Victoire’s Marie-Philip Poulin leaves game against Fleet with injury

A concerning sight for a team battling for first place in the PWHL.

During her team’s game against the Boston Fleet on Sunday, Montreal Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin exited the game early due to injury.

Poulin left during the first period of the contest. She opened the scoring with a little over five minutes to go in the frame, scoring her team-leading ninth goal of the season.

Unfortunately, that was the last we saw of Captain Clutch. Poulin was seen walking down the tunnel at Place Bell, seemingly favoring her left knee, the same one she injured during the Winter Olympics last month. She didn’t come out for the second period, with the Victoire making it official that No. 29 wouldn’t return when the third period began.

Poulin logged just 5:16 of ice time, posting one shot on goal and delivering two hits.

Poulin’s health has been in question since taking a hard hit from Czechia’s Kristyna Kaltounkova during Canada’s second group stage game in Milan last month. It caused Poulin to miss the team’s final two games of the preliminary round. Yet, she returned for the knockout stage, breaking the women’s hockey record for goals in an Olympic career, helping the Canadians get back to the gold medal game, where they lost to the United States.

When the PWHL resumed play, Poulin was listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. She only missed Montreal’s first game back from the Olympic break, posting two goals and three points since returning to the lineup.

Through 19 games, Poulin has scored nine goals and eight assists for 17 points. The Quebec native sits sixth in the PWHL in goals and points.

Poulin is the PWHL’s all-time leading scorer, having scored 38 goals and 28 assists for 66 points in 70 regular-season games. She also has four points in seven Walter Cup Playoff games.