Victoire Place Poulin on LTIR, Sign Mattivi

Montreal's Professional Women's Hockey League team, the Victoire, placed captain Marie-Philip Poulin on long-term injured reserve Tuesday with a lower-body injury, while signing Italian defender Nadia Mattivi to a standard player contract ahead of a matchup against the Minnesota Frost.

Poulin, who turns 35 this week, has been sidelined since March 15, when she exited in the first period of a game against the Boston Fleet at Place Bell. The injury occurred after a collision with Fleet forward Shay Maloney, causing Poulin to favor her right leg. It marks the second time this season she has hurt the same leg; she initially sustained the issue during a February 9 Olympic matchup against Czechia at the Milano Cortina Games. That earlier injury forced her to miss two Olympic contests and Montreal's first PWHL game following the break. The Victoire made Poulin's LTIR placement retroactive to March 15, with the earliest possible return date set for April 5. As the team's leading scorer with nine goals in 18 games, her absence has tested Montreal's depth, though the Victoire have gone 2-0-1 in their three games without her this season.

To bolster their roster, the Victoire added Mattivi,...