Canada’s Poulin leaves game against Czechia with injury
The captain of Canada’s Olympic women’s hockey team, Marie-Philip Poulin, left her team’s second game of the Olympics against Czechia midway through the first period on Monday, sparking concerns for the program’s gold-medal defense.
She returned briefly to the bench at the end of the opening frame, but did not take another shift and was eventually ruled out after the second period.
Leading 1-0 through an early goal from Kristin O’Neill, Canada got a chance to extend the lead on a power play after Czechia star and PWHL Rookie of the Year contender Kristýna Kaltounková was called for a penalty at the 8:52 mark of the first period.
Kaltounková checked Poulin, who did not appear immediately injured on the broadcast.
Playing at her fourth Olympics, Poulin started on the advantage, but appeared to tweak her right leg and skated to the bench on her own. Throughout the first period, she was consistently pushed around by Czechia’s players before the injury.
Once she arrived at the bench, she made her way to the locker room with team staff members. Moments later, Canada extended the lead through New York Sirens star, Sarah Fillier — Poulin’s wife and linemate, Laura Stacey, scored to make it 3-0 with a slick shot at the 13:51 mark of the frame.
At 34 years old, Poulin has been incredibly consistent with her health through her career and through the first three seasons of the PWHL, which has raised demands on players previously focused on primary international competition. In the PWHL, Poulin has played 66 games across three regular seasons, scoring 36 goals and 27 assists with the Montréal Victoire.
Poulin returned to the bench by the end of the first period for Canada, but did not appear in the second, before CBC Sports’ Andi Petrillo broke on the broadcast that Hockey Canada had ruled her out for the remainder of the game.
Throughout the first two periods, Czechia were incredibly physical, amassing eight penalty minutes, including three for illegal body checks, which are called more strictly in the IIHF than in the PWHL.
After Monday’s game, Canada will look to their penultimate match of the group stage against the highly-touted USA team.
“She’s irreplaceable,” Canadian defender Renata Fast told CBC’s Claire Hanna before the third period. “We hope that she’s healthy, but I think the group has a lot of players who know how to step up in big moments.”