Sceptres Gameday: Win or go home

Everyone else's problems

New York vs Boston at noon

Boston can secure first place with a regulation win combined with a loss of any kind by Montréal, or with an overtime/shootout win combined with a Montréal regulation loss.

New York has been eliminated from playoff contention and will finish third in the ‘Gold Plan’ standings that determine the draft order of selection among non-playoff teams.

The PWHL

Minnesota at Vancouver at 7 pm

The Frost cannot move out of third place and will play one of Boston or Montréal in round one.

Vancouver can secure the first overall draft pick with a regulation win combined with an overtime/shootout win or loss of any kind by Seattle, or with an overtime/shootout win combined with a Seattle loss of any kind.

Montréal at Seattle at 10 pm

Montréal can clinch first place with a win of any kind or a Boston loss of any kind.

Seattle can earn the first overall draft pick with a regulation win or a Vancouver loss of any kind, or with an overtime/shootout win combined with an overtime/shootout win by Vancouver.

Toronto Sceptres at Ottawa Charge
2 pm @ TD Place, Ottawa
Watch in Canada: CBC, CBC Gem

Watch Outside Canada: PWHL YouTube Channel and thepwhl.com

The fourth and final playoff berth will be decided between Ontario rivals, where Ottawa can clinch with a win of any kind or with an overtime/shootout loss, while Toronto must win in regulation.

The losing team will place fourth in the draft order of selection among non-playoff teams.

That's it. Win or go home.

When the Olympic break ended, the Sceptres were last in the league by Points %. This was the way it looked before their first game:

The math on this is not pretty. The Sirens are on pace for 42 points if they play at the same Points % they have now – 0.471. For the Sceptres to hit 43 points by the end of the season, they have to play at a .619 Points % for the 14 remaining games. They need to get 26 points. That's nine wins in 14 games, with enough wiggle room to have one game be an OT or Shootout win. The Sceptres have five wins of any kind so far.

And as it turned out, it wasn't the Sirens that were the problem. But the points goal was almost right on. A regulation win today gives them 41 points. If Ottawa wins they have 43 or 44 points.

We shouldn't forget the massive effort this last month has entailed from the Sceptres. Nor should we forget the hole they dug in the first half of the season. Those lessons are for the team come summer, though. For now, it's time to play to win.