Lou Orlando
For a brief moment, the top three teams in the PWHL were locked in a tie for first place with 10 games left in the regular season.
The Montreal Victoire drew even with the Boston Fleet and Minnesota Frost after defeating the Seattle Torrent in regulation Thursday. Boston and Minnesota pulled back ahead with regulation wins over the weekend, but the race for the No. 1 seed is tight as can be.
The battle for the League’s final playoff spot is equally intriguing. As the New York Sirens continue to lose ground post-Olympics, the Toronto Sceptres hold fourth place in the PWHL standings — though the Ottawa Charge aren’t far behind.
It all translated into plenty of movement in our power rankings, including a brand-new team in the No. 1 spot.
1. Minnesota Frost (42 points, 11-3-3-4, +25 GD)
Previous Ranking: 3 (+2)
The gap between Minnesota, Boston, and Montreal is as narrow as can be, but the Frost get the nod at No. 1. Minnesota extended its winning streak to five games (4-1-0-0) and claimed its fourth consecutive regulation Saturday with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Goldeneyes.
The Frost scored at least three goals in every win and outscored opponents 19-6 during the streak. Their 67 goals are 15 more than the next-best team, Montreal (52).
Kelly Pannek, Taylor Heise, and Britta Curl-Salemme are locked in a three-way tie for the League lead in points with 22. Pannek scored in back-to-back games, including a two-goal effort against Ottawa on Wednesday. She recorded points in 10 of her last 11 games.
But while Minnesota’s offense draws the spotlight, don’t overlook sharp play from goalies Maddie Rooney and Nicole Hensley. Both own sub-2.00 goals-against averages in a near-even split. Rooney hasn’t allowed more than two goals since Jan. 4 and ranks third in the PWHL with a 1.90 GAA. Hensley sits fourth at 1.98, despite a couple of uneven outings in March.
The Frost rank third League-wide in goals against per game (2.00) and save percentage (.927). It will be tough to match Boston or Minnesota in net, but the Rooney-Hensley tandem can hold its own.
Both offense and goaltending will be put to the test this week, as Minnesota hosts the Victoire on Wednesday and the Fleet on Sunday at Grand Casino Arena. First-place in the standings — and these power rankings — is on the line.
2. Boston Fleet (42 points, 10-5-2-4, +15 GD)
Previous Ranking: 2 (–)
A highly anticipated matchup between the Fleet and Victoire on March 15 lived up to the billing. Boston erased a 3-0 deficit in the final 13:59 of regulation, and Ella Huber delivered the game-winner 1:33 in overtime. It was not without controversy. Loren Gabel’s goal that kicked off the scoring for Boston at 6:01 of the third was initially waved off for goalie interference. Officials overturned the ruling and credited Gabel with the goal after video review, despite a significant collision between Fleet captain Megan Keller and Victoire goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens.
For now, that win keeps them two points ahead of Montreal with nine games to play. Toronto beat the Fleet 2-0 on Tuesday, but Boston answered Saturday with a 3-0 win over the Seattle Torrent behind Aerin Frankel’s League-leading fifth shutout.
Fleet general manager Danielle Marmer added another scoring threat Monday, acquiring winger Jessie Eldridge from the Seattle Torrent in exchange for Theresa Schafzahl. Boston thrived in low-scoring games thanks to Frankel and a strong defensive system, but the offensive-minded Eldridge helps address its biggest weakness.
Eldridge went scoreless in her first two games, but Boston is far more dangerous with her in the top six.
3. Montreal Victoire (40 points, 10-4-2-5, +21 GD)
Previous Ranking: 1 (-2)
Despite a pair of losses last week, Montreal extended its points streak to nine games (7-0-2-0). Overtime losses to Boston and Ottawa sandwiched a 4-1 win over Seattle on Thursday.
The Victoire have a clear lane to the League’s top seed, sitting just two points out of first with matchups remaining against Boston and Minnesota. The bigger concern is the status of captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who was placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) Tuesday.
Poulin exited during the first period of Montreal’s March 15 matchup against Boston after taking a hit along the boards from Fleet forward Shay Maloney. Poulin appeared to sustain an injury to her right leg — the same one that sidelined her for two games during the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics. The 34-year-old missed Thursday and Sunday’s games with a lower-body injury.
Poulin is eligible to return April 5. Montreal’s bottom-six production has taken major strides since the new year, but any prolonged absence for its top goal-scorer would be difficult to absorb.
4. Toronto Sceptres (31 points, 8-1-5-8, -12 GD)
Previous Ranking: 6 (+2)
It appears the Sceptres are getting hot at the right time. Toronto earned a point in all six games since the Olympic break (4-0-2-0) and jumped into a playoff spot after an ice-cold finish in the first half.
The Sceptres posted consecutive 2-0 wins last week, highlighted by a statement victory Tuesday against the Fleet. Raygan Kirk recorded her first two career shutouts, stopping all 58 shots across two games. Toronto’s No. 1 starter now ranks fourth League-wide in save percentage (.929) and fifth in GAA (2.05).
Toronto has turned in an inspiring stretch after floundering in December and January, though its offense could make it hard to sustain. The Sceptres scored two goals or fewer in four of six games post-Olympics. Daryl Watts and Blayre Turnbull have shined, but they’ll need more production overall to stay above the cutline.
5. Ottawa Charge (30 points, 5-7-1-9, -8 GD)
Previous Ranking: 5 (–)
If the Charge make the playoffs in 2025-26, they can thank their 7-1 overtime record. Rebecca Leslie scored 12 seconds into overtime Sunday, securing a 2-1 win over Montreal. Ottawa has two more overtime wins than any other team in the PWHL.
Since the new year, Ottawa is anything but streaky. The Charge haven’t won or lost consecutive games since Jan. 11. That’s helped them stay in striking distance of a playoff spot, but it’s made it difficult to separate from the pack.
That could work in their favor, especially when battling for position with a highly volatile Sceptres squad and the slumping Sirens.
6. Vancouver Goldeneyes (24 points, 6-1-4-10, -10 GD)
Previous Ranking: 8 (+2)
Vancouver earned points in three of its last four (1-0-2-1), though only one game culminated in a Goldeneyes win. That win — a 5-2 outburst against New York — marked Vancouver’s first victory since Jan. 25.
The Goldeneyes still have a long way to claw in order to get back in the playoff mix, but a strong performance against the Sirens boosts them up our power rankings. Vancouver’s struggling power play broke through for a goal Wednesday, and the Goldeneyes got exciting contributions out of their bottom six.
Vancouver trails Toronto by seven points with nine games left to play. It’s not out of the question that the Goldeneyes can make some noise down the stretch, but they haven’t proved they can string together wins with any consistency.
7. New York Sirens (27 points, 8-0-3-10, -8 GD)
Previous Ranking: 4 (-3)
The Sirens picked the wrong time to hit the skids. New York lost four of five games post-Olympics (1-0-0-4) and seven of eight (1-0-2-5) dating back to Jan. 16. Now they find themselves four points out of a playoff spot with nine games left to play.
New York’s effort isn’t in question — particularly in the third period — but slow starts and poor penalty discipline are proving costly. Sarah Fillier scored three goals in her last three games after a slow start in that department, but it coincided with a five-game points drought for rookie star Kristyna Kaltounkova.
It doesn’t help that New York’s second-leading scorer, Taylor Girard, suffered a season-ending injury against Minnesota on March 15, while rookie center Casey O’Brien missed her last two games with an upper-body injury. If O’Brien remains sidelined into April, the Sirens will have a tough time climbing the standings.
8. Seattle Torrent (19 points, 5-1-2-13, -23 GD)
Previous Ranking: 7 (-1)
Any hope after Seattle’s 3-2 win over Boston on March 13 was short-lived. The Torrent followed with four consecutive losses, getting outscored 13-2.
Seattle’s offense slowed to a standstill. The Torrent were shut out by Boston and Toronto, and mustered just one goal against Minnesota and Montreal. General manager Meghan Turner added Gabrielle David after a strong campaign in the SDHL, but with Eldridge departing via trade, there’s little reason to expect a turnaround in the final nine games.
On the bright side, the Torrent are well-positioned to rack up draft order points and land University of Wisconsin star Caroline Harvey in the 2026 PWHL Draft.
