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Canada's Marie-Philip Poulin was hit hard by Czechia's Kristyna Kaltounkova in the first period of their game during a preliminary round match in women's Olympic ice hockey. Photo by Carolyn Kaster /APArticle contentMILAN — There was almost a fight off the opening face-off.

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Canadian’s Marie-Philip Poulin was clocked near the head in the first period and had to leave the game due to injury, her immediate future in the Olympic tournament up in the air.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, ortap here to see other videos from our team.Play VideoArticle contentIf Team Canada wanted some toughening up for their most important game in almost a year on Monday night, they sure got it from pesky Czechia.

Advertisement 1 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() { const template = document.getElementById('oop-ad-template'); if (template && !template.dataset.adInjected) { const clone = template.content.cloneNode(true); template.replaceWith(clone); if (template.parentElement) { template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected = "true"; } } });Article contentUnfortunately, that feisty physicality came with a price given the exit of Poulin, the heart of the team for so many years now. There was no immediate update from Canadian officials on Poulin’s status, but she was not on the bench for the second and third periods of Canada’s 5-1 drubbing of Czechia to move to 2-0 in the tournament.

For Canada, the timing of the blowout was perfect, though certainly dampened by the injury to Poulin, especially if she misses significant time.

For public consumption anyway, that won’t be revealed any time soon. Following Monday’s big win, coach Troy Ryan had no updates on the severity of the injury other than he was informed by his medical staff that Poulin wasn’t going to be available the remainder of the game.

“As far as now what happens, I’ll meet with medical, with management and get an assessment on what it looks like going forward,” Ryan said. “She was out and not available to us.”

Without clear answers, pondering the possibility of losing Poulin for the tournament is a difficult one to digest at this point.

“I don’t want to know what that would be like,” Ryan said. “She’s so reliable, so valuable. She’s the heart and soul of this group, whether she’s there she’ll continue to be the heart and soul of this group. And if she’s not there, she’ll continue to be the heart.”

Team Canada superstar Marie-Philip Poulin still the 'little girl' from Beauceville Beyond Milan-Cortina: Why Canadians should worry about the Americans in women's hockey Advertisement 1Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.document.addEventListener(`DOMContentLoaded`,function(){let template=document.getElementById(`oop-ad-template`);if(template&&!template.dataset.adInjected){let clone=template.content.cloneNode(!0);template.replaceWith(clone),template.parentElement&&(template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected=`true`)}});Article contentWhat would Poulin’s loss mean?Article contentFor starters, Team Canada would lose the physical presence of their leader and key player on the power play and just about every big situation in a game.

But as Ryan said, the emotional component is key.

“It’s no secret, she’s the heartbeat of our team, and she’s our captain,” Emma Maltais said. “She means everything to our team.

“We’re here to step up for her to do anything we can to win those games (if she doesn’t return.)”

Ryan didn’t want to label the hit dirty, although it’s clear by the skirmish afterwards that some Canadian players didn’t feel the same way.

“You can tell by our reaction, how we felt about it, no matter if it’s a clean hit or not. I  She’s earned respect in this and that department.”

Shortly before the midway point of the opening period, Poulin was rocked by a thundering hit from Czechia’s Kristyna Kaltounkova, who was penalized for an illegal hit, after she dropped her shoulder and clocked the Canadian captain hard.

Poulin remained on the ice briefly, then hobbled to the Canadian bench where she was grimacing in clear pain. She returned to the ice for part of the resulting power play, but cut the shift short and immediately went down the tunnel to the right of the Canadian bench.

After getting up to return to the Canadian bench, she didn’t appear to put any pressure on the right leg, which appeared to bend awkwardly after the hit, which took place deep in Czechia’s defensive zone.

Canada’s Kristin O’Neill (left) celebrates scoring her team’s first goal with Marie-Philip Poulin (centre) and Ella Shelton during the match between Canada and Czechia. Poulin soon had to leave the game with an injury. Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV /AFP via Getty ImagesArticle contentKaltounkova, meanwhile, defended the play.

“You want to protect yourself,” the Czech star said of her intent on the play. “You don’t want to go head first into the boards expecting a hit. I know (the Canadians) kind of have it out for me so I’ve always got to protect myself. I got ready for impact.”

Given the Canadians entered the tournament as underdogs to the U.S., which breezed by Switzerland on Monday to improve to 3-0, they cannot afford an extended absence of their leader.

A force down the middle, Poulin is an important cog in all parts of the Canadian game — including the power play — and is renowned as the player who coach Troy Ryan can rely upon for the most critical moments of a hockey game.

The Canadian were always going to need other scorers to step up to keep pace with the high-skilled, fast-paced Americans in the first of two expected meetings.

With plenty of time before the medal round, it’s possible Team Canada officials were exercising caution. But any time missed is disruptive, especially for the team’s leader on and off the ice.

In many ways, the Czechia game was shaping up as an important building block for the Canadians, who had their start to the Olympic tournament delayed by two days after a norovirus outbreak forced a postponement of the game with Team Finland.

The Czechs vowed they’d bring a physical approach against Canada and they certainly did, in a game that was chippy at times.

The Canadians, meanwhile, stepped it up a notch from an at-times sleepy 4-0 win over Switzerland in their tournament opener, which they played Saturday.

The pace of the Canadian game was elevated from the outset, as they pumped three goals behind starting goalie Julie Pejsova in the first 13:51 of the game, forcing her coach, Carla MacLeod, to get out the hook.

By the first minute of the second period, Canada had opened up a 5-0 lead and was cruising, ending the game with a solid 34-19 edge in shots on goals.

The win also marked the tournament debut of Canada’s top goaltender, Ann-Renée Desbiens, who was steady in the net.

Canada’s #19 Brianne Jenner (right) and #24 Natalie Spooner (second from left) vie for the puck with Czechia’s #04 Daniela Pejsova and Czech Republic’s #28 Noemi Neubauerova. Canada pumped in five goals to Czechia’s one. Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV /AFP via Getty ImagesArticle contentThe showdown awaitsArticle contentFor Canada, the timing of the tuneup was perfect — again, depending on Poulin’s prognosis. They’ve heard enough noise about their underdog status by now and will have a point to prove.

The idea was to reach a higher gear by Tuesday and the effort against Czechia marked important strides in that direction.

“I think having a tough preliminary games is so important,” star Canadian defenceman Renata Fast said. “That’s what prepares you. You want to get better as the tournament goes on.

“That’s why the tournament setup at the Olympics is kind of perfect for us. It’s about learning from each of those games and getting our chemistry going so when it comes to the elimination games or the U.S. games, you’re ready.”

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