‘No One’s Worried About Her’ – Team Canada Brushes Off Fears Around Marie-Philip Poulin’s Injury for Gold Medal Showdown

Team Canada’s women’s hockey team is heading into the final stage of the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics with a shot at gold. After advancing through the knockout round, Canada is set to face the United States in the gold medal game.

Despite concerns surrounding captain Marie-Philip Poulin’s health, her teammates are making it clear they aren’t worried.

Team Canada Optimistic About Marie-Philip Poulin

Poulin has been battling a right knee injury that she suffered earlier in the tournament. She appeared to tweak it after taking an awkward hit into the boards during Canada’s 5-1 preliminary-round win over Czechia. Grabbing her knee as she left the ice, concern quickly spread.

She went on to miss two preliminary-round games, including Canada’s 5-0 loss to the United States and the matchup against Finland. But when the knockout stage began, so did Poulin’s comeback.

She returned in the quarterfinal against Germany on Feb. 14 and made an immediate impact, scoring to tie the Olympic goal record. In the semifinal against Switzerland on Feb. 16, she delivered once again, scoring both goals in Canada’s 2–1 victory and breaking the all-time Olympic goal-scoring record in the process.

Despite clearly playing through significant pain, at one point reportedly using a golf cart to reach the rink to limit walking and visibly wincing on the bench, Poulin has continued to lead by example.

Her teammates aren’t surprised. “She’s a warrior,” forward Daryl Watts said. “She’s been around for a long time. She can play through anything, especially in the Olympics. No one’s worried about her.”

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Laura Stacey echoed that confidence. “You see her miss two games, you can feel it burning inside of her,” Stacey said. “For her to come back in these last two games the way she has, it’s simply amazing. She sure has lifted our team and our entire country.”

Sarah Nurse added, “She has the biggest heart in the world, and she wants this gold medal probably more than anybody. So we’re going to have to match that.”

With 20 career Olympic goals, Poulin now stands alone atop the all-time list, surpassing Canadian legend Hayley Wickenheiser.

She’s expected to lead Canada once again in Thursday’s Gold Medal Game against the United States at 1:10 p.m. ET.

The only remaining question is how much the injury might affect her performance, though if history has shown anything, it’s that Poulin has a habit of rising to the occasion on hockey’s biggest stage.