MILAN — Without captain Marie-Philip Poulin, Team Canada suffered its worst loss against its American rivals at the Olympic Games — a score of 5-0 — since 1998 on Tuesday night.

Poulin was injured in Canada’s 5-1 win against the Czech Republic on Monday and is listed as day-to-day with a lower body injury. It was Canada’s first game at the Olympics without Poulin on the ice since 2006, when she was just 15 years old and rising through the under-18 ranks.

There’s no replacing Poulin, who has scored three game-winning goals at the Olympics. But Tuesday night’s attempt was abysmal, with Canada only mustering four shots on goal in the first period and just 20 by the end of the night. It was the first time since hockey debuted at the Olympics nearly 30 years ago that Canada was shut at the tournament.

“I think our team can score goals. I think our team can play defensively. Neither of them were there tonight,” Team Canada coach Troy Ryan said. “We weren’t getting inside on them at all – all of our shots were perimeter shots and one-and-done.

“They’re big, they’re strong, they’re fast, they’re skilled, they’re a great team. But you still got to find ways.”

The win clinched Group A for the Americans, who are on a dominant run at the Olympics. No team has scored more goals than Team USA (20) in the tournament or allowed fewer (1). Nobody has more points than defender Caroline Harvey, the two-time Olympian and presumptive No. 1 pick in the upcoming PWHL draft, who has two goals and seven points in just four games.

Both of her goals at the tournament have been incredible displays of Harvey’s individual skill, including a toe drag and finish around one of Canada’s best defensive forwards Emily Clark to open the scoring 3:45 minutes into Tuesday’s game.

By the midway point of the second period Team USA went up 4-0. There was no big comeback or impossibly tense finish, not the way we’re used to seeing when these two teams face off on the biggest stage. Just wall to wall dominance by the Americans.

“There just seemed to be a bit of a shoulder drop,” Ryan said. “Honestly, I have no time for it. We’re at the Olympic Games.”

Team Canada has scored just nine goals in three games and only four at five-on-five. The roster, which was named last month, was heavily scrutinized for its heavy veteran presence.

Meanwhile, Team USA brought one of the youngest rosters to Milan with elite young talent and seven NCAA stars who have already made their mark; all but one Olympic rookie has failed to get on the scoresheet through the prelims.

The difference in approach was on display Tuesday night as Team USA was paced by six players under the age of 25. Hannah Bilka was the oldest goalscorer at the ripe age of 24 years old. Even starting goalie Aerin Frankel is only 26 years old; five years younger than Canada’s starter Ann-Renée Desbiens.

Team USA has now beat Team Canada in seven straight games. Over the last five wins, including at the rivalry series, the U.S. has outscored Canada 29-7.

This was the final game of group play for the United States, who advanced to the quarterfinals to play Italy, which finished third in Group B to steal a spot in the quarterfinals. What was meant to be an off day for Canada on Thursday will now be a game day against Finland after the originally scheduled matchup (on Feb. 5) was postponed due to a norovirus outbreak.

Murphy breaks out with a big night

Murphy’s fingerprints were all over this game.

She tallied three assists, including a no-look backhand pass for Bilka’s second goal of the night, and got under Canada’s skin at every opportunity. In the first period, she collided with Ann-Renée Desbiens and locked her legs around Canada’s goaltender, which drew the ire of Sarah Fillier, who retaliated with an interference penalty.

Later in the game, Kristin O’Neill gave Murphy a cross-check, which got a grin from Murphy as she got up and O’Neill went to the box. In all, Murphy drew four of Canada’s five penalties, with Team USA scoring on the power play once. Julia Gosling said Murphy was effective and that next time the two sides meet Canada “needs to be careful on some of the hits” because Murphy “goes down kinda easily.”

It’s not the first time Murphy has been accused of flopping.

“People are going to say ‘be on your feet,’” Murphy said after the game. “But whatever, I don’t even care.”

Selling a call is just one part of the Abbey Murphy experience, and just one thing she does to get into Canadians heads and get them off their game. It’s that kind of pest behaviour, mixed with eye-popping skill that makes Murphy a unicorn in women’s hockey.

On Tuesday, Canada failed to handle both Murphy’s skill – she had three assists on the night – and her extracurriculars.

“The instigator, agitator, kinda rat side of her is something that she does very well,” Ryan said. “There’s very few people that can play that role, but also back it with some skill.

“She deserves a lot of credit for the way she plays. She’s very effective and can be impactful in games, but it’s important for us to not get caught up in it.”

Knight ties U.S. Olympic scoring record

Hilary Knight, the future Hockey Hall of Famer, was credited with the secondary assist on Harvey’s first-period goal.

That tied Jenny Potter’s United States Olympic record with 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists).

If she scores again in the tournament, in what will be her final of five Olympics, it will break the record for most Olympic goals by an American. She shares that mark with Natalie Darwitz and Katie King.

“It’s hard to put into words,” 22-year-old Haley Winn said of playing with Knight, 36. “She’s someone a lot of us have looked up to since we were little. I know I have a picture with her from when I was probably seven or eight. So to be able to play on a team with her, it leaves you kind of speechless, and you learn so much from her on and off the ice.

“She’s a great mentor, so to see her do so well, it isn’t really a surprise for us, but she’s definitely leading the team by example. So we’re lucky to have her.”

Marie-Philip Poulin’s absence felt

By now, we’ve all seen the videos of the moment Poulin was hit by Czech forward Kristýna Kaltounková. Poulin stayed down on the ice for a moment, grimacing, and eventually skated back to the bench, putting minimal weight on her right leg.

She did not play in Tuesday’s game, but was in attendance in a suite with No. 3 goalie Kayle Osborne — and was given a nice applause by the crowd when shown on the center-ice video screen at the start of the second period.

That Poulin did not play isn’t really worth reading into. At least where her availability for the remainder of the tournament is concerned. There’s optimism from Canada that Poulin will be able to return at some point before the end of the tournament. When that happens is still in question.

In 2021, Poulin missed the U.S. preliminary round game — which Canada won 5-1 — after taking a puck to the throat. She returned in the quarterfinals to a minimal role to gear up for the gold medal game, where she scored another game-winner.

If Poulin indeed returns in Milan, we can likely expect something similar. There’s just no need to risk playing her until the group stage is over. As heated as the rivalry is, Tuesday night’s game only counts for placement with all five teams in Group A — including Canada — moving on to the quarterfinals.

Canada’s quarterfinal match is four days away (Feb. 14); A return in the semifinals (Feb. 16) would give Poulin even more time to rest and be at her best when it matters most for the Canadians.

How did Canada respond?

Tuesday was our first real look at Team Canada without Poulin, without the emotion and adrenaline of wanting to win for their captain on Monday night. And it wasn’t all that impressive.

Canada mustered only four shots on goal to Team USA’s two goals in the first period. By the end of the second, Canada still only had 10 shots. They failed to establish a consistent and strong forecheck and had several defensive miscues that led directly to goals by Team USA.

The Sarah Nurse, Sarah Fillier and Daryl Watts combo took on the “top-line” role and only got two shots on goal. Ryan also went back to his faithful Laura Stacey, Blayre Turnbull and Emily Clark line that he called “an anchor” for the team. And to her credit, Stacey might have been Canada’s best player.

She was hard on the forecheck, she used her speed and drew a timely penalty, which Canada couldn’t convert, and led the team with four shots on goal.

After her speech on Monday about the need for players to step up in Poulin’s absence, Stacey is one of the few who actually did it on Tuesday.

The goalie interference review

There were two reviews on Simms’ second-period goal, her first at the Olympics.

First, the refs looked to ensure the puck completely crossed the line, which it did. Then, Ryan challenged for goaltender interference. After a lengthy review, the refs maintained it was a good goal, despite the clear contact in the crease.

Kristin O’Neill also got into the blue paint, so it’s fair to assume that negated Simms’ interference in the eyes of the refs. But the rulebook states that a goal would be disallowed if an attacking player impedes the goalkeeper’s ability to move freely and defend the goal.

“I disagreed with it,” Ryan said. “A lot of people would have different opinions on it. It’s not the first time I’ve ever been wrong on a challenge, and it won’t be the last, but I think if I was in that situation again, I’d probably challenge it again.”

The moment ultimately didn’t matter in the end. There was a lot more going wrong for Team Canada than a bad review. Just add it to the list of examples of puzzling goalie interference calls.