Comeback in Jersey: New York 4, Ottawa 3

PWHL New York scored four times in the second period, capturing a 4-3 win over Ottawa and securing the first-overall selection in this summer's draft.

What happened?

With the chance to clinch a playoff spot on the line, Ottawa understandably came out strong in Tuesday's game. They'd won four of their last five games, coming in to face a New York team sitting in last place and having lost three of its last four. With that said, it was not surprising that Ottawa came up with a 2-0 lead in the first period. But if you expected the first period to be an indicator for the rest of the game, you were wrong.

It took just 5:12 for Ottawa to get on the board, as Akane Shiga scored her second goal of the season. Shiga led the charge on a 3-on-2, then passed the puck over to Savannah Harmon and went to the front of the net. As Harmon took her shot, Shiga got herself in the right spot and got her stick on it, sliding it in the net.

Ottawa looked relentless as the period went on, and New York simply looked uninspired. Hayley Scamurra kept pushing, and on her third attempt on a single shift later in the period, she finally beat Corinne Schroeder. Scamurra released a snipe from the faceoff dot to Schroeder's left, giving New York a more comfortable 2-0 lead.

Ottawa outshot their opponent 17-7 in the first period, but the New York team that came out for the second period looked like a completely different team, and possibly the best they've looked all season. The barrage of offense started at 7:24, when Jade Downie-Landry opened the scoring for her team. Downie-Landry picked up a long pass from Brooke Hobson in the neutral zone, displayed great patience and executed a smooth toe drag before popping the puck in the net under Emerance Maschmeyer's arm.

Just 1:52 later, Ella Shelton tied it. The puck bounced off the boards, and a New York player got it over to Alex Carpenter. Carpenter took the puck wide, and Shelton jumped up into the rush. Alone in the slot, Shelton got the puck, beat Kateřina Mrázová and shot it low under Maschmeyer's blocker to make it 2-2.

All of a sudden, it was a very different game – and it wasn't done yet. Just over three minutes passed before New York took the lead, as Kayla Vespa chipped down a high puck in front with her stick, then backhanded in a rebound as Schroeder and Ottawa defender Harmon couldn't get in the way to stop it.

After scoring three goals in 4:56, New York was clearly feeling themselves. They added to their lead at 15:57 of the second period. Élizabeth Giguère kept up the pressure in front of the net; after just missing a rebound, she kept the play going and didn't give up on it. Maschmeyer made an initial stop, but Giguère was there to jump on the loose puck and lifted it over the goalie's pad and in.

What a sequence it was for New York, as they not only scored in rapid succession, but also held off Ottawa well. New York kept up the momentum in the third period, and while they didn't beat Schroeder again, they did a good job of withstanding the final push from their opponent. Daryl Watts scored on a dead-angle shot with under a minute to play, but New York held on for the win.

Three up, three down

↑ A strong second period – Wow, wow, wow. Where was that New York team all season? I would've loved to be a fly on the wall in the locker room during that intermission. The team that came out for the second period was fast, energized and exciting to watch. They didn't back down, and it paid off big time. They scored three goals in 4:56 and four goals in 8:33, and it completely turned the game around.

↓ On the flip side, Ottawa blows it – Ottawa looked great early on in the game and had a 2-0 lead heading into the first period. It was a big game for them, with the chance to clinch a playoff spot on the line, but they deflated in the second period and let New York take quick command of the game. In addition to giving up the four goals, they went without a shot on goal for the last 9:30 of the second period, then had just three shots in the first 8:15 of the third period.

↑ Daryl Watts is fun to watch – Watts is such a dynamic offensive player. She recently recorded her first PWHL hat trick and has at least a point in seven of her last nine games, with 10 points (6G, 4A) in that stretch.

↓ Jenner held pointless again – Ottawa's top scorer, Brianne Jenner, was held without a point for the second straight game. She leads the team with 19 points on the season and has been particularly hot lately, with a stretch where she put up nine points in four games before being held pointless twice consecutively. Ottawa will no doubt need her to step up and keep producing as they still look to secure a playoff spot.

↑ Let's talk draft – With New York locking up the first-overall pick, now we can really start thinking & talking about who they might choose. Sarah Fillier, Danielle Serdachny & Izzy Daniel are all expected to be part of conversation, but in which direction will Pascal Daoust and staff decide to go? The draft will be held in June in Minnesota, the league announced this week.

↓ Is the TOI data accurate? – It seems like ice time data may not be reliable or accurate for the PWHL. For instance, per the stats, New York's Madison Packer played just 1:41 on Tuesday after supposedly playing over 23 minutes in the prior game. Looking at Packer's reported ice times across the season, 23 minutes would be a pretty extreme outlier and it throws the accuracy of other ice time data into doubt. (This also isn't the first time some weird ice times have been noted.)

VP's Player of the Game

Ella Shelton – The New York defender has been great all season long at stepping up into the play, and Tuesday's game was no different. She scored New York's second goal, then potted assists on the next two. On the season, she leads all defenders in the league with 18 points (6G, 12A) in 23 games.

• Game replay link (YouTube) – The PWHL has started posting "condensed game archive" video, after taking their videos private after broadcast as of late. Check their video uploads page for the game archive content as it becomes available. (This game is not yet as of press time.)
• Game data

(Photo: PWHL)