'She's Irreplaceable': Canada Captain Poulin Suffers Injury Scare Ahead Of Huge Game

Canada and the United States are set for another thrilling installment at the Olympic Games, but that's not the biggest storyline ahead for the Canadian women's hockey team. 

Instead of waiting to see whether Canada will stop the United States' six-game win streak against them, the focus shifted to the potential absence of Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who left the game in the first period of Canada's 5-1 win over Czechia on Monday.

Canada and USA cruised through their opening games. The Americans beat Finland, Czechia and Switzerland, and Canada defeated Switzerland and Czechia after their postponed opener versus Finland. But the loss of Poulin is looming.

Coming up the half wall, Czechia's Kristyna Kaltounkova dropped a shoulder into Poulin, which sent the captain hard into the boards and left her crumpled on her hands and knees. The apparent injury looked to be a lower-body issue as she struggled to put weight on her leg while leaving the ice.

Kaltounkova was assessed a two-minute penalty for an illegal hit on the play. On the bench, Poulin was visibly upset and laboring. She attempted to take to the ice on the power play, but her shift only lasted a few seconds before she headed to the dressing room. Poulin returned to the bench smiling before the end of the period but did not return following the intermission.

There's no definitive answer to Poulin's status for Tuesday's key matchup against Team USA. It's possible Poulin will be well enough to play, but the team decided to sit her for the rest of a blowout win against Czechia ahead of their game against the United States.

"She's irreplaceable – we hope that she's healthy," Renata Fast said in an intermission interview with CBC. Fast added she was confident in Canada's ability to step up in the absence of Poulin.

Immediately following Poulin's exit, Canada stepped up and scored in quick succession with goals from Sarah Fillier, Julia Gosling and Poulin's wife, Laura Stacey. Gosling added her second goal of the game in the middle frame. 

At times, Canada has been overly reliant on Poulin's heroics, and the team has appeared to respond without its captain.

Hilary Knight, USA's captain, has already announced this will be her fifth and final Olympic Games. The American captain is the all-time leading scorer at the World Championships and is tied for USA's all-time Olympic goal-scoring lead. 

At the other end of the ice, Poulin is also in her fifth Olympic Games, having scored the gold medal-winning goal in 2010, 2014 and 2022. 

It's been a timeless matchup of two future Hall of Famers, and every time the teams meet at this point in their storied careers, there's added importance as fans and teammates know it could be the last time they face each other. 

With Poulin's status in question, the final matchup between the duo could have already come, although few are ruling out Poulin for the tournament just yet.

Canada, like every other nation in the Olympic women's hockey tournament, were initially scheduled to have multiple days off ahead of the quarterfinals. That changed when their first game against Finland was postponed due to a norovirus outbreak within Finland's roster.

Instead of having multiple days off, Canada will now face the USA on Feb. 10, followed by the makeup game against Finland on Feb. 12. Canada could be back in action as soon as Feb. 13 for a quarterfinal matchup, depending on their placement in the final preliminary standings. 

The lack of rest was already discussed as a disadvantage for Canada. It could now be magnified with key members of Canada, including captain Poulin, needing rest and recuperation.

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