PWHL NOTEBOOK | Once the Montreal Victoire's weakness, depth is now its biggest strength

In 2024, it was a Boston Fleet team with a deeper bottom six that foiled the Montreal Victoire in the first round of the inaugural PWHL playoffs.

Last year, it was the underdog Ottawa Charge, led by star goaltender Gwyneth Philips, that shut down the Victoire's stars in round one.

But there's reason to believe this year could be different for the Victoire, and the proof is in Montreal's regular season. The Victoire will open its Walter Cup semifinal series against the Minnesota Frost on Saturday inside Laval's Place Bell. The game begins at 2 p.m. ET.

In 2024, one-third of Montreal's regular-season goals came from captain Marie-Philip Poulin or alternate captain Laura Stacey.

That number climbed closer to 40 per cent last season. Shut down the top line and you were likely to eliminate most of Montreal's offence.

With the captain sidelined for a chunk of time after the Olympic break, the offence couldn't flow through Poulin. Only 20 per cent of the Victoire's goals this past season came from Poulin or Stacey, as head coach Kori Cheverie mixed and matched her roster to find the best combinations.

3 reasons why the Montreal Victoire are a threat to win the Walter Cup

"The way that we organize our lines is always looking at who fits well together, who works well together, and who are the complementary pieces that we can add to each line," Cheverie told reporters ahead of Saturday's game. "Right now, everybody can play in playoffs. Everybody has the ability to play. That’s the amazing thing about our depth."

The offence came from Abby Roque (22 points in 29 games), who was added in an offseason trade, and from free agent addition, Hayley Scamurra (16 points in 30 games), who Cheverie moved to centre this season. It also came