Canada’s obstacle at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics arrived even before the puck dropped against its fiercest rival.

Just hours ahead of the ice hockey preliminary-round showdown with the United States, Canada confirmed captain Marie-Philip Poulin would miss the game because of an injury. 

CBC Olympics and Paralympics Reporter, Devin Heroux, shared the update on X: “Canada’s Marie-Philip Poulin has been ruled out of Tuesday night’s game against the United States.”

The official update from Team Canada wrote, “MILAN (February 10, 2026)- The Canadian Olympic Committee and Hockey Canada have made the following statement: Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville,  Que./Montréal, PWHL) has been ruled out of Tuesday night’s game against the United States at Milano Cortina 2026.”

It all began during Canada’s 5-1 win over Czechia.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

Poulin took a hit early in the first period, briefly returning for a power play. Canada was ahead 1-0. But during the power play, the Canadian captain was hit by Kristýna Kaltounkova. 

She was spotted returning to the bench immediately. She was seemingly facing discomfort in her right leg. But the concerns didn’t end there.

She is now listed day-to-day, leaving uncertainty about whether Poulin can play against Finland or in the quarterfinals. 

The official update further stated, “Following tonight’s game against the U.S., Canada will play its postponed game against Finland on Feb. 12 to close out preliminary round play.”

Meanwhile, NBC Sports reporter Nick Zaccardi has shared more updates.

Zaccardi posted on X, “Canada will play an Olympic women’s hockey game without Marie-Philip Poulin for the first time since the 2006 Olympic gold-medal game. Poulin’s Olympic games played streak ends at 24.”

The 34-year-old is Canada’s leader and a key presence in big games.

This was the fifth consecutive time that Poulin appeared on the Olympic stage representing Canada. And the fact that she did not come back for the remainder of the game has indeed taken a shot at the team’s confidence on the big stage.

However, she has made sure to build and prepare her teammates for the big stage.

Marie-Philip Poulin is the reason why Sarah Fillier is playing the Olympics

Philip Poulin is just not an icon herself. As it turns out, she is very good at inspiring others to play the game.

23-year-old Sarah Fillier is one such name, heavily inspired by Philip Poulin. Winning the Olympic gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, she also boasts of three world titles.

Surging to glory, Fillier is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most feared ice hockey stars of modern times. 

Despite being utterly successful, Fillier’s most memorable and inspiring moment came back in 2022.

She was presented with her jersey by Philip Poulin. In fact, it was the Canadian ice hockey star for whom she decided to join the sport. 

Speaking with Olympics.com in 2025, Fillier shared, “Marie-Philip Poulin presented my jersey at the 2022 Olympics. It was crazy. I’ve spent a lot of my life looking up to her as a player, and she’s the reason why I wanted to play in the Olympics when I watched her in 2010 in Vancouver. To be in the locker room before my first Olympic game and have her hand me my jersey was incredibly special.”

Fillier further pointed out that getting the jersey from Philip Poulin and sharing the locker room makes her want to win even more. And now that her idol is injured, the onus is on Fillier to give the ice hockey icon a return gift.