The New York Sirens defeated the Toronto Sceptres 1-0 in a tense overtime contest Tuesday night — but there was no reason to celebrate. By failing to win in regulation, New York was eliminated from playoff contention for the third consecutive season.
Siren is the only member of the PWHL’s Inaugural Six to not appear in the postseason in the league’s three-year history. New York finished in last place in its first two seasons.
Alison Simpson scored the game-winner with a wrist shot between the circles at 2:42 of overtime, just minutes after sealing New York’s playoff fate in disappointing fashion.
This was the only goal scored by either side. The Sirens took a 33-21 lead in shots, but Sceptres goaltender Regan Kirk kept New York off the board in regulation, making 32 saves in 62:42 en route to Second Star honors. Kyle Osborne stopped all 20 shots he faced to earn his fourth shutout of the season.
The Sirens needed six points in their final two games to have a chance to challenge Toronto and Ottawa charge for the No. 4 seed. They improved to 36 points (9-3-3-14) with their third overtime win of 2025-26, but the 40-point mark is now out of reach with one game remaining.
It was New York’s first road win since January 6, snapping an eight-game losing streak. The Sirens have the second-worst road points percentage at .214.
The Scepters remain in fifth place with 38 points (10-1-6-12), one point behind fourth-placed Charge. Ottawa can clinch a postseason berth with a regulation win over Boston Fleet on Wednesday.
“I think we showed a lot of confidence today, not even late in the game, but right from the drop of the puck,” Sirens captain Micah Zandi-Hart said after the game. “I think you saw the energy we came out with – we wanted to win. You look at the shot total, we were getting a lot of good chances. We didn’t get the ball going our way, but we had a lot of confidence right from the start.”
New York outshot Toronto 8–1 midway through the first period and opened the scoring at 14:29 when Maja Nylen Persson beat Kirk Blocker’s side with a point shot on the power play. The officials immediately dismissed this and ruled that Sarah Fillear had interfered with Kirk outside the crease.
The Sirens failed to convert four power plays, and when the Cubs broke into a 3-on-1 shorthanded rush against Osborn, they nearly surrendered their fourth jailbreak goal in three games.
With the third period still scoreless, Sirens coach Greg Fargo pulled Osborn at 18:40, but New York had only two shots on goal at 6-on-5.
Fargo said, “We knew going into the situation – if we were tied, we would have had to pull the goalie. We would have liked to get him out a little quicker.” “We had a hard time creating possession in the offensive zone there. It took us a while to get him out of the net, but I thought we did a pretty good job of getting him out.”
Toronto gained momentum from Maddie Wheeler’s tripping penalty at 11:11 of the third minute, leading to a forecheck that prevented New York from pulling its goalie with more time on the clock.
Even with their playoff hopes officially dashed, the intensity of the siren did not diminish in overtime.
“We wanted to win. We’re all competitors,” Fillier said after the game. “When there’s a chance to win the game, and it doesn’t matter what’s at stake, you want to win.”
Casey O’Brien collected the rebound from a field shot and fed the trailing Simpson, whose wrist shot went through Kirk’s five-hole. Fillier extended her points streak to three games and led all skaters with seven shots.
He refused to take solace in victory.
“Not really. We knew what was at stake. We knew we needed a regulation win,” Fillion said after the game. “It’s nice to be rewarded in overtime, but it’s too late for us.”
New York can accumulate draft points when it visits Boston Fleet on Saturday. However, the No. 1 overall pick is off the table after the Vancouver GoldenEyes defeated the Montreal Victoire 4-3 in regulation on Tuesday.
Key takeaways after Cubs dash Sirens’ playoff hopes in overtime
Ciaran regrets missed opportunities: ‘We had a lot of chances’
The Sirens couldn’t get ahead against Kirk in regulation, although they certainly had plenty of chances.
“We just needed a bounce to really get our way,” Fargo said. “From the moment the puck dropped, I liked our game. I thought we got a lot of the puck first. We established a good forecheck and really caught on to them right away. It was O-zone time. We had some opportunities.”
Denisa Krisova got free on a second-period breakaway but lost the puck in the final seconds. Later in the frame, Fillier nearly went in alone after picking off Sceptres defender Renata Fast at the blue line, but Fast quickly recovered and put away the chance. In the third, a turnover created a 2-on-0 for Fillier and Wheeler, but Kirk swept it aside.
Jaime Bourbonnais had a golden opportunity to give the Sirens a 1-0 lead when she found the open net on Anne Cherkovsky’s one-timer feed in the final seconds of her fourth power play. Instead, he misfired, sending the puck harmlessly into the corner.
“We had a lot of chances,” Philier lamented. “I had a lot of chances on my stick, just to finish something early. I thought we had a lot of good chances the whole game, and I think we deserved better.”
Toronto withstood a strong New York attack behind a stellar outing from Kirk in net.
“Our process tonight was really good,” Fargo insisted. “Definitely needed the bounce, but they also deserve some credit for keeping us off the board.”
Despite ‘disappointing finish’, New York excited to pursue 2025-26 campaign
The Sirens were in a playoff position by the end of March, but were unable to survive an inconsistent second half.
Unfortunately for New York, the lows outweighed the highs. The Sirens went 2-3-0-8 in 13 games after the Olympic break and struggled mightily on the road. Long-term injuries to top scorers Kristina Kaltunkova and Taylor Girard, as well as Osborne’s uneven play, contributed to a poor second half.
“It’s obviously disappointing,” said Zandi-Hart, nearing the end of her third season as New York’s captain. “This is not where we want to be.”
After a 2025 offseason that saw an influx of young talent, New York set its sights on making the playoffs. It fell short of that goal, although optimism remains in the locker room.
“This season, especially, we were a brand new team. We had a lot of new players. We had a lot of injuries. We had a lot of new players coming into the mix,” Zandi-Hart explained. “For me personally, it’s disappointing to not help the team reach the playoffs for the first time as captain, but I’m really proud of this specific team and what we were able to accomplish at the end of the season.”
The Sirens lost nine out of 10 games (1–0–2–7) from January 20 to March 28, but still managed to get back into playoff contention thanks to inspired play from Fillier. A 5-1 loss to the Charge on Saturday dealt a major blow to their playoff chances, but there was still a narrow path for New York to the postseason entering Tuesday’s game.
“We’re proud of our group,” Fillier said afterward. “We believed we were going to go into it – and we played like we believed.”
In theory, a promising rookie class led by Kaltunkova, O’Brien and Wheeler should generate optimism for the future. But an impending extension – the exact details are still unknown – could make it difficult for New York to mount a promising campaign.
Gold Plan Update: Sirens fighting for No. 2 overall pick
New York is officially out of the race for the No. 1 pick in the 2026 PWHL Draft, but there is still a lot to play for heading into the regular season finale against Boston.
University of Wisconsin star Caroline Harvey is considered the top prize this summer after leading all skaters in plus-minus at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics. But with fellow Wisconsin defender Laila Edwards and University of Minnesota forward Abby Murphy also heading up a deep draft class, any top three selection could give the Sirens an instant star.
The No. 2 overall pick would theoretically give New York the choice of Edwards or Murphy — a particularly beneficial luxury for a team that desperately needs an elite playmaker on its backend. Of course, landing that pick won’t be easy.
The Seattle Torrents are in second place in the Gold Plan standings with one draft point and two games remaining. The GoldenEyes are in first place with three points and locked up the tiebreaker over New York with a regulation win on Tuesday. The Cubs could also potentially be in the running if Wednesday falls out of the playoff race.
If Seattle goes higher than three draft points the Sirens will be out of the running for the No. 2 overall pick.
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