Staturday with Mike: Les Canadiennes and Inferno Special

Because this is the most anticipated game of the CWHL season, Hannah Bevis and I decided to do something different for Staturday. This week all of the stats and facts will involve the Calgary Inferno and Les Canadiennes de Montreal.

The team that wins today’s game at the Bell Centre will be leading the CWHL in points. Is that one too easy? Okay, let’s dive into some more numbers for today’s big game.

Les Canadiennes de Montreal

  • Charline Lablonte is leading all goaltenders in wins this year. She’s also tied for third in the CWHL in save percentage (.927), first in shutouts (2), and third in total minutes played (426).
  • Montreal’s most recent victory over the Blades was about as definitive and one-sided as they come./
  • Caroline Ouellette is sitting at 299 career points in the CWHL heading into today’s game. She is currently leading all skaters this year in points, primary points, goals, and power play goals. Yep, Ouellette is pretty good.
  • Montreal out-shot Calgary 41 to 26 in the Clarkson Cup Final last year, but lost the game 8-3. They allowed five even strength goals in that game, including three in the second period.
  • The 22-year-old Sarah Lefort of Les Canadiennes leads all CWHL rookies in scoring with her 10 points in 12 games./
  • No defender has as many points this season in the CWHL this season as the smooth-passing Cathy Chartrand. Amazingly eight of her 11 points thus far have come at even strength. And seven of her 10 assists have been primary.
  • Les Canadiennes are the least-penalized team in the league. They also have the best power play by a wide margin (28.3 percent).
  • Montreal has yet to lose in regulation this year when they’ve been the home team./

The Calgary Inferno

  • Inferno captain Brianne Jenner has the longest point-scoring streak in the CWHL with points in her last seven games. Jenner has a staggering 12 points in that span including the five primary point night she had against the Blades in Calgary’s most recent game./
  • Katelyn Gosling is tied for the league-lead in goals among defenders. She has four goals this year, which puts her level with Brampton’s Sarah Edney.
  • Living legend Hayley Wickenheiser has yet to play in a game for the Calgary Inferno this season. The 38-year-old forward had 16 points in 23 games last year for Calgary. She also had two primary assists in the Inferno’s victory over Les Canadiennes for the 2016 Clarkson Cup.
  • The Inferno are decidedly better at special teams when they are on the road. Their away PK percentage is 93.3 (home is 86.6 percent) and their away power play is 18.2 percent (home is 15.4 percent).
  • Calgary is 5-0-0 after leading in the first period and 7-0-0 after leading in the second period. Last year the Inferno were 17-0-1 after leading through the first two periods of the game.
  • Rebecca Johnston scored the first goal of last year’s Clarkson Cup Final 2:26 into the first period. Johnston has seven points, all at even strength, in eight games this season for the defending Clarkson Cup Champions.
  • Only Montreal’s Ouellette has more even strength goals this year than Jill Saulnier. Saulnier has scored just one goal in her last six games but she still leads in the Inferno in goals (7)./
  • Emerance Maschmeyer is the only Inferno goaltender to suffer a loss this season. But she still boasts a .927 save percentage and has allowed just seven goals in three games.
  • The Inferno had a record of 2-4-0 against Les Canadiennes last season. /