2026 Olympic Games: Canada strikes early, taking 4-0 lead against Czechia in women's hockey game

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A 4-0 lead for Canada now, after Julia Gosling has added a power play goal.

But the bigger news for Canada is that Marie-Philip Poulin has returned to the bench. A country sighs in relief. If you’re Canada’s coaching staff, though, you may want to limit Poulin’s minutes with a 4-0 lead.

Another interesting note: Without Poulin on the ice, Canada has been running a power play unit with three offensive-minded defenders: Erin Ambrose, Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques. We’ve seen that happen occasionally on the Montreal Victoire, too.

Ambrose earned an assist on Gosling’s power play goal.

Sarah Fillier scored her second goal of the tournament to put Canada up 2-0, and seconds later, Laura Stacey made it 3-0.

That prompted a goaltending change for Czechia, chasing out Klára Peslarová. Dartmouth College goaltender Michaela Hesová takes over the Czech net.

Certainly not the start the Czech team wanted. Canada is rolling, with goals from three different lines.

Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin just went to the locker room. Poulin drew a penalty on a hit from Czech forward Kristýna Kaltounková and was slow to get up. She went back out on the second power play unit, but soon skated off, favouring her right leg or foot.

We’ll be keeping an eye on her status. And it’s safe to say everyone in Canada is holding their breath.

New York Sirens forward Kristin O’Neill has opened the scoring for the Canadians. Canada leads Czechia 1-0.

It’s the Oakville, Ont., native’s sixth career goal against the Czechs. Before the game, she was asked about why she always seems to play so well against this team.

"I think I thrive in those moments," she said. "They’re a really physical fast team. But I think it does align with our physicality and speed, too."

The goal came after a huge penalty kill for Canada, down two players at one point to the Czechs.

Some lineup changes for Canada in today’s second Olympic game vs. Czechia.

Toronto Sceptres forward Emma Maltais has been elevated to the top line alongside Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey.

Julia Gosling, who was in that spot on Saturday, moves down to the fourth line.

Brianne Jenner takes Maltais’s spot on the checking third line.

Canada’s best line from Saturday, a second line of Daryl Watts, Sarah Nurse and Sarah Fillier remains intact, as does the Canadian defence.

Today is our first glimpse at starting goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens. 

The Associated Press

Vonn’s Olympic comeback over after crashing out, seconds into downhill run

U.S. Alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn’s Olympic comeback dreams are over after she crashed hard about 13 seconds into her downhill run at the Milano-Cortina Olympics. Vonn was airlifted off the slope and taken to surgery.

Lindsey Vonn's father said Monday that the American superstar skier will no longer race if he has any influence over her decision and that she will not return to the Winter Olympics after breaking her leg in the downhill over the weekend.

"She's 41 years old and this is the end of her career," Alan Kildow said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Vonn raced the Olympic downhill at Cortina d'Ampezzo on Sunday despite tearing the ACL in her left knee nine days earlier in another crash.

The American, who remains in hospital in Treviso after undergoing surgeries, has not spoken out about her injury. 

One of the players to watch on Team Czechia is New York Sirens forward Kristýna Kaltounková, who leads the PWHL in goal scoring in her rookie season.

Before leaving for the Olympics, she said she's tired of reading about people predicting a Canada-U.S. Final.

"If I could, I would do anything to be up there and be able to win that gold or silver medal," she said a few days ago. "So I'm going to do whatever it takes."

I've been talking about how the game between Canada and Czechia is likely to be physical. The IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) rules are a bit different from the PWHL rules. We see a lot more physicality around the boards in the PWHL, typically.

But it can take players a bit to get a sense of how things will be called when they come to a tournament like the Olympics.

"Every time we kind of come back into international play, it's a little bit of a feeling-out process because it is so different than the PWHL," said Canadian defender Erin Ambrose, who absorbed a couple of hard hits in the win over Switzerland.

Hi, I'm a member of the live page team based in Edmonton. 

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Canada: 

The best line in Canada's first game was the second line of Daryl Watts, Sarah Nurse and Sarah Fillier. Both Watts and Fillier added a goal and assist. To have success in this tournament, Canada needs offence beyond its first line, and this combination could be the key to that. 

Nurse was on a roll in the PWHL prior to the Olympics, with six points in the five games she's played this season.

Czechia:

One of my favourite players to watch on this team is 19-year-old Adéla Šapovalivová. She has a ton of skill, and has been playing on a line with a player who can shoot the puck in Kristýna Kaltounková.

Kaltounková, whose teammates call her Kalty, leads the PWHL in goal scoring so far this season.

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