- Team USA hockey lost one of its foremost stars during its first game at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
- Prolific scorer Brianna Decker suffered a brutal leg injury 10 minutes into the game vs Finland.
- She'll miss the rest of the games, putting Team USA's gold-medal hopes in jeopardy.
Team USA's path to the podium just got a whole lot tougher.
Less than 10 minutes into the Americans' first game of the 2022 Beijing Olympics, superstar forward and prolific scorer Brianna Decker went down screaming after suffering a brutal lower-leg injury.
During an offensive push midway through the first period against Finland, the 30-year-old circled behind the net and became tangled with Finnish defender Ronja Savolainen. She awkwardly fell backward onto the ice with her left ankle trapped under Savolainen's outstretched leg.
Without fans present in the arena, Decker's shrieks could be heard harrowingly clearly on the NBC broadcast. The game stopped almost immediately, with teammates circling the assistant captain and urgently waving for assistance.
Team USA looked on with concern as medics treated Decker for several minutes. Eventually, a stretcher was wheeled out to transport the fallen star off the ice and out of the game.
Clips of the scene are not available in the United States but may be available if you're reading from another location.
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—CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 3, 2022
—7Olympics (@7olympics) February 3, 2022
Shortly after Decker's exit from the game, hockey insider Erica Ayala reported via Twitter that "USA Hockey confirmed [Decker] will not return" for the remainder of the Olympic tournament.
—Erica L. Ayala 💪🏽 (@elindsay08) February 3, 2022
Decker was later spotted rink-side sporting crutches and a boot on her left leg:
The US went on to beat Finland 5-2 in the preliminary game, with Kendall Coyne Schofield and Alex Carpenter contributing two goals apiece for the Americans. Even still, losing Decker is a huge blow for a Team USA squad looking to defend its gold medal from the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang.
The Dousman, Wisconsin, native recorded three assists through five games en route to the title four years ago. And during the Americans' silver-medal run in Sochi four years before that, Decker notched two goals and four assists in five appearances.
Plus, the US opted against bringing a taxi squad — or an additional set of players who could substitute onto the main roster in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak or catastrophic injury — to the games. Team General Manager Katie Million explained in early January that the Americans planned "to move forward with our main team, a 23-player roster" despite having the opportunity to bring extra players as "a worst-case scenario."
—Alex Azzi (@AlexAzziNBC) February 3, 2022
That decision may hurt Team USA's chances, especially as Team Canada — the Americans' top rivals — and other opponents chose to bring taxi squads of their own, per NBC's Alex Azzi.
Team USA will face the Russian Olympic Committee in its next game, another preliminary matchup set to take place on Saturday at 9:10 p.m. local time, or 8:10 a.m. EST. The quarterfinal round begins February 11.