Nurse, last-place Goldeneyes confident in ability to make PWHL playoffs

VANCOUVER — They may be at the bottom of the PWHL standings looking up, but Sarah Nurse and the expansion Vancouver Goldeneyes haven’t lost hope they can still make the playoffs.

Nurse scored twice and Tereza Vanisova added a goal and an assist as the Goldeneyes defeated the Toronto Sceptres 5-0 Thursday.

Izzy Daniel and Abigail Boreen also scored for the Goldeneyes who improved to 4-1-2-7. Their 16 points leaves them last in the eight-team league, tied with fellow expansion team, the Seattle Torrent.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” said Nurse, who now has three goals in the two games she has played since returning after missing eight weeks with an arm injury.

“I don’t look at the standings probably as much as I should. It’s so tight . . . you can go from eighth to fifth to second very quickly, very easily.”

The top four teams advance to the PWHL playoffs. With 16 games left in the regular season, Vancouver trails fourth-place Montreal Victoire by five points.

The Boston Fleet lead the league with 28 points, followed by New York Sirens with 23 and two-time champion Minnesota Frost at 22.

Nurse said in a league where a regulation win is worth three points, teams can make up ground quickly.

“It’s more of a consistency thing,” she said. “If we can keep getting points on any given night, we’re going to find our way up the standings.”

Goaltender Kristen Campbell, who stopped 24 shots to record her first shutout of the season against her former Toronto teammates, said confidence remains high in the Vancouver dressing room.

“Throughout this whole thing, the most impressive thing to me has been the belief in the dressing room,” said the Brandon, Man., native. “When you see our losses, they’ve been like one goal most of the time.

“We’re right there and I think we have been building. Once you can string a few (wins) together you can find yourself on top. We’re just focusing on one game at a time and making those adjustments as a team. I have full faith in this group that we’re going to find our way and end up in a playoff spot.”

Vancouver broke the game open with three goals in the second period.

Daniel scored early in the second off a nice give-and-go with Jenn Gardiner. Toronto goaltender Elaine Chuli stopped the first shot but the puck rebounded in off Daniel for her third goal of the year.

Vanisova made it 2-0 at 13:31 when she scored her first goal of the season on a wraparound. Just 11 seconds later Nurse ripped a shot over Chuli’s glove from the faceoff circle.

Nurse thrilled the crowd of 14,006 at the Pacific Coliseum when she fired a hard shot past Chuli early in the third.

One of Campbell’s best saves also came in the second period.

Just moments after Daniel’s goal, Toronto forward Daryl Watts got behind the Vancouver defence for a breakaway but Campbell blocked her shot.

The game was a rematch of the Sceptres’ 2-1 overtime win against the Goldeneyes on Saturday in Toronto.

Nurse scored Vancouver’s only goal in that game, her first back from injury. She said the loss was a bitter pill to swallow and gave her motivation for Thursday.

“It was a disappointing loss,” she said. “We knew coming home we wanted to use the home-ice advantage. I thought we did a great job today with that.”

Vancouver coach Brian Idalski said having Nurse back in the lineup is a huge boost for the Goldeneyes playoff hopes.

“I don’t know if there’s enough compliments (so say) about the difference she makes,” said Idalski. “Not only in the locker room, but her hockey IQ about understanding and managing a game.

“It’s made such a huge difference with how she talks to people and holds people accountable and brings great energy. “

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 23, 2026.

Jim Morris, The Canadian Press