TORONTO - Marie-Philip Poulin knows the United States has had Canada's number in women's hockey this year, but that isn't stopping her from looking at the bigger picture.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist for Canada wants to win her third consecutive gold at the Pyeongchang Games in February, but she acknowledged it won't be easy.

The U.S. women's national hockey team defeated Canada to win the World Championship in Michigan in the spring, then beat the Canadians to capture the Four Nations Cup in Tampa, Fla. last weekend.

Poulin excelled in her first two Olympic tournaments, scoring both goals in Canada's gold medal victory over the U.S. in 2010, and potting both the tying and winning goals in the gold medal game in 2014.

The 26-year-old standout sat down with theScore at a promotional event for Tide on Wednesday to discuss how she approaches high-pressure situations, whether the United States' recent success against Canada means anything heading into the 2018 Olympics, and how women's hockey is growing at both the international and league levels.

Gold-Smith: You clearly have a knack for coming through in big Olympic moments. How do you deal with pressure in those situations? Do you try to block it out, or do you embrace it?

Poulin: Every time you wear that maple leaf is always special, and I've learned to embrace it. Sometimes it's scary. You never want to disappoint people, you never want to let people down.

But I try to bring my best every day and try my best to keep improving. I don't want to look too far ahead. I go day by day knowing we're 28 (players) this year in Calgary training for the same thing, knowing that we have each other's backs. It's something that's really special and it makes the pressure a little (easier) knowing that we're all in it together.

Gold-Smith: Canada is the four-time defending Olympic champion in women's hockey, but does it feel like you have something to prove in Pyeongchang given that the U.S. team has beaten you in these more recent tournaments?

Poulin: Every time we play them, we have something to prove, not only for (others but) for ourselves. We want to achieve our goal, which is to bring back the gold medal. I know we haven't had it easy against them.

We've lost a couple of big games against them, so it's in the back of our minds every time we train and we want to raise the bar every time for ourselves to keep getting better every day. So obviously, it's in the back of our heads, but we use that (as) motivation. We know what to do to make it right, so we're going to go day by day and keep improving as a team.

Gold-Smith: Canada and the U.S. are so dominant on the women's side in international hockey, and while we've seen countries like Finland make big strides, the two North American programs are still a cut above. What do you think it's going to take for the other countries to get on that level, and do you think that's possible?

Poulin: It is. We've seen (at the) last World Championship, we lost against Finland, and you can tell that every game, it gets harder. Knowing that those countries are coming up, it's something we want to (be mindful of).

You can tell there was a big difference at the last couple of World Championships. Every game is special, every game is getting harder, and it's fun to see other countries coming up and knowing that their federations are helping them to keep improving and helping them in their preparation.

Gold-Smith: Speaking of international hockey but in a different sense, you play for the Canadiennes of Montreal in the CWHL, and that league took a big leap this season by adding two expansion teams in China. Do you think that's a constructive way to grow the league and the game?

Poulin: I didn't expect it at first, but it's a great opportunity for the two teams there in China, knowing that there are North American players that went there, and who are helping out over there, so it's great.

(As far as) expansion, hopefully it's going to keep going. It's fun to see that China is putting money into the women's game over there, and it's great. Hopefully, here in Canada and the U.S., we can keep building the league to keep going even bigger, and maybe one day make that a living.

Gold-Smith: Caroline Ouellette is someone who clearly means a lot to you. She was your childhood hero, you won Olympic gold together, you won the CWHL's Clarkson Cup together, and there was that great moment back in the spring when you got down on your knees and handed her the trophy.

She then passed it to (Canadiennes teammate and American star) Julie Chu, and we just learned last week that Caroline and Julie welcomed their first child together. When did you find out the good news and how did you react?

Poulin: It was right after Worlds when they announced (Oullette) was pregnant, and obviously it was such great news. They deserve the best, and having that little girl, I'm so happy for them.

They've done so much, and knowing that little girl (is) coming up and we'll be able to teach her and be around her, it's just amazing. Having that little baby girl around is going to be quite amazing, and I'm so happy. They deserve the best, and I'm so happy to see that little family growing.

Gold-Smith: Who's she going to play for, Canada or the U.S.?

Poulin: (Laughs) Hopefully Canada.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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On Wednesday night, the Detroit Red Wings shone a spotlight on the Calgary Flames' most glaring weakness - their backup goaltending.

The Red Wings dismantled the Flames with an 8-2 victory in a game that saw netminding duties left to Eddie Lack and Jon Gillies. The two combined to stop just 19 of the 27 shots thrown their way.

Sure, four of those goals came with the man advantage, but a growing trend is starting to rear its ugly head: the Flames are in trouble when Mike Smith is not between the pipes.

The Flames are off to a 10-8-0 start and, as fate would have it, Smith has gone 9-6-0 with a 2.63 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. Early on, he is proving to be the reason for much of the team's success.

He's faced 506 shots - the second most in the league - boasts the second-best even-strength save percentage, the third-ranked high-danger save percentage, and the fifth-best medium-danger save percentage among goalies to play at least 10 games this season. In summary, he's been good.

His counterparts can't say the same. While it's been a small sample size, Lack has gone 1-2-0 in four games with a 5.29 goals-against average and a .813 save percentage, while we already know how Gillies gave up three goals on 12 shots on Wednesday in his lone appearance of the season.

In the two games Lack has started this season - his other two appearances were in relief - he has given up a combined nine goals on 43 shots in just under 84 minutes of play.

Furthermore, over the past two seasons, the 29-year-old has strung together a .898 save percentage and 2.86 goals-against average, the 51st- and 47th-best marks among all 52 goalies to play at least 50 games. So, don't expect Lack to suddenly turn things around.

It's becoming clear that something must be done here. Smith is currently day to day with an upper-body injury - which kept him out Wednesday - and while he may return as soon as Saturday, this could have long-term ramifications.

Generally, teams use their backup goalie on the second night of back-to-backs. Going forward, the Flames will face that situation 10 more times this season. That's a possible 20 points in the standings; a significant chunk, and one the Flames can't afford to just throw away.

So, the best option would appear to be searching the market for a more reliable deputy, although pickings could be slim. As a reminder, Antti Niemi, who currently has a 6.74 goals-against average and a .822 save percentage, has been claimed off waivers twice this season.

However, there are some potential candidates out there.

The first is Andrew Hammond. The Hamburglar was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche as part of the three-way trade that sent Matt Duchene to the Ottawa Senators. Following the deal, however, the Avalanche decided to keep Hammond with the Senators' AHL club as they plan to seek a potential trade partner. A deal here makes sense.

Another possible option could be Calvin Pickard, whom the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights. He is now suiting up for the Toronto Marlies as Frederik Andersen and Curtis McElhinney tend twine with the main club, but has posted a .918 save percentage and a 2.45 goals-against average and has experience as a starter in the league.

Then there is David Rittich, who with the Stockton Flames this year has gone 4-1-0 with a 2.20 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage. The Czech native also put up strong numbers as a farmhand last season and might be worth calling up if Lack's underwhelming play persists.

All this leaves the Flames management with a lot to consider. How they attempt to address their backup goaltending will be interesting to see. What is known is that Mike Smith can only carry the club so far.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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Over the course of the 2017-18 season, theScore will run a series of interviews with former players, coaches, and officials in which they recall some of the greatest moments of their career. This edition focuses on Kelly Hrudey, who won 271 regular-season games over 15 seasons with three NHL teams.

On cracking an NHL roster:

I was walking or running back to the Marriott hotel in the parking lot of the Nassau Veterans' Coliseum, because I couldn't celebrate at (Bill) Torrey's office because the situation was so unique.

Four of my friends went into Mr. Torrey's office, and (all four) left his office just being told they were going back to the minors, so for me, how selfish (would it be) if I were to go into the office, get told I made the team, which I did, and then come out and celebrate? That would have been awfully selfish.

So, for me, I kept it all inside, we parted ways and I said goodbye to my good friends, who I had played two years with in the minors. When they left, I was able to go outside and really express myself.

I went back to my hotel room and called my mom and dad and my fiancee at the time. It was just an amazing experience.

On starting his career with an Islanders team at the end of its stretch of dominance:

I never looked at it in a daunting way, I looked at it only as a benefit.

I was given a great advantage by being around all those guys, guys I highly respected, guys that had won so much, people that I knew would be in the Hockey Hall of Fame at one point, and coached by a Hockey Hall of Famer. That was, to me, what a great start; I've always said I'm one of the luckiest guys around to have had a start like that.

Just to learn the proper way ... it wasn't like I started in the NHL, learned from the wrong people, got off track, and had to find my way. I was shown the proper way.

On meeting future teammate Wayne Gretzky:

I first met Wayne in the summer of 1987; I was still with the Islanders. Wayne called me at my mom and dad's house in Edmonton in July and, because I was getting invited to the Canada Cup training camp in August, he wanted to know if I wanted to go skate with him at Argyle Rink in Edmonton.

Much to my surprise, when I got there ... I didn't know it at the time, but Janet was going to come join us. So, it was just Wayne and I on the ice and Janet joined us, and it was such a cool experience knowing that you're on the ice with the greatest player in the game, at the time, and it formed a bit of a bond and a bit of a friendship between us.

On Gretzky as a teammate:

He was (demanding), and that's a compliment. All my favorite teammates were all demanding, and they should be, because you're looking for perfection, or as close to it as you can have.

You have to be willing to accept a guy's weaknesses and so on, but only in short order, only in short spurts. We can't have a weak link, even if he's a great guy. I understood that playing with the Islanders, and Wayne was no different in that sense.

Wayne, though, had a quality of grace that really stood out to me. It was a unique quality in the way (that) his memory is so unique. I often looked at him and just wondered, "What a special guy."

On playing with hate:

One thing that has made it different is the cell phone. These guys can text and Facetime and all that kind of stuff, we had no form of communication that way, so it was much easier to get a hate on.

Not all athletes can play with anger. It was important for me because it was easy for me to get involved in a game if I truly hated the other guy, but I understand that it's not for every athlete.

One thing I won't back away from, though, is I can't stand the handshake line. It's repulsive to me, I just find it so insincere that for two weeks you want to beat somebody so badly and then 30 seconds after the game you're going to shake their hand. I don't get it. I understand that I have a unique view of it and most people think I'm an idiot, but I am OK with that.

I had no idea how I crossed the line a few times by kicking people with my skates. I had no idea I was such an idiot until these guys came up to me after I was done playing and said, "Hey, look at this scar," or "I still have this scar because you stepped on me or kicked me" ... I was appalled to find out I was that kind of person.

On the "Easter Epic," a 1987 four-OT playoff game between the Islanders and Washington Capitals in which a victorious Hrudey made 73 saves:

If you play a game that goes four OTs, and the score is 2-2, I think that most people would say the goalies had done their jobs. In fact, that's how I was for a lot of the game, as it went into double OT, triple OT, and quadruple OT, I was thinking, "Even if we lose this game, no one's going to be blaming me."

It was kind of like a relief. I never spoke to (Capitals goalie) Bob Mason about that but, I would suspect that he kind of has the same view that "Boy, both goaltenders have held up their end of the bargain in this one."

On what he thought when he saw Islanders head coach Al Arbour naked in a sauna:

Turn around! Get out of the room! All I could think of was, "What do I do here?"

This is a unique situation, Al had never been in the sauna, at least to the best of my knowledge, usually it's my friends in there and we're going to share stories and a few laughs and then maybe go for lunch. And then there's Al sitting there. So it took a lot of courage to not just turn around and leave.

On the camaraderie in today's NHL compared with Hrudey's era:

It is different, there is no question about it, and I think it will only continue to go in that direction more so. I think that, to a certain degree, there is something to be said about spending a night in a particular city and going out for a couple of drinks with your teammates.

Some of my favorite bonding moments were just those situations, but I also understand that it just wouldn't work in today’s NHL.

__________

Fact File

Born: Jan. 13, 1961, Edmonton, Alberta

Drafted: Second round (38th overall), 1980, New York Islanders

Teams: Islanders (1983-89), Los Angeles Kings (1989-96), San Jose Sharks (1996-98)

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

Other entries in this series:

• Denis Savard
• Jeremy Roenick
• Kris Draper
• Bill Ranford
• Olie Kolzig
• Rick Vaive
• Vincent Damphousse
• Doug Gilmour
• Adam Graves
• Denis Potvin
• Bill Barber
• Chris Pronger
• Bryan Lewis
• Peter Mahovlich

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The Arizona Coyotes have come under investigation by the National Labor Relations Board on two occasions in the past 13 months, according to Craig Harris of azcentral.

One of those investigations was put to rest after the Coyotes reached an undisclosed financial settlement with the team's payroll administrator.

The allegations were as follows:

The employee had alleged the violations occurred during most of 2016, when the Coyotes created an impression that employees were under surveillance, threatened staff if they engaged in union organizing, caused employees to sign overly broad and discriminatory severance agreements and fired the employee after she complained the Coyotes failed to properly pay staff, according to NLRB records.

Despite the settlement, the Coyotes admitted no wrongdoing in that case.

The team does face a hearing on Jan. 9, 2018 in regards to a second investigation, which stems from allegations from a former ticket salesman that the Coyotes interfered with employees' rights to unionize.

James Whitener claims the club "fired him for engaging in protected labor activities, and the team asked employees to sign separation agreements that were 'overly broad and unlawful.'"

The Coyotes have also denied those allegations.

Arizona is a notoriously low-spending team, and the Coyotes have long been thought to be prime candidates for relocation. On the ice, the Coyotes are the first team in NHL history without a regulation win through 20 games.

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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is believed to have recently met with Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta to discuss the viability of a team in that city, according to Katie Strang of The Athletic.

The meeting reportedly took place within the past few weeks, although Bettman would not confirm when contacted by The Athletic.

He did say the league is not looking to relocate any teams at the moment, but added a caveat in regards to Houston.

"If Houston were to express an interest in having an NHL franchise, under the right circumstances, it's something we might want to consider," he said.

Fertitta purchased the NBA team back in September for a reported $2.2 billion, and has expressed a strong interest in bringing an NHL club to Houston.

The Rockets play at the Toyota Center, which opened in 2003 and can hold 17,800 when fitted for a rink.

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The Ottawa Senators are set to make another key addition to the lineup, and spread out the offense as a result.

After acquiring Matt Duchene from the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 5, the club will welcome Bobby Ryan back for Thursday's game against Pittsburgh.

The winger has missed the past three weeks with a broken finger, and head coach Guy Boucher envisions the formation of a new dynamic duo upon Ryan's return.

"If we're able to have Duchene and Bobby work, we can end up with two first lines," Boucher said, per Ian Mendes of TSN. "That would be a one-two punch that the top teams have."

Ryan had been skating on the top line with Derick Brassard and Mark Stone prior to the injury, but here's the new-look top six based on Wednesday's practice lines:

• Mike Hoffman - Derick Brassard - Mark Stone
• Ryan Dzingel - Matt Duchene - Bobby Ryan

Ryan recorded six assists and 12 shots in eight games to begin the season.

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Like it or not, Jonathan Toews isn't the elite center he once was.

After back-to-back sub-60-point seasons, many expected Toews to bounce back in 2017-18. First-round eliminations in consecutive seasons theoretically provided Toews and the Hawks more time to rest in the summer. They also reacquired Brandon Saad, providing the captain with an offensively proven linemate.

Everything was adding up for him to return to form, but it hasn't materialized.

Toews has just four goals and seven assists in 18 games, putting him on pace for 50 points. Excluding the lockout-shortened season, in which he had 48 points in 47 games, 50 would be the lowest total of his career.

The underlying numbers aren't fully on his side, either. Sure, his shooting percentage is low and his Corsi For percentage is once again high, but his individual high-danger scoring chances per 60 minutes (iHDCF/60) sits at just 2.67 - his lowest since 2009-10. Last year, it was 4.05, and it has been as high as 5.48 in his career.

So why is Toews' performance declining?

Given the fact he's drawing just 0.17 penalties per 60 minutes after averaging 1.12 over the previous eight seasons in a year where penalties are up would suggest the 29-year-old has lost a step or two. Even in his prime, he was never considered one of the league's fastest players.

Not only is Toews on pace for the fewest penalties drawn in his career, he's also on pace for the most penalties taken. This could either be more evidence supporting the "Toews is getting slower" theory, or it could be attributed to the increase in slashing calls.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

However, the fact that he set a career high in giveaways (37) last year, and is on pace to do so again (45), also raises some suspicion. It's hard to believe a player with his IQ is getting more careless with the puck with age, but it's not hard to believe he's being stripped with more frequency due to declining foot speed.

Now, all of this isn't to say Toews is suddenly a liability to the Blackhawks. Far from it. But is he one of the game's elite centers? It's hard to argue he still is.

That's a major problem for the Blackhawks. With Toews being paid like the elite center he was in the past ($10.5-million cap hit through 2022-23), Chicago's roster is littered with players making the league minimum.

When you lead a team to three Stanley Cups, you deserve every penny of such a massive contract. But that deal is handcuffing the Hawks more than ever now given that Toews can't carry as much weight as he used to.

Looking at the log-jammed Western Conference playoff picture, Dallas, Minnesota, Chicago, Anaheim, and Edmonton are all on the outside looking in. Many expected these clubs to make the playoffs. Vegas and Vancouver seem like the most likely current playoff teams to fall out of contention, opening up two potential spots.

Unless Toews can prove his start this season is an anomaly, the Blackhawks' nine-year playoff streak will come to an end.

(Advanced stats courtesy: Natural Stat Trick)

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Buffalo Sabres defenseman Marco Scandella has been fined $5,000 for slashing Pittsburgh Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Wednesday.

The incident occurred midway through the second period of Tuesday night's game. Scandella received a two-minute minor for slashing, while Hornqvist also received a minor for interference on Scandella on the same play.

The fine is the maximum allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

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