WEST ORANGE, N.J. — Tempered frustration filled Essex County Codey Arena as the New York Sirens filed in for exit interviews Monday morning, just two days after a disappointing close to the 2025-26 season.
“Obviously, we’re not where we want to be,” rookie center Casey O’Brien stated. “I wish we could be playing in the playoffs. I think we had the group to do it. It just didn’t come together for us.”
The Sirens were eliminated from playoff contention in their penultimate game of the season after failing to secure a regulation win against the Toronto Sceptres last Tuesday. New York finished seventh out of eight teams with 36 points (9-3-3-15), missing the postseason for a third consecutive year.
Allyson Simpson wins it for New York. A 1-0 OT winner over Toronto. But a bitter-sweet one at that. The Sirens are eliminated from playoff contention after failing to win in regulation. New York is the only Original Six PWHL team that has not appeared in the postseason.
“Certainly some ups and downs throughout the year. You can look at the body of work, and there’s lots to reflect on,” coach Greg Fargo noted. “We knew coming into the season we had a young group. We were going to put some of our young players in really important situations. And while they did well, I think there’s still some moments where we left something on the table, and that seemed to be the difference.”
The Sirens earned nine out of a possible 45 points on the road, good for a .200 points percentage that ranked second-worst in the PWHL. Special teams were marred by inconsistency, as was an offense that slowed to a crawl down the stretch.
But nothing stuck more with players than a lengthy 10-game skid (1-0-2-7) from Jan. 20 to March 28, capped by four straight regulation losses to end March. New York was in playoff position at the Olympic break in February, but its second-half struggles proved too much to overcome.
“We know that it came down to these last couple games, but really it was that losing streak we had after the Olympics,” alternate captain Jaime Bourbonnais pinpointed. “I think you go back to that, and if we would have been able to find ourselves out of that, it would have been a completely different end to the season.”
New York clawed back into the playoff picture with a string of inspired efforts at home, galvanized by a torrid stretch from star forward Sarah Fillier — but it was too little, too late.
“We take accountability for that. We know that was a really hard part of our season for us, and I think that we’d obviously love to change that,” Bourbonnais added. “But I think the push we made at the end, even despite having a losing streak like that, really proud of the group for how close we came.”
That doesn’t erase the sting of a season that will be remembered as a missed opportunity for the Sirens.
“It sits with you,” Fillier acknowledged. “We’re all competitive. We all want to win. It’s my second year here not making playoffs. Some players, it’s their third year.”
“I definitely will think about it a lot,” said Micah Zandee-Hart, concluding her third season as New York’s captain. “And as a captain, too, I think it’s natural to take a little bit more responsibility for that happening as well. So I’ll definitely think about it. It definitely motivates me to come back better next year.”
As far as Fillier is concerned, reflecting is the only path forward.
“You have to reflect,” the second-year forward explained. “If you’re not reflecting after losing and not making playoffs, you’re really not learning, and you’re not growing.”
A season-ending injury for 24-year-old phenom Kristyna Kaltounkova added another obstacle to New York’s path. The 2025 No. 1 overall pick missed the final nine games of her rookie campaign, leaving the Sirens without their leading goal scorer.
“I injured my knee, been dealing with it since the Olympics,” Kaltounkova disclosed Monday. “And I felt like at one point, it became too much — being in pain constantly, playing in pain constantly. We decided to take some time off to see if it would improve.”
After representing Czechia at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics, Kaltounkova appeared in five games with the Sirens before coming out of the lineup on March 20. She was placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) on March 31 and underwent surgery on her right knee for the second time in two seasons.
“At that point, it was medically the best decision to take care of that, undergo surgery, and recover the best that I could, so that I am not in pain,” she explained. “But also at my age, I personally feel it’s really important to take care of my body if I want to have a long season. So I felt that was the move to go.”
Full quote from Kaltounkova:“I injured my knee, been dealing with it since the Olympics. At one point, it became too much, and being in pain constantly, playing in pain constantly — we decided to take some time off to see if it would improve. Because at that point, it's been… https://t.co/FXxZ2OSNHg