Toronto Sceptres @ New York Sirens
7:00 pm at Prudential Center home of the Devils in Newark
Watch/Stream on TSN and MSG

The PWHL now streams games at thepwhl.com and on YouTube both for the audience outside Canada. Note: I have not personally tested to see if these streams are geoblocked in Canada.

Toronto's last game was December 7 before the international break, and they lost to the Frost 6-3. They have a 0.333 Points % and are in last place.

New York's last game was December 8, and they lost 4-2 to Boston. They have a 0.556 Points % and are in second place to the surging Frost.

Them

Last year's hapless team is gone, this is the new New York team. Sarah Fillier and Alex Carpenter were two of the three stars of the week before the break, and they are big stars indeed. Also added this summer was Noora Tulus, one of those rookies with a decade and a half of pro hockey experience.

A familiar face on defence is Olivia Knowles, signed off of Toronto's reserve list after an injury to Ella Shelton. They also signed Kayla Vespa after Jill Saulnier was put on LTIR, so they have some challenges already this year.

They signed all of their drafted players this year after making some moves to get higher picks, but none of them can touch the big name from the draft in Fillier. She's their gamechanger. They also added Maja Nylén Persson, a young defender who also has years of pro experience in Sweden. She was their second round pick and has the potential to be a star in this league.

This is a whole new team and so far they've been scoring goals and limiting goals against and playing like a playoff contender.

Us

I am sceptical of the Sceptres. On paper, they are a very good team, with an offensive cadre good enough to withstand the wait for Natalie Spooner's return. However, the defence is extremely weak off the top pair, but no one seems to think splitting up Jocelyn Larocque and Renata Fast is a good idea. I don't think it is either because they are a perfect pair, but it makes for a stark contrast.

Margins are thin in the PWHL, and Toronto and New York are two goals apart on both the for and against at the moment. After only three games played, that's the difference between last and second place. It's early and a lot happens fast with standings in a three-point league, but Toronto has been slow to get shots in games and to get then near the net. Once they get going, they're great, but until they do... and once again I feel like I'm writing about the Leafs.

It's worth considering if the superficial similarities between these two teams and their issues colours in the emotions in a deeper shade of blue for fans of both teams. That said, no one is going to say that the Sceptres are good at in-zone defending to excuse all sins.

Minnesota has been getting goaltending/defence about as bad as Toronto's. The difference is they've outscored everyone in the league, and have only one overtime loss to cloud their record. Toronto has one win and two losses.

Toronto needs to starts scoring more. And there's only one way you get that – shoot more from better locations and wait.

The Game

This is the first Sceptres game that overlaps a Leafs game, so I hope the fans who choose this one have a great time.

In the meantime, read this fabulous profile of Izzy Daniel, who is exactly the sort of player I love:

How 'understated' Izzy Daniel found her way to the Toronto Sceptres top line

Go Sceptres Go!

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