Is the Montréal Victoire Blue Line Even Better Post-Expansion?

As the PWHL reaches its first international break, we now have our first sample of how the league's two new expansion teams are looking on the ice, as well as how the original six groups are faring with their new make-up.

For the Montréal Victoire, some of the biggest changes came on the blue line, where the team lost Cayla Barnes, Anna Wilgren, and Mariah Keopple to the Seattle Torrent. The three were key tenants of Montréal's defensive group last season, helping the Victoire to a league-lowest 67 goals against.

To fill in the gaps on the blue line, Victoire GM Danièle Sauvageau went out and signed Jessica DiGirolamo from the Boston Fleet, Maggie Flaherty from the Minnesota Frost, and used the team's first-round pick to select Clarkson's Nicole Gosling. Joining forces with returning players Erin Ambrose, Kati Tabin, and Amanda Boulier, the Victoire entered the season with a new look to their blue line, but it remained to be seen if the group would be up to par with last year's unit.

Three games into the season, we have our first look at the answer to that question. And while we are limited to a small sample size so far, there's reason to believe this defensive unit is as good, if not better, than last season. Let's break it down.

Goals Against

Through three games so far, the Victoire have allowed just three goals against, behind only the Fleet's two. Shutting out the budding offence of the New York Sirens and holding their rival Toronto Sceptres to just one goal, they've shown they can frustrate hungry forward groups. They surely won't keep that incredible pace up for the whole season, but considering the short training camp and preseason to make these defensive pairings click, Kori Cheverie should be happy with her team's results so far.

Of course, they have world-class goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens carrying the crease behind them, but so too did last year's group when Desbiens posted an impressive .932 SV% and was named Goaltender of the Year. Holding the Sceptres to just 22 shots in their last contest, the defence showed they can take care of business, and won't just rely on Desbiens to bail them out.

Blocked shots

The best way to keep pucks out of your net? Don't let them get there in the first place. Last season, Keopple and Wilgren led the team in shots blocked. Keopple had 60 (2.06/game) and Wilgren had 57 (1.9/game). The loss of those two players' bodies net-front was expected to be felt in Montréal this season.

But so far this season, the team's blue line continues to have no trouble laying their bodies on the line. Ambrose has stepped up with 11 blocks (3.7/game), while new-adds Flaherty and DiGirolamo have seven (2.3/game) and six (2.0/game), respectively. Boulier also has seven through three games so far, well outdoing her pace of 1.2/game last season. They put these talents on display against the Sirens in particular, where the blue line came up with 19 blocks to secure the shutout win.

Penalty kill

Last season, the Victoire finished with the second-best penalty kill in the league, boasting an 82.6% efficiency. So far this year, they've killed off an improved 92.3% of penalties. Again, small sample size, but not that small considering the discipline issues the team has had. Despite having played the fewest games, Montréal has been assessed the second-highest number of penalties, with 13 served so far. Including nearly two minutes of 3-on-5 time against the Toronto Sceptres, the team has only conceded one power-play goal.

Montréal penalty kills have been full team efforts, but led by Ambrose and Tabin, the team's defence has played their part in making sure things are locked down shorthanded. Ideally the Victoire would stop taking so many penalties, but if they're gonna commit the sins, at least they're ready to face the consequences.

Offensive contributions

Last year, the majority of the Victoire's thin offensive contributions on the blue line came from players they ended up losing. Barnes finished tied with Ambrose for the lead in points amongst defenders with 13, though Barnes had two goals to Ambrose's zero. Wilgren and Keopple tallied three goals apiece, and along with Barnes, they accounted for over 60% of Montréal's goals from the blue line.

Considering the Victoire have only played three games this season and were shutout in one, there's not too much to go off of so far this year, but there are signs of improvement from their returning players. An Erin Ambrose wrist shot against the New York Sirens was later credited to rookie Natálie Mlýnková, but she's clearly hungry to find the back of the net this season. Kati Tabin looks faster on the puck, and scored her first of the year last Sunday.

In addition, the Victoire have a wild card in Gosling. While the rookie has yet to get on the scoresheet, she showed in college that she is patient on the puck and able to generate when she sees opportunities. In Montréal, Gosling has been taking her chances, and it's only a matter of time before she buries one, already with time on the power-play to boast.

Altogether, it's too early to determine if the Victoire's blue line is better than last year, but there's no reason right now to think it's worse. Considering how expansion and free agency reshuffled the league, that's a big win for Montréal early this season.