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Les Canadiennes and the Toronto Furies have faced off six times this season, four times in Toronto and twice in Montreal. Montreal swept the season series with six wins, but all games were closer than they would appear.
OCTOBER 31: Les Canadiennes 5 @ Toronto 1
Kim Deschênes scored twice and added an assist as Montreal rolled in the third period. The game was 2-1 after 40 minutes when Ashton Hogan scored to cut into Montreal's lead. This weekend series was just before the 4 Nations Cup so Montreal was missing Marie-Philip Poulin and Lauriane Rougeau while Toronto was missing Natalie Spooner and Kelly Terry.
NOVEMBER 1: Les Canadiennes 5 @ Toronto 2
This game was another one that was much closer than it would appear. Deschênes scored to give Montreal a 1-0 lead. Kori Cheverie scored early in the second to tie the game before Caroline Ouellette scored to restored the Montreal lead. Leslie Oles would add a goal to make it 3-1 after 40 minutes.
Carolyne Prevost scored to make it 3-2 midway through the third period and it stayed that way until Montreal scored two goals in the final four minutes including an empty net goal. The two backup goaltenders played in this one, as Olivia Ross went for Toronto and Sydney Aveson for Montreal.
NOVEMBER 28: Toronto 1 @ Les Canadiennes 3
The first home game for Montreal in the season series was a tight one. The first period was scoreless but Montreal opened the scoring when Ann-Sophie Bettez put one past Christina Kessler 1:08 into the second.
It would stay that way until early in the third when Marie-Philip Poulin would score to put Montreal up 2-0. Caroline Ouellette would score to put Montreal up 3-0. Carolyne Prevost scored with 41 seconds left to spoil Charline Labonté's shutout.
NOVEMBER 29: Toronto 3 @ Les Canadiennes 6
Another game that was closer than the final score would indicate. The game was 2-2 after two periods with Poulin and Spooner both scoring for their respective teams.
Montreal would blow it open in the third period with three straight goals in a three minute span to open a 5-2 lead. Spooner would make it 5-3 before Montreal added an empty net goal.
Sonja van der Bliek played for Toronto.
JANUARY 9: Les Canadiennes 5 @ Toronto 1
This was the most lopsided score of the season series but again, the score is deceiving. The game was tied at one after 20 minutes but Montreal scored two goals in both the second and third periods to pull away. The shots were only 30-24 Montreal, the closest they were in the entire season series.
JANUARY 10: Les Canadiennes 3 @ Toronto 1
After a scoreless first, Toronto got the lead as Spooner scored in the second. Bettez and Deschênes would score 33 seconds apart midway through the period to open a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
Montreal added an empty net goal to but the game out of doubt.
Les Canadiennes vs Toronto
| # | NAME | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | ANN-SOPHIE BETTEZ | 6 | 8 | 5 | 13 |
| 9 | KIM DESCHENES | 6 | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| 29 | MARIE-PHILIP POULIN | 4 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| 13 | CAROLINE OUELLETTE | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| 8 | CATHY CHARTRAND | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 19 | KATIA CLEMENT-HEYDRA | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 71 | LESLIE OLES | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 76 | KARELL EMARD | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 12 | CHELSEY SAUNDERS | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 21 | JULIE CHU | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 10 | NOEMIE MARIN | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 23 | SOPHIE BRAULT | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 47 | EMMANUELLE BLAIS | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | LAURIANE ROUGEAU | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | JORDANNA PEROFF | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | CARLY HILL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | ALYSSA SHERRARD | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | AUDREY MORAND | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 62 | EMILIE BOCCHIA | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 77 | SARA LACHANCE | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 91 | MELINDA PREVOST | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Name | W | L | SV% | GAA | MIN | GA | SAVES | SHOTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | Charline Labonté | 5 | 0 | 0.926 | 1.39 | 302.5 | 7 | 88 | 95 |
| 67 | Sydney Aveson | 1 | 0 | 0.900 | 2.09 | 57.5 | 2 | 18 | 20 |
Toronto Furies vs Montreal
| # | NAME | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | NATALIE SPOONER | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 27 | CAROLYNE PREVOST | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 44 | KORI CHEVERIE | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 16 | ASHTON HOGAN | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 57 | ALYSSA BALDIN | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | MICHELLE BONELLO | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | MICHELLE SAUNDERS | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | SENA SUZUKI | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | SARAH STEVENSON | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | KRISTY ZAMORA | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | JESSICA VELLA | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 22 | TARA FRENCH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | KATIE WILSON | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | LAUREL HILL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | EMILY FULTON | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | TOMOMI KURATA | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | KATIE GASKIN | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | TANIS LAMOUREUX | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | KELLY TERRY | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | SHANNON MOULSON | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| # | NAME | W | L | SV% | GAA | MIN | GA | SAVES | SHOTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | Christina Kessler | 0 | 4 | 0.889 | 3.77 | 239 | 15 | 120 | 135 |
| 30 | Olivia Ross | 0 | 1 | 0.879 | 4.00 | 60 | 4 | 29 | 33 |
| 30 | Sonja van der Bliek | 0 | 1 | 0.906 | 5.17 | 58 | 5 | 48 | 53 |
So if you ignore the final scores, this series was much closer than it would appear and it will take a full effort for Montreal to put out the series even though they should be considered the favourite regardless.
The series gets underway on Friday evening at 6:45 p.m. at the Etienne-Desmarteau Arena. You can get your tickets here. If you are unable to attend the games, the CWHL also has a playoff streaming package available for 10$ here.