By now, we’ve all seen the videos of the moment Poulin was hit by Czech forward Kristýna Kaltounková. Poulin stayed down on the ice for a moment, grimacing, and eventually skated back to the bench, putting minimal weight on her right leg.
She did not play in Tuesday’s game, but was in attendance in a suite with No. 3 goalie Kayle Osborne — and was given a nice applause by the crowd when shown on the center-ice video screen at the start of the second period.
That Poulin did not play it isn’t really worth reading into. At least where her availability for the remainder of the tournament is concerned. There’s optimism from Canada that Poulin will be able to return at some point before the end of the tournament. When that happens is still in question.
In 2021, Poulin missed the U.S. preliminary round game — which Canada won 5-1 — after taking a puck to the throat. She returned in the quarterfinals to a minimal role to gear up for the gold medal game, where she scored another game-winner.
If Poulin indeed returns in Milan, we can likely expect something similar. There’s just no need to risk playing her until the group stage is over. As heated as the rivalry is, Tuesday night’s game only counts for placement with all five teams in Group A — including Canada — moving on to the quarterfinals.
Canada’s quarterfinal match is four days away (Feb. 14); A return in the semifinals (Feb. 16) would give Poulin even more time to rest and be at her best when it matters most for the Canadians.