MINNESOTA PWHL GAMEDAY
Home game against Montreal, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Xcel Energy Center
TV: BSN
For the fans: Some special guests will participate in pregame ceremonies. Gophers and Lynx great Lindsay Whalen and current Lynx forward Diamond Miller will do the ceremonial puck drop, and Wild forward Marcus Foligno and his children will handle the lineup card.
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Rachel Blount's preview:
Opening bell: Minnesota and Montreal both played spoilers in their league openers, with each winning on the road. Minnesota beat Boston 3-2 on Wednesday, thanks largely to a phenomenal 33-save performance by goaltender Nicole Hensley. Montreal defeated Ottawa 3-2 in overtime Tuesday. Montreal's lineup features two Team Canada superstars in Marie-Philip Poulin, who scored the goals that beat the U.S. in the 2010, 2014 and 2022 Olympic gold-medal games, and goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens, who helped Canada to gold at the 2022 Olympics and silver at the 2023 world championships.
Watch her: Former Gophers forward Taylor Heise was the top pick in the inaugural PWHL draft, and she showed why in Wednesday's opener. Heise scored the first goal in team history, a bar-down beauty that gave her team an early lead it never lost. She's a dynamic player eager to prove herself at the pro level.
Pregame reading:
Forecast: Though Minnesota won its opener, it has a few things to clean up. The team was outshot 35-16 in Boston, including a 13-2 edge in the third period, and committed three penalties in the third. Coach Ken Klee is looking for improvement on faceoffs and puck management, and those details will matter against a very talented Montreal lineup. Minnesota will get a boost from a home crowd expected to surpass 10,000, which could be the difference-maker if the team plays a cleaner game.
