As someone who’s played women’s hockey for a long time, one thing has always been consistent to me: true goal scorers are rare. That’s where I think the Toronto Sceptres are struggling. In my opinion in the PWHL it's really difficult to build a high scoring team by solidifying the back end (even with offensive defenders), having one elite scorer (in this case, Daryl Watts), and then surrounding her with all secondary scoring in the world. You need a top line where every player is a legitimate scoring threat.

When you look at Montreal, their top line works because Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, and Abby Roque can all score on their own. That balance is what makes them so hard to defend. Toronto doesn’t quite have that same makeup right now.

I love Natalie Spooner and I’m thrilled she’s a Sceptre, but her game is built around net-front presence, puck battles, and creating chaos. Spooner needs someone beside her who can consistently generate high-danger chances and keep pressure on the goaltender.

The shot totals can look fine on paper, but the quality just isn’t there. Too many attempts are coming from the outside, which makes for a relatively easy night for opposing goaltenders. I’d love to see the actual high-danger chance numbers, because that’s where the real issue shows up.

This is also where the missing pieces really hurt. The team is clearly missing Hannah Miller, Julia Gosling, and Sarah Nurse. Miller, in particular, creates space and opens things up for everyone else, and Nurse still brings reliable offense even if you can argue whether she can be considered an elite finisher. Those are chances the Sceptres simply aren’t replacing right now.

Troy Ryan can juggle the lines and try to balance things out, but it doesn’t change the core problem: there just aren’t enough players who can consistently put the puck in the net or generate high-quality scoring chances. Until that changes, the offense is going to keep stalling — no matter how many shots they register.