Canada beats Czechia, but captain Poulin exits game with apparent injury

An injured Marie-Philip Poulin gave her Canadian teammates some hope in Monday's 5-1 win over Czechia in Olympic women's hockey.

Canada's captain, who left the game midway through the first period, eventually returned to the bench that period to support her teammates, and took a few spins on the ice at the first-period buzzer.

But Poulin didn't return to the game after that. Her status for Tuesday's game against archrival United States less than 24 hours later was uncertain.

"There's a lot of concern when anybody leaves the ice, but especially her," said Canadian defender Jocelyne Larocque.

"She did try to come back and I think that's a good sign. That, to me, shows it's not extremely serious. It's obviously concerning because she's not only the best player, but the best leader."

Poulin left the game midway through the first period after a hard check when Canada led 1-0.

She appeared to favour her right leg while skating to the bench after she was hit into the boards by Kristyna Kaltounkova at 10:52.

Poulin returned to the ice with Canada's second power-play unit while Kaltounkova served the penalty.

But the captain left the offensive zone mid-shift and headed for the bench again, and then the dressing room.

Team Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin injured during Canada's win over Czechia

Canada's head coach Troy Ryan didn't have an update on the captain immediately after Monday's game, but acknowledged the uplift on the team and on him of her returning to the bench and trying to skate.

"It felt optimistic," he stated. "Pou came back just to be with the group, probably to ease their minds a little bit.

"She's so reliable, so valuable, she's the heart and soul of this group. If she's there, she'll continue to be the heart