Newark - The New York Sirens have made a habit of comebacks in the third period. Their latest performance came on Wednesday night at the Prudential Centre, where they came back from down 2-0 to defeat the Toronto Raptors 3-2.
New York scored three times in the final 10:30 – including twice in a span of 1:10 – capped by defender Maja Nylen Persson's power-play equalizer and rookie Casey O'Brien's game-winner at 16:03 of the third.
Already without Kristina Kaltunkova, Taylor Girard and Savannah Norcross, all on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), the shorthanded Sirens faced another hurdle on Wednesday. Captain Micah Zandi-Hart watched New York's home finale from the sidelines after receiving a one-game suspension for an illegal check against Minnesota Frost on Sunday.
Nevertheless, amid a tight race for the PWHL's final playoff spot, the Sirens prevailed in a hard-fought victory and tied Toronto.
"It was a gutsy win from our group," Sirens coach Greg Fargo said after the game. "It wasn't a perfect game, but they found a way. As far as I'm concerned, they deserve those three points."
Sceptres could move up to fourth with a regulation win, and looked poised to do so midway through the third. Instead, they dropped to sixth in the standings with three games remaining. New York and Toronto are deadlocked on 34 points, although the Sirens own the tiebreaker with more total wins (9-2-3-13).
Thanks to some more heroics late in the game, New York is two points behind the Ottawa Charge, and can move into a playoff position on Saturday with a regulation win at TD Place.
"I think a win gives a lot of energy to the group. It's something we can build on," Nylen Persson said after the 3-2 win. “It's in our hands, and we have to make the most of it.”
Goalie Kayleigh Osborn held on to New York's third-period lead, stopping 24 of 26 shots — including several highlight-reel saves — for her 10th win of the season.
Osborne weathered some first-period flurries from Toronto, but her best work came in the second period, robbing Trench forward Emma Gentry on the end of a Jaime Bourbonnais interference penalty.
A long point shot from Sceptres defender Kali Flanagan from the left side of the goal went to Gentry, who fired into an open net. But Osborne dived wide of the left post and wide of the paddle to deny the Grade-A chance.
"I just saw she was going to shoot at an open net, so do everything you can at that point to hope the puck doesn't go in," Osborn explained. "At that time, it was a diving save and a diving effort, and it worked in my favor."
Osborne came up big again in the third, separating from Renata Fast.
Fargo praised him after the game, saying, "I thought Kayleigh played a great game. She really held us in the first two periods." "He did a great job of not only making saves, but controlling the game. Made some key saves on the end of the power play, several breakaways, a paddle save. I mean, without him, we're not in that fight for very long."
Toronto scored against Osborn at 14:03 of the second, just 40 seconds into New York's second power play. Speed snatched the puck from O'Brien and passed it to Daryl Watts, who raced down the ice and clipped the top shelf for the jailbreak goal.
Former Sirens defender Ella Shelton made it 2–0 at 8:51 of the third minute, moments after New York failed to convert another power play, a sharp-angle shot slipping past Osborne. Shelton ended a 19-game goal drought with his first goal since December 23 – the longest of his PWHL career.
Fargo considered a timeout, but held out, and the siren rewarded them 39 seconds later when Denisa Krisova scored her first goal since joining New York via trade on March 30. Krysova cleared a loose puck in the slot and fired a backhander past Sceptres goaltender Regan Kirk at 10:30, prompting an immediate reaction after Shelton's potentially back-breaking score.
Nylen Person tied the score at 2–2 at 14:53 of the third following a delay-of-game penalty on Kirk, giving New York its fifth power play of the game. A Sirens defender intercepted a long rebound from O'Brien at the right circle and put it back into the net, ending New York's 0-of-20 power-play drought.
"For me, every time I'm put on the ice, I want to make the most of it," said Nylen Person, who scored the memorable shootout winner at Madison Square Garden against the Seattle Torrents on April 4.
O'Brien's winner came at 16:03, when the 2025 No. 3 overall pick deflected a long shot past rookie defender Nicole Valario off a faceoff.
With the two-point outing on 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) matched Fillier for the team lead and tied for seventh leaguewide.
Sceptres coach Troy Ryan lamented his team's third-round collapse.
Ryan said after the game, "I think we felt it in the room. It's tough to lose." "Just uncharacteristic decisions. You're not going to win by making decisions like that at this time of year."
The Sirens scored three unanswered goals for the second consecutive game at the Prudential Center, before a weekend-record crowd of 6,237 in the final home game of the regular season. The Prudential Center in New York averaged 4,015 fans this season, a 45 percent increase from 2024-25.
Key takeaways after Siren's full comeback in decisive game against Toronto
Sirens maintain control of playoff destiny
With games at a premium, New York could not afford to leave the Prudential Center empty-handed against Toronto. The comeback win gives the Sirens control over their playoff destiny, but it also greatly impacts their next two games.
The Sirens will visit Ottawa on Saturday and Toronto next Tuesday before concluding the 2025-26 season in Boston against the Fleet on April 25. Regulation wins against the Charge and Scepters would be good for New York's playoff hopes, but that's easier said than done. The Sirens have not won three consecutive games since January 6.
If they are to overtake Ottawa and Toronto for the final playoff spot, the Sirens will need two more strong performances from Osborne, who entered the game with a 1–5–0 record and an .874 save percentage over his last six games.
"Personally, I don't look at stats," Osborne said after the game. "I don't think it tells the whole story of any goaltender on any team. I don't think it's really a factor."
Osborn didn't play like a goalie burdened by her second-half struggles on Wednesday, but she'll have to beat two red-hot goalies in Kirk and Ottawa's Gwyneth Phillips. Even in the loss, Kirk blanked New York in the first 50:30 before allowing three tough goals in their first loss since March 8.
Ryan explained, "That's how goals are scored – directing them to the net, getting the body there, getting the stick on it." "I don't think it's some of the things we did poorly. I think [the Sirens] Deserves some credit for the actual completion of the goal."
Points will again be important in New York's final meeting with the Charge on Saturday, especially with Ottawa holding a double-digit lead in the fourth. If Phillips' 42-save shutout against Toronto last Saturday was any indication, those points won't come easy.
Sirens showed 'great resilience' amid Zandi-Hart suspension
There's never an ideal time for your captain to miss a game, but Wednesday's game against Toronto was about as unfair as it gets.
“We had to work really hard for this game tonight,” Fargo said. "The guys fought hard. The way our D-core stepped up and played – I think we showed a lot of resiliency tonight."
Zandy-Hart's one-game suspension snapped his streak of 75 consecutive games played – dating back to January 20, 2024 – and left New York with only six active defensemen against the Cubs. Fargo deployed primarily a five-defender rotation, as rookie Delle Ross logged just 3:36 in an extremely limited role on Wednesday.
Alison Simpson, Lauren Bernard, and Bourbonnais all moved into the top pairing with Nylen Person, a spot usually filled by Zandi-Hart.
“Such a good player and our captain,” Nylen Person said of Zandi-Hart. "But other players have to step up and get bigger roles, and I think everyone did a great job of that today. That's what we need in this situation. I'm proud of our D-core."
The Sirens' blue line will be back at full strength Saturday against Ottawa, where Fargo believes Wednesday's resiliency can lead to another strong effort.
“Getting Micah back and keeping that momentum going, I think it's something we can build on.”
Sirens still need more from power play: 'It has to be better'
New York's power play came at a crucial time, when Nylen Person scored the equalizer with a laser from the right point. Still, that doesn't erase all the upside from another long slide.
Fargo candidly admitted, "It was a source of frustration." "As we know, it's not clicking."
At one point Wednesday, in a desperate search for a new look on the netfront, Fargo turned to 5-foot-11 rookie forward Kira Judikis — who was making her PWHL debut. It failed to deliver, and if the offensive stoppage wasn't bad enough, New York's top unit handed Watts a momentum-changing jailbreak goal.
The Sirens made the most of their fifth and final power play, thanks to the aggressive puck pursuit of Nylen Person, giving Fargo hopes of giving a boost to a sagging group.
"The goal we had tonight, the way it happened — just the significance of it and the timing of it — you hope something like this can carry it forward," Fargo said. "We know our power play – if we're going to push here – it better be. But I think scoring that goal at a key moment in our season, hopefully, can be something we can build on in these last three games."
With their two top goal scorers in Kaltunkova and Girard sidelined, the Sirens cannot afford to miss golden scoring opportunities. They also can't count on getting five power plays every game.
No deadline for Kaltunkova's return
Kaltunkova became eligible to be activated from LTIR on Tuesday, but there is no sign the New York novice event is close to a return.
Fargo declined to give a timeline for Kaltunkova's injury after the game, and the 2025 No. 1 overall pick has not resumed skating after being on the shelf with a lower-body injury.
The Czech native made a name for himself in the PWHL by scoring a league-leading 11 goals before the Olympic break. His scoring touch was greatly missed, especially after the side ruled Girard out for the remainder of the 2025–26 season with a knee injury.
It is highly unlikely that Kaltunkova will return before New York's regular season finale against Boston on April 25, and her status for a potential postseason run is in question.
