Rookie stars, new rules at play: What we learned in the PWHL's 1st week

When New York Sirens captain Micah Zandee-Hart saw rookie forward Sarah Fillier paired on a line with Alex Carpenter at the beginning of the season, it made perfect sense to her.

It's a partnership that has paid dividends for a New York team that finished last season at the bottom of the PWHL. Fillier leads the league with six points after three games, and Carpenter isn't far behind her with five.

Take, for example, a highlight-reel saucer pass Fillier sent to a wide-open Carpenter, who had time and space largely because the opposition coverage was on Fillier.

"They both see the ice so well," Zandee-Hart said.

"You see it in practice and I feel like they're constantly chatting and working through things. If things maybe don't go how they hoped, then they talk about it, and they change it up the next time."

Fillier and Carpenter's chemistry has gotten most of the attention, but the third member of New York's top line, Jessie Eldridge, brings a skill set that Fillier describes as "underappreciated."

WATCH | The Sirens' dynamic duo of Fillier and Carpenter:

Are Alex Carpenter and Sarah Fillier the best duo in the PWHL?

Eldridge can retrieve pucks for her linemates, feeding Fillier twice for two goals in a win over Montreal in the league's first week. 

But it's her ability to slow things down, paired with two fast-moving players, that Fillier sees as an asset.

"When she has the puck, she just has this total confidence and poise," Fillier said. "I think she does a really good job at just finding us wherever we are on the ice."

Goaltenders have taken notice, too. 

"I don't think people realize how fast [Carpenter] is when she gets moving," said Montreal Victoire starter Ann-Renée Desbiens, a few days after her team lost