have to play some catch up?

Hailey: Honestly, the whole process has been pretty wild.

When you see the rules — specifically that teams could initially protect only three players — you that stars are going to be on the move. But its one thing to understand that and another to see players like Knight, Nurse and Alex Carpenter left unprotected by their respective teams. Not protecting Carpenter, who ranks third all-time in league scoring, might have been the only real surprise to me over the last few weeks. Because as baffling as it is to leave Nurse or Knight unprotected, you can at least understand why teams might have made those decisions.

In terms of who signed and where, nothing was too surprising. I figured the general managers in Seattle and Vancouver would want to use their five signing slots on top players who were left unprotected, rather than negotiate with free agents who might still be available later this summer. And for the unprotected players, its reasonable that they’d want to dictate where they go, rather than take their chances in the draft.

If you’re a casual fan who feels overwhelmed, don’t feel bad. It’s been a whirlwind for literally everyone involved, from die-hard fans to players, agents and your local PWHL writers.

Sean: What should we be expecting tonight, and are there any realistic options that could add to the surprise factor?

Hailey: Without knowing the draft order (which the league won’t be revealing until the broadcast starts) it’s hard to project exactly what might happen. My safe assumption is that once the top remaining players (like 2024 fourth-overall pick Hannah Bilka) are off the board, both general managers will look for the best players at the best price — rather than just grabbing the top scorers or most recognizable names.

Vancouver and Seattle will need to keep the salary cap — which will go up to $1.34 million next season — in mind and won’t want to spend too much on 12 players out of what will need to be a 23-player roster.

Each GM would do well to keep some money earmarked for free agency, where top players such as Natalie Spooner, Tereza Vanišová and Jesse Compher might be available, and the entry draft, with some top young talent incoming.

There will surely be some off-the-board picks, but I don’t expect any extra fireworks from side trades or truly wild selections.

Sean: When the dust finally settles, are Vancouver and Seattle going to be contenders right away?

Hailey: It’s hard to imagine Seattle and Vancouver coming out of the draft without having legit playoff-caliber rosters. If either team is bad next season, that would likely be due to user error. The rules have been set up for these teams to contend on day one.

The Votes Are In

America loves Edmonton?

Last time around, I wondered about the USA/Canada divide in this Stanley Cup Final, especially with everything that’s happened between the two nations both on and off the ice in recent months. I wasn’t sure whether that would impact allegiances, and so I asked Red Light readers what they thought.

Well, the results are in, and … well, there’s a bit of patriotism playing out, but you have to squint to see it.

Up north, we’re all-but-unanimous in backing the Oilers, and 60 percent of the Edmonton bandwagon says it’s because they’re Canadian. That’s a majority, but not as much as you might expect given how much the “bring Stanley home” message has been beaten into the ground up here.

As for you Americans, you barely seem to have noticed the cross-country stakes at all. What you have noticed is that the Panthers are a bunch of dirtbags, with the overwhelming majority of you saying that you’re rooting for Edmonton. I wasn’t expecting that, but I can only assume it’s because your entire country has fallen in love with Oilers legend Dwayne Jetski.

Trivia Answer

The answer was hiding in plain sight

After a string of admittedly tough questions, today I gave you one where the answer was staring you in the face. The record for most final appearances without a Conn Smythe win is held by the Florida Panthers, who are currently in the final for the fourth time in history but have never had a player win playoff MVP honors. (They lost the final in 1996 and 2023 and then won the Cup last year, but Connor McDavid was the rare case of a player on the losing team getting the Conn Smythe.)

Of course, we don’t know who’ll win the MVP honors this year — Sam Bennett has a sneaky good chance if the Panthers win — so maybe you don’t want to count the 2025 final just yet. If that’s the case, it knocks the Panthers down to three appearances. That would tie them with the Vancouver Canucks, who went to the final in 1982, 1994 and 2011, only to see their opponent skate off with the Cup — and the Conn Smythe.

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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Women's Hockey

2025 The Athletic Media Company

OTTAWA — The Ottawa Charge’s ascension from one of the bottom teams in the PWHL to a franchise that’s two wins away from winning the Walter Cup started with a trade deadline that was widely viewed as a head-scratcher.

In March 2024, Ottawa traded defender Amanda Boulier for Montreal forward Tereza Vanišová in a tidy bit of work in using its depth on defense to add more offense to its lineup. Then general manager Mike Hirshfeld traded fan-favorite Lexie Adzija for Shiann Darkangelo, who at the time had just one point in her PWHL career.

Ottawa fans were shocked by the early departure of one of the team’s breakout personalities. And the early reviews weren’t kind — gave Ottawa a C for the move.

In reality, that inaugural trade deadline was the start of a series of aggressive, smart and crafty roster moves over the last 14 months — including a blockbuster trade, savvy draft selections and efficient free agency signings — that have put the Charge on the doorstep of a league title.

It’s a method of roster building that has been out of necessity for Hirshfeld: Unlike most of the other original six franchises in the PWHL, the Ottawa market hasn’t historically been a hotbed for women’s hockey, and hasn’t exactly been a destination for top free agents. Case in point: Ottawa drafted Daryl Watts in the sixth round of the inaugural PWHL Draft. She led the team in goals in 2024 and signed with Toronto (her hometown team) in the offseason.

“We knew we were never going to be able to compete with Toronto,” Hirshfeld said in an interview with . “Montreal has a huge base, and they have (Marie-Philip) Poulin and others. Boston is always a hub for women’s hockey; everyone played university there. And Minnesota is always going to be a hub … So we’ve had to be creative.”

Both Vanišová and Darkangelo were identified by the organization as players who could hit another level if given the chance (and more ice time) in a new environment. At the time of the deals, Vanišová had a modest 10 points in 17 games for Montreal and Darkangelo was playing a fairly minimal role in Boston with very little production.

This year, however, only superstars Hilary Knight and Poulin had more goals than Vanišová, who broke out as a spark plug for Ottawa with the ability to drive offense — but also mix it up. In February, she and Jill Saulnier got in the first fight in the league’s history.

“She’s got elite talent and speed,” said Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner. “She can get away from defenders, get on defenders on the forecheck, and it’s been really fun playing with her … We’re lucky to have her.”

Darkangelo was actually a player Ottawa targeted in the original PWHL Draft, but Boston grabbed her first in Round 12. When the opportunity came along to trade for her, Hirshfeld said it was a “no-brainer.”

She didn’t make big waves in seven games last season, but after signing a one-year extension in the summer, Darkangelo has become one of the most improved players in the PWHL, finishing with 17 points in 29 regular season games — more than double Adzija’s production in Boston this season. She’s a top-line staple for the Charge and scored the game-winning goal in Ottawa’s first-ever playoff game against Montreal.

“She’s elevated her game this season,” said head coach Carla MacLeod. “She’s a leader in the room, she’s a leader on the ice, she plays a 200-foot game, and she’s just really, really consistent. What she’s been able to help us with this year has been truly impactful.”

Game 1 of the Finals tells a similar story of Ottawa’s offseason work paying off in the spring. Six of the seven draft picks taken in June played regular shifts in the 2-1 win against the Minnesota Frost, and were key contributors in Ottawa’s semifinal upset against top-ranked Montreal.

On Tuesday night specifically, at least three players, none of whom were around last season, played crucial roles in beating the reigning champions to take a 1-0 series lead.

Rebecca Leslie, who signed with Ottawa as a free agent, scored the first goal of the game, a gorgeous bar-down opener in the face of one of the very best defenders in the world. Ottawa targeted her as a free agent for her ability to shore up their depth and secondary scoring. Leslie, 29, also grew up in Ottawa and was known around the rink as a great person to bring into the locker room.

🚨FIRST GOAL OF THE FINALS🚨@PWHL_Ottawa's Rebecca Leslie brings her hometown to their feet with her second goal of the PWHL Playoffs! pic.twitter.com/H5nvPxs46R

— PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) May 21, 2025

“When we played against her last year in Toronto, she was always buzzing and making things happen. She brings some of that maturity we’re looking for in our locker room to help us get over the hump,” said Hirshfeld. “She made sense for us and she’s been exactly what we hoped she’d be.”

Gwyneth Philips stopped all but one of the shots she faced in the game and has looked like the best goalie in the postseason thus far. She has a league-best 1.11 goals against average and .957 save percentage through five games and was just named a finalist for Rookie of the Year. Last week, she was named a finalist for Goalie of the Year, despite only entering the starter’s crease in March after No. 1 Emerance Maschmeyer was put on long-term injured reserve.

Drafting Philips in the third round last year was intentional. Not in case of a season-ending injury, but to strengthen the team’s goalie depth chart after Maschmeyer played more minutes than any other goalie in the league last season.

After scouting Philips and understanding her potential to be a legitimate goalie superstar in the PWHL, Hirshfeld and the Charge went about planning to take her no later than the third round.

“That’s a difference-maker in this league,” Hirshfeld thought at the time. “And we’re going to get her.”

And Jocelyne Larocque largely shut down Minnesota’s top players, just as she did against Montreal in the semifinals alongside her defense partner Ashton Bell.

Back in December, the move to acquire 36-year-old Larocque — and Victoria Bach in exchange for Savannah Harmon and Hayley Scamurra — was heavily scrutinized. Larocque, who turned 37 on Monday, had a tough start the the season in Toronto and was playing heavy minutes on the top pair. She was on the ice for over half of the Sceptres’ goals against, and most fans viewed Harmon, 29, as the better piece.

Well, in Ottawa, playing fewer minutes on a deeper blue line, Larocque has looked the part of a top-pair, shutdown defender again. She and Bell played heavy matchup minutes against Poulin’s line in the semis, and kept Montreal’s captain and Laura Stacey to one goal apiece in the series. Perhaps more impressively, Larocque and Bell were only on the ice for Stacey’s goal.

On Tuesday night, she and Bell led the team in minutes and weren’t on the ice for the lone goal against. Beyond her on-ice impact, Hirshfeld said Larocque has been an excellent leader and really helped some of Ottawa’s younger defenders such as Bell, Zoe Boyd and Ronja Savolainen, who is playing in her first year in the PWHL.

“She brings calmness, she brings toughness, she makes the right plays at the end of games,” Hirshfeld said. “And we just felt like if she played 20 minutes per game, it was the right amount for her.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Larocque said managing her minutes has helped her game tremendously.

“I think last year it was more difficult to give those extra bumps and really be diligent on box outs and the tasks that require a lot of effort,” she said. “I think I can do that a lot more this year, and I think I’m playing more my game.”

There have been other moments where new faces have excelled in the playoffs. Mannon McMahon, a late-round draft pick last summer, scored the winner in Game 3 of the semifinals and has fit in well on Ottawa’s shutdown line alongside Emily Clark and Gabbie Hughes. Free-agent signing Alexa Vasko hasn’t gotten on the scoresheet yet in the playoffs, but she was blocking plenty of point-blank shots on Tuesday night.

ALEXA VASKO IS ABSOLUTELY EATING PUCKS ON THE OTTAWA PK RIGHT NOW 😤 pic.twitter.com/4iP5JG7wVW

— Jocks In Jills (@JocksInJills) May 21, 2025

None of this should be viewed as any real slight against Ottawa’s foundational players, either. Emily Clark has scored back-to-back game-winners and leads the team in scoring. Jenner is tied for second. Even Hirshfeld won’t take the credit, saying it’s a confluence of factors that has gotten the team to the Finals and that the players deserve a lot of credit for jelling at the right time. And frankly, that original group missed the playoffs last season, finishing one point behind Minnesota after a loss on the final day of the season.

But let’s not forget the several squandered chances to clinch a spot last season, or the struggles holding a lead in third periods. Those are key areas that Ottawa wanted to improve this season with more veteran experience, like Darkangelo and Larocque. In the playoffs, Ottawa has scored first four times and won each game.

Parity in the PWHL is real, and the margins are so thin between all six (soon to be eight) teams. Ottawa, Minnesota and Boston all finished the season tied in points, with the Fleet missing the playoffs on a tie-breaker. Getting something as small as a goal from a third liner — or as big as having a superstar goalie waiting in the wings — could be the difference between making the Finals or missing the playoffs altogether.

And if you ask Hirshfeld, these kinds of contributions, from the new faces and old, were the plan all along.

“We’ve got a good group of people who are experienced in women’s hockey, and we work really hard at it,” he said of a team that includes former Team Canada coach Mel Davidson and Seattle Kraken assistant coach Jessica Campbell. “We try and be strategic, we know what we want, what’s important to us in Ottawa, and we’ve been fortunate to hit on a couple of things. So it’s worked out the way we hoped it would.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Ottawa Senators, NHL, Women's Hockey

2025 The Athletic Media Company

OTTAWA — In many ways, it’s fitting that the only local player on the Ottawa Charge would score the first PWHL Finals goal in the city.

After a tight first period, it was Rebecca Leslie who opened the scoring 11:34 into the second period of Game 1. Leslie, who signed with the Charge as a free agent this season, only scored one goal in the regular season for her hometown team, but now has back-to-back opening goals in the postseason.

🚨FIRST GOAL OF THE FINALS🚨@PWHL_Ottawa's Rebecca Leslie brings her hometown to their feet with her second goal of the PWHL Playoffs! pic.twitter.com/H5nvPxs46R

— PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) May 21, 2025

In the end, it was Emily Clark who scored the winner in a 2-1 overtime victory over the Minnesota Frost. Gwyneth Philips made 25 saves on 26 shots to seal her third straight win of the playoffs.

For Ottawa, the series opener was yet another one-goal game. The Charge have now won 13 one-goal games, the most in the PWHL. For the Frost, it was a major change from the high-scoring semifinals against Toronto, where Minnesota scored 18 goals in four games.

The Charge now have a 1-0 series lead.

Here are four takeaways from the game.

The scoreless opening frame

There were no goals in the first period, and there wasn’t much room in the middle of the ice for either team to generate much offense. Minnesota got the first shot of the game, and didn’t register another until around the five-minute mark of the period. Ottawa didn’t test Nicole Hensley for the first seven minutes of the game.

The Frost made it tough for Ottawa to get out of the offensive zone, and any time Ottawa tried to set up, Minnesota skaters were jumping on pucks, forcing turnovers and taking away the high-danger areas of the ice, getting sticks and bodies into shooting lanes.

Midway through the period, though, the ice started to tilt in the other direction. The Charge killed off a Stephanie Markowski penalty and held the Frost to just one shot on goal on the advantage. On their own power play a few minutes later, Ottawa put four shots on goal – compared to just three in the first 13 minutes. They didn’t score, but Ottawa generated momentum on the power play that continued to the end of the period, finishing with nine shots, including a great chance by Gabbie Hughes in the dying seconds of the frame.

Minnesota, meanwhile, didn’t get another shot on goal after Michela Cava’s power-play shot at 8:32.

Philips’ miscue

No goalie has been better in the playoffs than Philips, who entered the finals with a .956 save percentage and 1.14 goals-against-average. So it was a bit surprising to see Philips leave her net and play a puck right to Minnesota forward — and Philips’ former Northeastern teammate — Katy Knoll.

Knoll quickly sent the puck to Klára Hymlárová, who easily put the puck into the open net. It was the third goal scored by Minnesota’s fourth line in the playoffs, once again proving the team has a mix of legitimate star power and depth that can contribute in the biggest moments.

The goal ➡️ the celly 😮‍💨 https://t.co/lXWrcNpSRNpic.twitter.com/dN5tzrhoZ8

— x – Minnesota Frost (@PWHL_Minnesota) May 21, 2025

The goal ended Philips’ shutout bid 5:24 into the third period and tied the game 1-1. She appeared to settle back into her crease and did not allow another goal in regulation, despite Minnesota’s fairly consistent pressure in the final frame; shots were 10-3 for the Frost in the third period.

The game-winner

Less than three minutes into overtime, Clark led the rush out of the zone and fired a tough angle shot on Hensley that found its way in the back of the net.

“I just saw an opportunity to skate it and tried to get it on net,” she said after the game. “Luckily it went in.”

It was Clark’s second straight game-winning goal of the playoffs, after scoring the winner in Game 4 to advance to the Finals. She now leads the Charge in scoring with two goals and four points through five games.

EMILY CLARK WINS IT IN OT FOR THE CHARGE ⚡

THEY LEAD THE WALTER CUP FINALS 1-0! pic.twitter.com/56xSHck3QP

— Jocks In Jills (@JocksInJills) May 21, 2025

Home ice advantage

Ottawa is now 3-0 in home games in the playoffs thus far, and the home ice advantage is real.

There were 6,184 fans packed into TD Place Arena and they didn’t hold back, from the moment players walked in the building – yes, fans lined up outside just to greet them – to the final buzzer.

The heat has entered the chat 🔥#SurgingAhead | #OTTvMIN
Ottawa Charge x @WoodyCreekDistipic.twitter.com/6UAygwGFX5

— x – Ottawa Charge (@PWHL_Ottawa) May 20, 2025

It went beyond your typical signs and jerseys throughout the stands. Fans brought kazoos and trumpets, and they prepared cheers to go along with their instruments.

“They’re loud, they’re passionate,” said PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford. “Watching on TV, you can feel (the) energy that they have. … It’s an amazing building to be in.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Ottawa Senators, Minnesota Wild, NHL, Women's Hockey

2025 The Athletic Media Company

The Ottawa Charge will advance to the PWHL Finals after a 2-1 win over the Montreal Victoire in Game 4 of the semifinals on Friday night.

Rebecca Leslie — an Ottawa-native — opened the scoring just two minutes into the game, giving the Charge an early lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Maureen Murphy made things interesting late in the third period, cutting the Ottawa lead in half with five minutes remaining. But the Charge — backed by strong goaltending from Gwyneth Philips — were able to secure the win and pull off the upset.

Montreal entered the playoffs as the No. 1 team in the league and got to choose its semifinal opponent, the third-ranked Charge. Montreal was heavily favored to win the series, according to Dom Luszczyszyn’s model, with 63 percent odds. But the Victoire mustered only one win — 3-2 in quadruple overtime — en route to another early exit from the postseason.

“We had to grind for every win. That’s a great hockey club over there that gave us a great challenge,” Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner said. “I think we’re playing our best hockey at the right time of year, so it’s exciting.”

As the top remaining seed, Ottawa will have home-ice advantage in the PWHL Finals against the Minnesota Frost. Game 1 will be Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET at TD Place Arena.

Here are some takeaways from Friday’s deciding game.

A quick opening goal

Ottawa had about as good a start as they could have hoped for, scoring just two minutes after puck drop. That it was Leslie, a local product, who started the two-on-one, and buried the rebound that kicked out off Ann-Renée Desbiens’ pad, was a nice touch.

🚨 Rebecca Leslie (1)
🍎🍏 Anna Meixner pic.twitter.com/PhJ6XtPHQ6

— x – Ottawa Charge (@PWHL_Ottawa) May 16, 2025

The Charge are known for strong starts, with the most games scoring first (21) in the league through the regular season and into playoffs. At times during the regular season, maintaining leads was perhaps Ottawa’s biggest issue with a modest 10-1-3-4 record when scoring first.

But, in the first round, Ottawa has been able to gain and hold a lead much more effectively, scoring first three times and winning each time — including on Friday night.

Montreal’s top line

One of the reasons to believe Montreal could get the job done against Ottawa was that it has the best forward in the world (Marie-Philip Poulin) and arguably the best top line in the PWHL (Poulin, Laura Stacey and Jennifer Gardiner).

Poulin led the league in scoring this season with 19 goals and has been named a finalist for Forward of the Year, and is sure to be one for MVP whenever that is announced.

No duo combined for more goals than Poulin and Stacey during the regular season. Gardiner fit in on the top line perfectly, putting together an excellent rookie season bested only in points by Sarah Fillier.

But Ottawa did an excellent job shutting that line down, with Ottawa’s top line of Gabbie Hughes, Emily Clark and Mannon McMahon getting most of the head-to-head minutes. The trio played Poulin tough and did well to stop her from getting the puck, especially in high-danger areas of the ice, keeping Montreal’s captain off the score sheet in Games 2 and 3 and for most of Friday’s game — until Poulin’s secondary assist on Murphy’s late third period tally.

It’s a credit to Poulin that, despite the stingy defense, she still found pockets of open space and got more shots off in the series than anybody (27), save for Stacey (28).

But she was only able to beat Philips once all series. Similarly, Stacey only had one goal.

It’s the second year in a row that Stacey and Poulin have been completely shut down in the first round of the playoffs.

On Friday, Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie made some tweaks to the top line, replacing Gardiner with Lina Ljungblom, last year’s Swedish Women’s Hockey League MVP. Then, in the second period, she moved Dara Greig to that line.

None of those moves could get Montreal’s stars going with the season on the line.

Clark scores her first

As excellent as Clark’s line is on the defensive side of the puck, they also added a ton of value offensively over the last two games.

In Game 3, it was McMahon who scored the lone-goal in a 1-0 win to give Ottawa a 2-1 series lead. On Friday, the top line combined again for a massive goal just 31 seconds into the third period to give Ottawa a much more comfortable 2-0 lead.

It was Clark’s first goal of the playoffs, and the 8,011 fans at TD Place Arena erupted with “Clarky” chants for the fan favorite player.

🚨 Emily Clark (1)
🍎🍏 Unassisted pic.twitter.com/dZaSa0dstP

— x – Ottawa Charge (@PWHL_Ottawa) May 17, 2025

Throughout the semifinals, the Charge have been at their best in the third period, with five of their seven goals scored in the final frame. In Game 1, it was Shiann Darkangelo with a game-winner. In Game 2, Aneta Tejralová and Jenner scored two goals in the final five minutes to force overtime – and ultimately quadruple overtime.

It’s been quite the departure from Ottawa’s issues earlier in the year (and last season) with closing out games. And it’s come at the right time.

Philips wins the goalie battle

This series was far different than the Toronto versus Minnesota semifinal, which featured 32 goals scored between the two teams and a league record for goals scored in a single game.

Goaltending was at times optional. That was not the case between Ottawa and Montreal.

All four games were close, decided by one goal. Both teams only combined for 12 goals – the same amount as the record-breaking 7-5 Minnesota win on Sunday. And it’s not because the games were low-event. In fact, there were more shots on goal in the Ottawa-Montreal series than Toronto-Minnesota.

The low scores were largely due to excellent goaltending by Desbiens and Philips, who lead the PWHL postseason in shots against, saves, save percentage and goals against average.

Philips – the rookie goalie who has been thrust into the starters crease with Emerance Maschmeyer on LTIR – has the edge in nearly every category. In her last two games, Philips has made 36 saves on 37 shots for back-to-back wins to lead Ottawa to the Finals.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

NHL, Women's Hockey

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A playoff game between the Montreal Victoire and Ottawa Charge set a record for the longest game in Professional Women’s Hockey League history on Sunday night, spanning over 135 minutes and four overtime periods.

The puck dropped at 2:08 p.m. ET, and the game went on for more than five hours, finally coming to an end at 7:42 with Montreal winning 3-2.

Catherine Dubois scored the game-winning goal with just under five minutes remaining in the fourth overtime period to give Montreal its first playoff win in franchise history.

“I’m just happy we got a win and it’s over now,” Dubois said after the game.

Québec native setting records in her home Province 🥺

Catherine Dubois' GWG in 4OT ⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ojMk9j1jdN

— PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) May 11, 2025

It was the second consecutive year – on the exact same day – that Montreal’s second game of the postseason turned into a hockey marathon. Last season, Boston beat Montreal 2-1 in triple overtime with Taylor Wenczkowski’s game-winner at 111:44.

Sunday night’s game was more than twenty minutes longer than last year’s record (135:33) and longer than two regulation hockey games combined.

At one point during the game, Ottawa had packets of mustard and pickle juice on the bench, according to rinkside reporter Kelly Greig.

The @PWHL_Ottawa trainers have started taping packs of mustard to the bench. Apparently eating mustard can prevent cramping after playing for this long. pic.twitter.com/Wk8PKjwvaS

— Kelly Greig (@KellyGreig) May 11, 2025

“At some point, you just laugh,” said Ottawa forward Emily Clark. “The mustard was coming out, the pickle juice … It honestly went down easier than I thought it was going to.” 

For most of regulation it looked like Montreal might cruise to victory, holding a 2-0 lead in the third period. But Ottawa charged back with two goals in the final five minutes, including Brianne Jenner’s game-tying goal with only 42 seconds left to force overtime.

“There’s so much to be proud of,” said Ottawa defender Jocelyne Larocque, who led the team with 56 minutes of ice time. “We never gave up. We tied it up late in the game. We gave an amazing effort.”

Both teams had quality chances to end the game in the first overtime period, including five-on-three power plays on both sides, but failed to capitalize. Montreal forward Alexandra Labelle also appeared to win the game just minutes into the fourth overtime period, but the puck rang off the post behind Ottawa netminder Gwyneth Philips.

Finally, Dubois ended it on the 121st shot of the game. It was her first career playoff goal and builds off a strong regular season for Dubois, who finished tied for third in goals on the Victoire behind only captain Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey.

Montreal goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens set a record with 63 saves on 65 shots. Philips made 53 saves for the Charge, good for a franchise record.

Montreal defender Erin Ambrose logged a game-high 58:09 in ice time, less than her all-time high 61:33 in last year’s Game 2 thriller. Stacey led all forwards with 46:47; her 12 shots on goal is a new PWHL single-game record.

It was the second-longest game in Montreal’s rich professional hockey history, just shy of Game 1 of the 1936 semifinals between the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Maroons (176:30). It was also the second consecutive year that Montreal’s second game of the postseason turned into a hockey marathon. Last season, Boston beat Montreal 2-1 in triple overtime en route to a 3-0 series win.

With the win on Sunday, the Victoire have tied the best-of-five semifinal series and took a key step toward avenging last year’s opening-round sweep against Boston.

“I think that the group showed the grit that was needed to win a playoff game,” said Montreal coach Kori Cheverie. “I’d like to think that the momentum is in our corner, but we’ll have to wait and see and be able to put another game together for 60-plus minutes.”

In the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader, the Minnesota Frost beat the Toronto Sceptres 7-5 in the highest-scoring game in league history. Minnesota, the reigning champions, now have a 2-1 series lead.

The PWHL playoffs continue on Tuesday.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Women's Hockey

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