How hockey great Marie-Philip Poulin keeps coming up clutch when it matters most

At Marie-Philip Poulin's first national team centralization camp in 2009, ahead of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, her place on the final roster wasn't assured.

Peter Jensen, the team's sports psychologist, pulled her aside and told her as much. Poulin was shocked. But Jensen, who formed a bond with Poulin thanks to his French-language ability, had a plan: ignore the coaches and their rigid structures.

"You're a goal scorer," Jensen told Poulin. "You're a creative person. They've got to see that. You may make the odd mistake, but so what? You can score goals."

And score goals Poulin did. She was responsible for the only two markers in Canada's 2-0 gold-medal victory in Vancouver. She scored the golden goal in overtime at the Sochi 2014 tournament. More recently, she added another OT winner at the 2021 world championships, plus two more in the pre-Olympic exhibition series against the U.S.

WATCH | Poulin clinches 2021 world championship gold in OT:

In all, Poulin has scored 35 goals over 59 Olympics and world championship games for Team Canada since her 2009 debut. That includes five of Canada's seven goals across the past three Olympic championship games, and four of five in the two victories.

"It's a bit of an out of body experience," Poulin said of her OT winners. "You just want to find the closest teammate and celebrate with them, realizing you've achieved our ultimate goal. It's very surreal."

Through a mix of composure, creativity, delusion and opportunity, Poulin has come up clutch over and over again.

Now 30, Poulin is set to play in her fourth Olympics in Beijing, in search of her third gold medal. She's captained Team Canada since 2015, leading with a quiet, confident demeanour.

He said Poulin's confidence is