The version of the Ottawa Charge we’ve gotten in this series hasn’t been the best we’ve seen this season, but they’ve certainly got the sauce. (The sauce is, of course, Gwyneth Philips.)
Game three was a movie. After a hard-fought battle, the climax saw attacks from all angles pressing against our fearless heroines. Boston was dominating possession and a loss felt inevitable but, in the eleventh hour (well, the 59th minute and 31st second), the almighty hands of the hockey gods reached down to give the good guys their triumphant victory.
It was electric, and a PWHL playoff record crowd of 13,112 fans packed Canadian Tire Centre raised the atmosphere by a dozen notches. Plus, the Charge finally won a game in Kanata! The monkey, the hex, and whatever other dark forces conspired to keep this team winless in their (potential) future barn are officially exorcised.
Now comes the hard part. Game 3 was not pretty, and the shot count remains a concern. The Fleet outshot the Charge once again, including an abysmal 17-5 differential in the second period. This marks the first time in PWHL playoff history that a team has had three straight games with a double-digit difference in shot volume, and Ottawa has been on the ugly end every time. Hockey gods aside, their success comes down almost entirely to Philips.
The Charge’s 22 shots in Game 3 are their most in one game this series, but I would like to see even more. At this point, I’ve lost count of all of the times Ottawa has passed the puck when they should have shot it. When you’re playing a goaltender like Aerin Frankel, sometimes freak bounces are what you need, and those come with volume. On that note, the power play needs to show up a little more. Ottawa has gone scoreless on the advantage in Games 2 and 3 – although, in fairness, the PP did some nice work to set up Kadirova’s even strength goal on Friday – and while the penalty kill has held up its end of the bargain, you simply cannot leave that weapon holstered against a team like Boston.
Thankfully history and goaltending are on the Charge’s side. In every PWHL playoff series that has been tied 1-1 after two games, the team that took Game 3 went on to win the series. And then there is what Philips is doing, which at this point defies rational sports analysis. Her .958 save percentage and 1.34 goals-against average are the best among playoff goaltenders. Meanwhile, Frankel’s .917 and 1.68 are the worst. Frankel is one of the most competent goalies in the world and came into this series with a legitimate MVP case, so she will be fine. But right now Ottawa has the edge between the pipes, and in a series this tight (and with this little offence), that could be all it takes.
Close it out in four. Don’t let it go back to Boston. Tune in at 3:00pm ET on TSN.
Go Charge go!