Russia's Women's Hockey Team Missing Eight Players Due to COVID-19

Russia's tournament continues to get tougher.

Russia's women's Olympic team was forced to wear facemasks during its game against Finland after an eighth player tested positive for COVID-19. Russia played with just 18 players on Tuesday in the 5-0 loss to the Finns after forward Polina Bolgareva was deemed ineligible to play due to COVID-19.

Monday's game between Canada and Russia was delayed an hour due to COVID-19 concerns on both teams. Canada's Emily Clarke was pulled during warmups before getting cleared to play against the United States on Tuesday. Bolgareva was notified of a positive test after the team arrived back at the Olympic village. Both teams agreed to wear N95 masks for the game, but Russia removed them before the start of the third period.

The Russians had six players enter COVID-19 protocols leading into the tournament, with the men's team also facing impacts on that side, too.

Russia is set to play Switzerland on Feb. 12 in the third quarter-final contest. It's unclear how much of the roster will be able to play for Russia, who sit fourth in the IIHF World Rankings.