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In the first world championship game versus its biggest rival in more than two years, Canada’s women’s hockey team will have to manage without its best player and captain.

Marie-Philip Poulin left during the third period of Tuesday’s 5-0 win over Switzerland at the IIHF Women's World Championship after taking a puck to the throat and did not return.

On Wednesday, Gina Kingsbury, Hockey Canada’s director of hockey operations, said Poulin was doing well but would be given a couple of days off as a precaution.

“She’s in good spirits but as a program, as a team, we feel it’s necessary to give her a few days off here and reassess her and make sure she’s good to go moving forward,” Kingsbury said. 

Poulin’s absence adds another layer to the renewed rivalry. The last time Canada and the United States faced each other in women’s hockey was April 6, 2019, at the world championship, with the Americans coming away with a 3-2 victory. Both squads are undefeated so far in the 2021 tournament. 

Canada head coach Troy Ryan isn’t about to alter the team’s approach without Poulin in the lineup.

“We wouldn’t change the gameplan because of a player not being on the roster,” he said on Wednesday. “Obviously, it’s devastating for our program to be moving forward for the next little bit without Poulin, but business as usual for us.”

The Americans have cruised to three victories so far, outscoring opponents 12-0. 

“Both teams are in similar situations where the games we’ve played to date have been primarily offensive zone possession, puck possession, so really the team that defends the best is going to have the most success,” Ryan said on Tuesday after Canada’s win over Switzerland.

“We’ve watched them play through three games. We’ve watched their practices. There’s not a whole lot of secrets between the two programs, so now it’s just an opportunity to go out and execute.”

Goaltending anomaly

While the U.S. has the best team save percentage so far, Canada finds itself in unfamiliar territory with the lowest save percentage (0.867) - despite allowing just four goals through three games. Of course, that’s because the hosts have limited opponents to an average of 10 shots per game.

“Although the number of shots against were fairly low, the shots that we did give up were some pretty good quality and Emerance [Maschmeyer] did a great job keeping us in those situations,” Ryan said Tuesday.

Ann-Renée Desbiens started the first two games for Canada, stopping 14 of 18 shots. When asked Wednesday, Ryan wouldn’t say who his starter versus the Americans would be. 

Slow starts

Another trend for Canada is their first periods. Through three games, the hosts have yet to score a goal in the game’s opening frame but have outscored opponents 9-0 in the second period.

In the tournament opener versus Finland, Canada allowed two goals less than seven minutes in. Against Switzerland, the hosts were hemmed in their own end for much of the game’s opening 20 minutes. 

“I don’t think right now there’s anything to be concerned about,” Ryan said. “Obviously we’d like to have a better start and be able to contribute a little more offensively, but a lot of times I think that first period and the energy you bring sets you up for success in the second period. So far in this event…it’s trying to wear down the opponent in the first period and reap some of the benefits in the second.”

Catch the latest edition of the Canada-US hockey rivalry on TSN1/4/5 on Thursday at 6 pm EST.