Montréal Victoire rolled into Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday and left with a 3-0 victory over Ottawa Charge. Ann-Renée Desbiens turned aside every shot she faced for her sixth shutout of the season. The win keeps Victoire atop the PWHL standings with 52 points through 25 games.
Ottawa packed the building for the matchup between the league's first-place club and the hometown Charge. The fans who showed up hoping for a statement performance from their side got little to cheer about. Victoire controlled the game from the opening faceoff and never trailed.
Desbiens has been the best goaltender in PWHL this season by a wide margin. Her .954 save percentage and 1.14 goals-against average lead all qualified netminders. Six shutouts in 21 starts is a pace that few goalies at any level can match.
Montréal's offense continues to run through Marie-Philip Poulin, who leads the club with 26 points on 19 goals and seven assists through 30 games. Laura Stacey has provided steady secondary scoring with 22 points in 27 games, while Abby Roque (19 points in 24 games) and defenseman Erin Ambrose (18 points in 24 games) round out a deep top four.
Ottawa sits fifth in the standings at 33 points with a 13-11 record. Brianne Jenner leads the Charge with 20 points in 24 games. Emily Clark and Michela Cava have each contributed 19 points over 30 games. The Charge need to find more offensive consistency down the stretch if they want to secure home-ice advantage in the postseason.
The loss drops Ottawa further behind Montréal, Boston Fleet (51 points), and Minnesota Frost (46 points) in the standings race. With five games remaining in the regular season for most clubs, the margin for error is thin.
Victoire return to Place Bell to host Seattle Torrent on Tuesday. Ottawa heads to Toronto to face the Sceptres on April 11.