Laura Stacey had just played one of the best games of her Olympic career, as Canada had come agonizingly close to gold. But when she stepped up to speak after the 2–1 overtime loss to the United States, her thoughts went immediately to her captain.

“She’s our leader. She’s a warrior,” Stacey said of Marie-Philip Poulin, who played through a lower-body injury for much of the tournament. “Sucks to see her in pain, but man, you would never know. She battled hard. She’s our rock. She did everything she possibly could.”

🇨🇦 Laura Stacey was fighting back tears when asked about Marie-Philip Poulin playing through pain.

“She's our leader. She's a warrior. Sucks to see her in pain, but man, you would never know. She battled hard. She’s our rock… she did everything possible she could.”

— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) February 19, 2026

The Americans tied the game with 2:04 left in regulation, then won it on a Megan Keller goal 4:07 into three-on-three overtime. This ended Canada’s bid for gold on a night when the Canadians had largely controlled the pace and structure of play. Goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens made 31 saves, and Canada held the lead for nearly 58 minutes before the late tying goal changed everything.

Laura Stacey reinforces faith in one another on Team Canada

Stacey’s play in the gold medal game was among her strongest of the entire tournament. Her primary assist on Kristin O’Neill’s shorthanded goal, which was Canada’s only tally of the night, came from exactly the kind of physical, relentless game she had brought from the opening puck drop.

She finished the tournament with one goal and three assists across seven games.

“This whole tournament, nobody believed in us,” Stacey said. “Nobody thought this would turn into what it did tonight, but us. That inner belief, that pride we had for our country, for our jersey, and honestly for one another, that shone through.”

That belief carried Canada further than most anticipated, and their performance in the final reflected it.

🇨🇦Laura Stacey: "This whole tournament nobody believed in us. Nobody thought this would turn into what it did tonight but us. That inner belief, that pride we had for our country, for our jersey, & honestly for one another shone through"https://t.co/TTBwkXedC5

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) February 19, 2026

“We wanted to play in-your-face, relentless hockey, and that’s what we did,” said Poulin. “We knew it was going to be a battle from both teams. It’s Canada and the U.S. in a gold medal game; it’s one of the best rivalries in sport. Obviously, we came up short, but I’m really proud of this group.”

She admitted that she didn’t want her own injury to feel like a distraction for her teammates.

“I didn’t want it to be a distraction. It did suck getting injured.”

Marie-Philip Poulin on her knee injury and not telling her teammates what she was going through: "I didn't want it to be a distraction. It did suck getting injured."

— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) February 19, 2026

Poulin caps a remarkable Olympic campaign

Despite missing two games with her injury, Poulin finished as the tournament’s standout player. She was named Best Forward and set the all-time Olympic record for goals in women’s hockey. 

She returned to the lineup and led Canada through the knockout rounds. This included the final without any outward indication of the physical toll it was taking.

For Stacey, who is Poulin’s partner off the ice as well as her teammate on the PWHL’s Montreal Victoire, watching that play out up close clearly carried extra weight.

“It’s crushing,” Stacey said of the result. “But I do think that looking back on this moment, the team that we were, the pride that we had, the resilience we showed, those are the memories. And that makes you a better human being. I think all of us will take a lot from tonight.”

O’Neill says Canada gave everything they had

Kristin O’Neill, whose goal gave Canada the lead it nearly rode to gold, spoke with measured pride about how the group had performed.

“There are a lot of emotions, but I am really proud of the way my team played,” she said. “I am very sad with the result because we came so close to winning, but I am grateful to be in this situation and proud of the way we represented Canada. I am not surprised with the way we played tonight, because this team always brings its best in these big moments. We have so much experience in our room, and we really showed that tonight.”

Marie-Philip Poulin is going down the line, hugging each one of her Canada teammates right now ❤️ pic.twitter.com/YzT8zmJHgZ

— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) February 19, 2026

Several key members of this group, including Poulin, Stacey, Desbiens, Brianne Jenner and Sarah Nurse, are expected to be 35 or older by the 2030 Winter Games. This tournament may well represent the final Olympic chapter for much of the roster that has defined Canadian women’s hockey over the past decade.

“It hurts,” Stacey said. “You see the tears, you feel the emotions. We were minutes away from having gold medals around our necks. And I think the reason it hurts so bad is because of how much pride we have.”

Silver is the result. But the standard they set in how they played and how they carried themselves throughout gave Canada plenty to hold onto long after the medals were handed out.