Team Canada’s struggles against the United States continued at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics with a lopsided 5–0 loss. The defeat marked the seventh consecutive loss to their rivals and left Canada searching for answers heading into the quarterfinals.

The game started poorly for Canada and never improved. Caroline Harvey opened the scoring early in the first period walking in from the blue line and beating Ann-Renee Desbiens with a clean shot. Things went downhill from there.

Hannah Bilka scored twice, including one goal where she and Abbey Murphy were left completely uncovered in front of the Canadian net. The defensive breakdown was hard to miss. Two American players with that much space simply can’t happen at this level.

Canada was already dealing with a major blow before the puck even dropped. Captain Marie-Philip Poulin couldn’t play after getting injured in the previous game against Czechia and without their leader, the team looked disorganized and struggled to find any rhythm.

By the time Laila Edwards, who is making history with Team USA this year, scored in the third period to make it 5–0 forcing a goaltending change, the outcome had been decided long ago. Aerin Frankel faced just 20 shots and stopped them all for the shutout.

Where things have gone wrong for Team Canada

The problems aren’t new. Canada has now been outscored 35–11 over these seven straight losses to the Americans. The pattern has been consistent throughout at the 2025 World Championships, through the Rivalry Series and now at the Olympics.

The roster decisions have also been questioned for months. Management chose experience over speed betting on veteran players who know each other well. That approach hasn’t always worked. The Americans consistently beat Canada to loose pucks, used their speed to create pressure and forced the Canadians into taking penalties just to slow them down.

Abbey Murphy alone drew four penalties in the game. When your team has to grab and hold just to keep up, you’re already at a disadvantage.

The coaching approach has also raised eyebrows. While the Americans constantly change their line combinations to find new chemistry and keep opponents guessing, Canada runs the same lines game after game. Even when down 5–0, the coaching staff stuck with the same combinations that weren’t working. They’ve even broken up lines that were successful at the World Championships without finding anything better to replace them.

Germany claims second place

While Canada dealt with their ongoing issues, Germany secured second place in Group B with a hard-fought 2–1 win over host Italy. The game was tight throughout with both teams getting 24 shots on goal.

Laura Kluge scored the winner with just 1:29 left in the game and now leads the tournament in scoring. She also set up Emily Nix’s second-period goal that tied the game after Italy’s Justine Reyes had opened the scoring.

Germany will face one of the top teams from Group A in the quarterfinals which will likely be either the United States or Canada.

Finland bounces back

Finland finally got their first win of the tournament beating Switzerland 3–1 since dealing with a norovirus outbreak that forced their opening game to be postponed. The Finns controlled play with a 31–15 shot advantage.

Viivi Vainikka scored Finland’s first goal of the tournament in the second period. Julia Liikala added another before Switzerland’s Alina Muller pulled one back with a shorthanded goal. But Sanni Vanhanen answered right back on the power play just 35 seconds later to seal the win.

Finland still has to play their rescheduled game against Canada on February 12. This will determine their final placement in Group A.

Canada will need the next win

Canada will finish their preliminary round against Finland before moving to the quarterfinals. The schedule opens the possibility of another meeting with the United States in the gold medal game.

Based on what we’ve seen so far, that rematch would be a major concern. The Americans have looked dominant while Canada has struggled to find solutions to problems that have persisted for over a year.

The bigger question is whether Canada can make the adjustments needed in the time they have left. The roster is set and the coaching strategy seems unlikely to change dramatically. Without Poulin and with the same approach that has failed seven times in a row, it’s hard to see where the turnaround comes from.

This was supposed to be Canada’s chance to prove they’re still the world’s best. Instead, it seems the team will be facing an uphill battle just to stay competitive with a United States team that seems to get stronger every time they play.