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Head coach Troy Ryan has called this start “worse.”

“We just don’t have the right mentality to play,” he said recently. “It’s not one mistake. It’s a general approach to how we’re playing the game.” 

Since then, the Sceptres have picked up four points in three games.  But they’re still in last place. Here are five reasons why:

The goaltending

Kristen Campbell was a large part of the Sceptres’ success last season. The Manitoba-born goaltender was in net for that 11-game streak, and posted a .927 save percentage and 1.99 goals-against average en route to being voted the first PWHL goalie of the year. 

That success hasn’t carried over. Through four starts, Campbell has allowed 13 goals with an .877 save percentage and 3.59 GAA. Those last two numbers rank last among PWHL goalies with more than one appearance.  

Raygan Kirk was No. 2 on the depth chart, but has impressed in four appearances with a .910 save percentage and a 2.41 GAA. She did allow a late, shaky goal  on New Year’s Eve, however, which gave the Charge the win. 

Campbell’s early stats are nearly identical to last season, before she turned it around. A year ago, her save percentage was .879 after four starts, with 12 goals against. If Campbell finds her game, the Sceptres could find success again. 

The offence

The absence of league most valuable player  — recovering from off-season knee surgery, after a torn ACL ended her playoffs in May — has robbed the Sceptres of their game-breaker. Without Spooner’s net-front presence and knack for timely goals, the Sceptres have struggled to score. Nine forwards have at least one goal, but only Sarah Nurse and Hannah Miller have more than two.

Spooner has been skating and could return before the midway mark of the 30-game season.

The penalty kill

One of their strengths last season was a PWHL-best penalty kill that was nearly impenetrable. In 24 regular-season games, the Sceptres allowed six power-play goals on 73 chances, a 91.8 per cent kill rate. This year, they’ve allowed seven on 21 chances, a league-worst 66.7 per cent penalty kill.

Ryan said the league’s new no-escape rule — by which penalized teams can’t change the players on the ice right away — has been a factor. 

“It’s like a first-responder mentality. You just got to get the job done until someone else can take over,” he said. “You just have to kill 10 seconds and make one play and then we’re good. We have the people we want to get out in those situations, but those things don’t happen overnight. They get learned.”

The first goal

The Sceptres have played from behind too often. 

In seven games, they’ve allowed the first goal five times, and they’ve only won once when the opposition scores first.

They scored first 10 times during last year’s 11-game win streak.

The defence

The Sceptres continue to ride their horses on defence, but depth has been a significant problem. 

Before top defender Jocelyne Larocque was traded to Ottawa, she and Renata Fast led the Sceptres in total ice time by more than 13 and 17 minutes, respectively. Against the Charge on New Year’s Eve, offence-minded defender Savannah Harmon — Larocque’s replacement on the top pair — was second in ice time, trailing on Fast. 

Ryan did much of the same last year, but featured his bottom pair more often. This season, the go-to third tandem of Rylind MacKinnon and Lauren Bernard has played less than half as much as the second.

That lack of trust in the bottom two has taken a toll on defenders with heavier loads. Before her move, Larocque was on the ice for more than half of the team’s goals against. 

A pre-season lower-body injury to Megan Carter has contributed to that lack of depth. Carter, drafted in the second round, was placed on long-term injured reserve during training camp and has no timeline for a return.

The Sceptres also lost reserve defender Olivia Knowles to the New York Sirens on waivers in December, leaving only seven active blueliners.