Team Minnesota has done a lot of things right in its first six Professional Women’s Hockey League games. Producing on the power play has not been one of them.

A first-place team despite an anemic 9.1 percent success rate on the power play, Minnesota came up empty on five more chances on Wednesday night in a 2-1 loss to Montreal before an announced crowd of 5,001 at Xcel Energy Center.

“We have to figure it out, because that’s how you win or lose hockey games,” said Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield. “This is an example of us losing one because of it. You capitalize on any of those power plays it’s a different ballgame out there.”

Minnesota, which outshot Montreal 46-26, is now 1 for 16 on the power play for the season (6.2 percent). Coach Ken Klee said he is not totally discouraged about how things have gone.

“It’s not like we’re not getting good looks,” he said. “I look at every game: Are we generating chances? Are we doing the things we’re supposed to do? For the most part we are.

“We just have to find a way to find the back of the net; that’s executing at the end.”

Coyne Schofield has been on more than her share of power plays in her illustrious career and believes there are things Minnesota could be doing better.

“I think it’s seeing sticks, seeing the reads, anticipating the plays that we know we have,” she said. “It’s just connecting. I got a puck in the middle from Taylor (Heise) and didn’t connect on it.

“It’s being sharper. We’ve been practicing it. Once we start connecting, that score is a different score.”

The loss dropped Minnesota (3-2-1-0) into a tie for first place with Montreal (3-1-2-1) at 12 points. Minnesota has one game in hand.  Minnesota beat Montreal 3-0 in Minnesota’s home opener on Jan. 6, with Grace Zumwinkle scoring all three goals.

“I thought we were a lot better than we were the first time,” Klee said. “I liked a lot of things we did. We were hustling, we were on them. When you put up 40-something shots … I can’t complain about effort.

“I just need some people to relax a little bit; take a breath and freaking bury it.”

Montreal scored the game-winning goal at 13:54 of the third period. After missing on a stretch pass, Montreal was able to gain control of the puck deep in Minnesota’s zone. Minnesota goaltender Nicole Hensley made a stop in close but was beaten by Tereza Vanišová on the rebound.

“I was just trying to poke it in the corner because I knew she had a step,” Hensley said. “I wasn’t assertive enough, and I thought I could just wall up. I knew someone else was coming, and unfortunately the rebound went to the other girl.”

Said Klee: “It’s too bad for us that it ended on a long dump that we just mishandled. But we had plenty of chances to win the game. We didn’t lose the game because of that.”

Briefly

Former Gophers star Abby Boreen, who was on Team Minnesota’s reserve list, signed a 10-day contract before the game and made her professional debut.

Boreen began the game skating on left wing on the third line, but by the second period she was playing up in the lineup. Boreen took the roster spot of goaltender Amanda Leveille, who was placed on long-term injured reserve.

Michela Cava scored Minnesota’s lone goal, her first of the season.