Poulin, Roque and Desbenes lead Victoire to victory over Sirens in home opener

LAVAL, Que. – Marie-Philippe Poulin had a goal and an assist to become the first PWHL player to reach 50 career points, Abe Roque had a highlight reel goal and two assists against his former team, and the Montreal Victoire beat the New York Sirens 4-0 on Tuesday night.

Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped 33 shots and Natalie Mlynkova also scored for Montreal (1-0-0-1) before 8,391 at the plus bell. Laura Stacey had two assists and Maggie Flaherty added an empty net goal.

Victoire, which was atop the league standings last season but fell in the first round of the playoffs, lost 2-0 to Boston Fleet in its season opener Sunday.

Kelly Osborne made 26 saves for New York (1-0-0-1). The Sirens opened their season with a 4-0 win over the Ottawa Charge after finishing last in each of the PWHL’s first two seasons.

Mlynkova, with her first PWHL goal, deflected a point shot from Erin Ambrose on the power play 30 seconds into the second period for Montreal’s first goal of the season.

Poulin doubled the lead with 1:15 left in the middle frame, finishing off a backhand feed from Stacey after Roque’s heads-up pass sent them up 2-on-1.

Rook, who played his first two seasons with Siren, then converted a mid-leg breakaway goal for his first with Victoire at 13:26 of the third.

Victoire: The 34-year-old Poulin, last season’s PWHL MVP, has 30 goals and 21 assists in 53 regular-season games. The Montreal captain is also the first player to reach the 30-goal mark.

Sirens: Warm welcome back to Montreal for Kristen O’Neill. The former Victoire center was traded to New York in exchange for Roque in the offseason and received a standing ovation during the first-round video tribute.

Desbiens made the save of the night, sliding to his crease to deny Siren forward Peyton Lewis, who pounced on a loose puck sitting in front of a wide-open net in blue.

Desbiens recorded his second PWHL shutout and first since the league’s inaugural season. She won last season’s goaltending without posting a shutout.

Victories: Hosts Toronto Sector on Dec. 7.

Sirens: Host the Vancouver Goldeneyes on Saturday.