Sirens draw even with Sceptres after ‘gutsy’ third-period comeback: Takeaways

“I think a win gives a lot of energy to the group. There’s something we can build off,” Nylen Persson noted after the 3-2 win. “We have it in our hands, and we gotta make the most out of it.”

Goalie Kayle Osborne anchored New York’s third-period surge, stopping 24 of 26 shots — including several highlight-reel saves — for her 10th win of the season.

Osborne weathered a couple of first-period flurries from Toronto, but her best work came in the second period, robbing Sceptres forward Emma Gentry at the close of a Jaime Bourbonnais interference penalty.

A long point shot from Sceptres defender Kali Flanagan trickled left of the goal to Gentry, who fired towards an open net, but Osborne lunged to the left post and denied the Grade-A chance with an outstretched paddle.

“I just saw she was about to shoot at an open net, so just kind of do everything you can at that moment to hope the puck doesn’t go in,” Osborne recounted. “At that point, it was a diving save and a diving effort, and it worked out in my favor.”

Osborne came up big again in the third, gloving a breakaway from Renata Fast.

“I thought Kayle had a great game. The first two periods, she really held us in there,” Fargo lauded postgame. “She did a great job of not only making saves, but just kind of controlling the game. Made a couple key saves at the end of the power plays, the multiple breakaways, the one paddle save. I mean, without her, we’re not in that fight for very long.”

Toronto broke through against Osborne at 14:03 of the second, just 40 seconds into New York’s second power play. Fast stripped O’Brien of the puck and sent it ahead to Daryl Watts, who raced down the ice and sniped top shelf for the jailbreak goal.

Former Sirens defender Ella Shelton made it 2-0 at 8:51 of the third, just moments after New York failed to convert on another power play, slipping a sharp-angle shot past Osborne. Shelton snapped a 19-game goal drought — the longest of her PWHL career — with her first goal since Dec. 23.

Fargo considered a timeout but held off, and the Sirens rewarded him 39 seconds later when Denisa Křížová tallied her first goal since joining New York via trade on March 30. Křížová cleaned up a loose puck in the slot and fired a backhander past Sceptres goalie Raygan Kirk at 10:30, delivering an immediate response after a potentially back-breaking score from Shelton.

Nylen Persson tied it 2-2 at 14:53 of the third after a delay-of-game penalty on Kirk gave New York its fifth power play of the game. The Sirens defender corralled a long rebound from O’Brien at the right circle and fired it back into the net, ending New York’s 0-for-20 power-play drought.

“For me, every time I get put on the ice, I want to make the most out of it,” said Nylen Persson, who memorably scored the shootout winner at Madison Square Garden against the Seattle Torrent on April 4. “I want to be a player to trust in every situation when I’m out there, and I’m gonna do everything for the team, whether it’s offensive play, defensive play.”

O’Brien’s winner came at 16:03, when the 2025 No. 3 overall pick deflected a long shot from rookie defender Nicole Vallario off the faceoff.

With a two-point outing Wednesday, O’Brien became the second rookie in PWHL history to reach 20 points, joining linemate Sarah Fillier, who posted 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists) en route to Rookie of the Year honors last season. O’Brien’s 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) match Fillier for the team lead and are tied for seventh Leaguewide.

Sceptres coach Troy Ryan lamented his squad’s third-period collapse.

“I think we felt that one in the room. It’s a tough one to lose,” Ryan noted postgame. “Just uncharacteristic decisions. You’re not going to win this time of year making decisions like that.”

The Sirens scored three unanswered goals for the second consecutive game at Prudential Center, before a weeknight-record crowd of 6,237 in the final home game of the regular season. New York averaged 4,015 fans at Prudential Center this season, up 45 percent from 2024-25.

Key takeaways after Sirens complete comeback win in pivotal game against Toronto

Courtesy of PWHL

Sirens maintain control over playoff fate

With games at a premium, New York couldn’t afford to leave Prudential Center empty-handed against Toronto. The comeback win gives the Sirens control over their playoff destiny, but it also adds considerable weight to their next two games.

The Sirens visit Ottawa on Saturday and Toronto next Tuesday before closing out the 2025-26 season in Boston against the Fleet on April 25. Regulation wins against the Charge and Sceptres would bode well for New York’s playoff hopes, but that’s easier said than done. The Sirens have not won three straight games in regulation since Jan. 6.

If they are to edge Ottawa and Toronto for the final playoff spot, the Sirens will need two more strong outings from Osborne, who entered play with a 1-5-0 record and .874 save percentage over her last six games.

“Personally, I don’t look at stats,” Osborne stated postgame. “I don’t think that tells the whole story on any goalie on any team. I don’t think that’s really a factor at all.”

Osborne didn’t play like a goalie burdened by her second-half struggles Wednesday, but she’ll have to outduel two red-hot goalies in Kirk and Ottawa’s Gwyneth Philips. Even in defeat, Kirk blanked New York for the first 50:30 before surrendering three tough goals in her first loss since March 8.

“That’s how goals are scored — directing them at the net, getting bodies there, getting sticks on it,” Ryan explained. “I don’t think it’s anything in those things that we did poorly. I think [the Sirens] deserve some credit for the actual finishing of the goal.”

Points will again be critical in New York’s final meeting with the Charge on Saturday, especially as Ottawa holds a two-point cushion in fourth place. If Philips’ 42-save shutout against Toronto last Saturday was any indication, those points will not come easily.

Sirens show ‘lot of resilience’ amid Zandee-Hart suspension

Maja Nylen Persson and Clara Van Wieren — courtesy of PWHL

There’s never an ideal time for your captain to miss a game, but Wednesday’s matchup against Toronto was about as inopportune as it gets.

“We had to fight really hard for this game tonight,” Fargo stated. “The players, they battled hard. The way that our D-corps stepped up and played — I think we showed a lot of resilience tonight.”

Zandee-Hart’s one-game suspension snapped her streak of 75 consecutive games played — dating back to Jan. 20, 2024 — and left New York with just six active defenders against the Sceptres. Fargo primarily deployed a five-defender rotation, as rookie Dayle Ross logged just 3:36 in a highly limited role Wednesday.

Allyson Simpson, Lauren Bernard, and Bourbonnais all rotated onto the top pair alongside Nylen Persson, a spot typically filled by Zandee-Hart.

“Such a good player and our captain,” Nylen Persson said of Zandee-Hart. “But other players had to step up and get bigger roles, and I think everyone did a great job with that today. That’s what we need in this situation. I am proud of our D-corps.”

The Sirens’ blue line will be back to full strength Saturday against Ottawa, where Fargo believes Wednesday’s resilience can spark another strong effort.

“Getting Micah back and just riding that momentum, I think it’s something that we can build on.”

Sirens still need more from power play: ‘It’s got to be better’

Casey O’Brien — courtesy of PWHL

New York’s power play came through in crunch time, as Nylen Persson delivered the equalizer with a laser from the right dot. Still, it doesn’t erase all the turmoil from another lengthy skid.

“It was a source of frustration,” Fargo acknowledged candidly. “As we know, it hasn’t been clicking.”

At one point Wednesday, Fargo turned to 5-foot-11 rookie forward Kira Juodikis — making her PWHL debut — in a desperate search for a new look at the netfront. It failed to yield results, and if offensive stagnation wasn’t bad enough, New York’s top unit surrendered a momentum-shifting jailbreak goal to Watts.

The Sirens capitalized on their fifth and final power play, thanks to an aggressive puck pursuit from Nylen Persson, which Fargo hopes will spark a slumping group.

“A goal like we had tonight, the way it occurred — just the importance of it and the timing of it — you hope that something like that can kind of get it going,” said Fargo. “We know our power play — if we’re going to make a push here — it’s got to be better. But I think scoring that goal at an important moment of our season, hopefully, can be something we can build on moving forward in these last three games.”

With two top goal scorers in Kaltounkova and Girard sidelined, the Sirens can’t afford to squander golden scoring chances. They also can’t bank on getting five power plays every game.

No timeline for Kaltounkova return

Kristyna Kaltounkova — courtesy of PWHL

Kaltounkova became eligible to be activated from LTIR on Tuesday, but there’s no indication that New York’s rookie phenom is anywhere close to a return.

Fargo declined to offer a timeline for Kaltounkova’s injury postgame, and the 2025 No. 1 overall pick has yet to resume skating after hitting the shelf with a lower-body injury.

The Czech native quickly made a name for herself in the PWHL, tallying a League-leading 11 goals before the Olympic break. Her scoring touch is sorely missed, especially after the Sirens shut down Girard for the remainder of the 2025-26 season with a knee injury.

It’s highly unlikely that Kaltounkova will return before New York’s regular season finale against Boston on April 25, and her status for a potential postseason run remains in question.

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