Ottawa's Adzija on target again, while Montreal surges to top of standings in PWHL

Ottawa forward Lexie Adzija scored her third goal in as many games from the same spot she scored her first: the rough area in front of the net.

That's where the 11th-round draft pick, who played at Quinnipiac University last year, has done her best work this season for Ottawa. She leads the team with five points in five games.

"She's fierce and she's a heck of a player," Ottawa head coach Carla MacLeod told the Canadian Press after Wednesday's game, a 3-2 loss to Boston.

"She's got a real knack around the net and she's willing to go to the net and she's a tough gal to move once she's there."

At Ottawa's first on-ice session in training camp in November, Adzija stayed on the ice long after everyone else had left, shooting puck after puck.

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She started the season on the team's fourth line, but that work ethic has pushed her higher in Ottawa's lineup. Adzija was slotted on a skilled-but-gritty second line with Hayley Scamurra and captain Brianne Jenner on Wednesday.

Adzija has been one of the standouts of the PWHL season's first month, which has featured record-breaking crowds, highlight-reel goals and fast, physical play.

Ottawa continues its season on Saturday with its first trip to Montreal.

You can watch Montreal host Ottawa at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday on CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, and CBC TV. The full schedule of PWHL games airing on CBC Sports this season is available here.

Another standout has been Boston forward Alina Müller, who got her first PWHL goal on Wednesday in Ottawa.

The rookie from Switzerland leads the league in points per game heading into the weekend, after being named the PWHL's third star of the week. 

In addition to the goal Müller scored on Wednesday, she's assisted on six of Boston's other 11 goals this season. She's driving her team's offence, especially with captain Hilary Knight still looking for her first PWHL point.

Montreal will hit the one-third mark of its season on Saturday, and it's no surprise that captain Marie-Philip Poulin leads the team in goal scoring, after being the PWHL's first star two weeks in a row.