The Victoire won on defence, and 2026-27 will test how much of that travels

Montreal won the Walter Cup because opponents could not score on it. The Victoire allowed 41 goals in 30 games last season, finished first with 62 points and beat Boston on a tiebreaker to get there. Now they open the new year without their captain, and the question is how much of that goals-against figure belongs to the system and how much to the people in it.

The scoring was never the story

Montreal scored 78 goals in those 30 games, which works out to 2.60 a game. That is a good number in a league where goals are scarce, but it is not a dominant one. The gap between the 78 and the 41 is what built the standings, and the 41 is the half that held up the roof. Allowing 1.37 goals a game means a one-goal lead was close to a safe lead.

Poulin is the reason the offence matters more this year. She played through a torn ACL and meniscus in the playoffs, won playoff MVP anyway, and had knee surgery in July. She is on long-term injured reserve and is expected to miss most or all of the season. Gosling and Ambrose have also left, to Hamilton and Las Vegas. Laura Stacey and Abby Roque still lead the forwards, but the team has to find goals from more places than it did.

The penalty kill is the number to watch

Montreal killed 91.8% of its penalties, first in the league, and scored on 19.3% of its power plays, second. Those two figures usually move together with depth. A penalty kill that good needs forwards who can clear the puck and a goalie who stops the first shot. Ann-Renée Desbiens signed a two-year extension in the summer, so the goalie piece stays. The forwards who lost minutes or left are the part that can slip.

If the penalty kill drops to the middle of the league, Montreal gives away the cushion that one-goal wins depended on. If it holds, the team can survive a quieter offence by winning games 2-1 the way it did before. A power play near 19.3% with Poulin on the injured list is a harder ask, so the margin for error shrinks on the other special team.

The building is not the problem

Montreal averaged 9,950 fans across 13 home games last season, counting neutral-site dates. The crowds are there, which means a slow start costs the Victoire pressure and attention rather than ticket sales. Kori Cheverie will also take on the Canadian national team job while staying with Montreal, so the bench has more on its plate than a year ago.

The call is simple. Watch goals against and the penalty kill through the first month. If both stay near last year's level, Montreal contends even without Poulin. If either one slips, the offence has no captain to cover for it.