LPHF: who will have the advantage in the Montreal-Boston series?

Head coach Kori Cheverie mentioned this Monday evening, shortly after learned that the Montreal team would face the Boston team in the semi-final of the LPHF: “It will be a very close duel”. The two clubs also divided the honors of the four matches of the regular calendar. And the biggest margin was two goals. At first glance, it is not easy to predict who will come out on top in this best-of-five series, but The newspaper painted a portrait of the main factors that could tip the scales.

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On the offensive

Fans will be treated to a clash between two of the best players in history in Marie-Philip Poulin and Hilary Knight. The captains, both with Montreal and Boston and with their national team, have crossed swords so often that a healthy, but competitive rivalry was born a long time ago. The Quebecer also won over the American in the World Cup final last month, in New York State. A little revenge would definitely do Knight some good.

The latter had a rather quiet campaign with six goals and five assists in 24 games. But since scoring 10 points in Utica, the 34-year-old winger has been on a roll. She has put her name on the scoresheet in Boston’s last three games, as has Hannah Brandt. The Swiss Alina Muller dominates her team with 16 points, good for 14^e rank of the LPHF, tied notably with Maureen Murphy, of Montreal.

The Quebec team has two representatives in the top 10 with Poulin (10b-12a) and Laura Stacey (10b-8a), in second and ninth respectively. “Captain Clutch” also ranks second with an average of 1.10 points per game and had a 57.9% success rate on faceoffs. Brandt is not far behind with 53.7%.

Kristin O’Neill and Mikyla Grant-Mentis finished the regular season strong, but the other forwards didn’t produce much. Boston, however, does not have more depth in attack, even if newcomers Susanna Tapani and Lexie Adzija, from Minnesota and Ottawa, have strengthened the center line.

Advantage: Montreal

To the defense

Erin Ambrose and Megan Keller are the quarterbacks for Montreal and Boston. Ambrose finished second among circuit defenders with 18 points, followed by Keller (15 pts). The 30-year-old Ontarian had a differential of +5, compared to +9 for the 28-year-old American. But Keller spent more time in the cell, 12 minutes, compared to four for Ambrose. She has a gift for distributing the puck on Poulin’s or Stacey’s palette. Keller is not to be outdone, however, having a great bond with Knight.

On the Montreal blue line, Kati Tabin is reliable and Amanda Boulier has proven to be a great acquisition on the power play, but the other backs are experiencing ups and downs. Among the Bostonians, Emily Brown and Kaleigh Fratkin support Keller well in this imposing brigade.

Advantage: Boston

In front of the net

An interesting duel is to be expected between Ann-Renée Desbiens and Aerin Frankel. At the World Cup, the 24-year-old American scored a 1-0 shutout in overtime in the preliminary round, stopping all 26 shots from Canada. Then, Desbiens had the last word at the end of a crazy final won 6 to 5, also in overtime, by the representatives of the maple leaf.

In the regular season, it was Frankel who obtained the best statistics with a goals against average of 2.00 and an efficiency rate of .929, compared to 2.28 and .923 for the 30-year-old Quebecer.

If one of the two were to get injured or be replaced, Montreal would have no concerns with Elaine Chuli (1.61/.949), while question marks would surface with Emma Soderberg (2.54/.900).

Advantage: Tie

Special units

As Cheverie and Poulin said, discipline will be one of the keys to success during series which are likely to be robust. Saturday, during the last meeting between the two clubs, 48 ​​hits were distributed, including 30 on the Boston side, seven being the work of Megan Keller.

However, the Massachusetts team’s power play was the least effective in the LPHF with only four goals on 53 opportunities (7.5%). As for their next opponents, they had a success rate of 15.9%. Poulin, Stacey, O’Neill and Ambrose have been on fire since becoming world champions. They have helped their team hit the target eight times on the massive attack in the last five games.

Outnumbered, Montreal did a little better than Boston with 84% success compared to 80%. And only once has Montreal managed to score short of a player, which automatically ends the punishment. Boston has availed itself of this privilege twice.

Advantage: Montreal

Behind the bench

Kori Cheverie and Courtney Birchard-Kessel, who is married to Phil and Amanda Kessel’s brother, are the only two head coaches making the playoffs, with Toronto and Minnesota led by Troy Ryan and former NHL defenseman Ken Klee. They were alongside Ryan in the Canadian World Cup clan. At 36, Cheverie has more experience, having won gold as an assistant at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. She was also invited to the Pittsburgh Penguins camp.

Advantage: Montreal

The imponderables

Both teams have been heavily affected by injuries this season. And as we have seen, when Marie-Philip Poulin is absent, the Montreal club is looking for itself. Fortunately, number 29 has recovered from her knee injury. However, the names of forwards Ann-Sophie Bettez and Kennedy Marchment are on the long-term injured list, as is that of defender Dominika Laskova. Center player Sarah Bujold missed the last four games, replaced by reserve Mélodie Daoust. The latter can only sign a 10-day contract during the playoffs, so it will be interesting to see what strategy will be recommended by general manager Danièle Sauvageau.

On the Boston side, the loss of forwards Taylor Girard and Loren Gabel hurts. Additionally, the presence of leading winger Jamie Lee Rattray is uncertain. On Saturday, the Canadian Olympic champion hit a wall named Sarah Lefort in the first period. Stunned, Rattray did not return to the game afterwards.

Ultimately, the “seventh player” will play a role in this emerging rivalry. UMass Lowell’s Tsongas Center was packed with 5,964 rowdy spectators on Saturday, but Bell Place can accommodate nearly twice that number, which could be intimidating for visitors.

Advantage: Tie