Canadian women's blue-liners have opponents seeing red at Beijing 2022

It's a common adage that the best defence is a good offence. Canada's women's hockey team appears to have taken that to heart.

The Canadians defeated Switzerland 10-3 to advance to the gold-medal game, with three of their five first-period goals scored by defenders.

"They certainly are playing with a confidence level that's fun to watch," two-time Olympic champion Carla MacLeod said of the young blue line. "You can see their movement in the zone, you can see that they're free to jump in, they're reading the play."

It took just over seven minutes for Claire Thompson to open the scoring, and after that the goals kept coming. Swiss netminder Andrea Brändli was relieved by Saskia Maurer after the fourth tally, but though the outcome was never really in question, Switzerland didn't go down without a fight.

Lara Stalder got one back on a power play in the dying minutes of the first period, and Alina Müller brought the score to 5-2 early in the second. The Canadians managed to restore their advantage before Stalder netted another power-play marker midway through the frame.

It was captain Marie-Philip Poulin who regained control for Canada, replying to each Swiss second-period goal within minutes to stymie the comeback before momentum could swing.

"There's been a lot said about Poulin and who she is as a leader and as a player, and it shines," MacLeod said. "She's such a competitor and she understands what's at stake here, and she understands the magnitude and the importance of this game ― nevermind the next."

Once the score became out of reach, the Swiss approached the match with an eye toward winning bronze.

WATCH | Canada beat Swiss to advance to Olympic gold-medal final:

"After the second period we said that this is for the next game," Müller acknowledged. "We need to get the confidence for the next game and build a good habit in the [defensive] zone."

As Canada seeks to reclaim the Olympic title, it too has plenty to build on.

"We want to generate a ton of offence, but we know we have to clean things up defensively," said Sarah Nurse, who registered four assists, vaulting to the top of the points race.

The semifinal marked the first time all tournament that Canada allowed more than three goals against, with Stalder and Müller demonstrating why both are considered among the best in the world. MacLeod figures some resistance may not be a bad thing at this stage.

WATCH | Full game, Canada vs. Switzerland:

"I think for Canada, having those moments just reminds you that every little detail matters," she said. "They'll analyze those breakdowns a little bit to see what created them and obviously make adjustments if necessary."

Having dominated throughout most of the tournament, the Canadians have overall had to spend very little time in their own zone. That's unlikely to be the case in the final. MacLeod expects it to show in the beginning of the championship match, drawing on her own experiences moving from high-scoring routs to tense battles.

"It was an adjustment," she recalled. "You were a little bit overwhelmed the first couple forechecks, where they're barrelling down on you and all of a sudden you're retrieving pucks under pressure. Obviously you understand that side of the game, but you haven't played it in a while."

One thing the Canadians will have on their side is confidence, as they enter the finale in record-setting fashion.

With a goal and a pair of assists, Thompson extended her lead for most points from a blue-liner, and her team added more milestones for good measure. They set a new record for the fastest four goals in a game, then achieved the fastest five.

WATCH | Jenner ties tourney record:

Canada also broke the single-tournament goals record, while Brianne Jenner tied for most individual goals in a tournament and Nurse for most assists. (It's worth noting that winning Olympic gold required only five games at the time of the previous records.)

"Just the freedom with which they're playing offensively, we honestly haven't seen that for a long time," MacLeod said.

Forward Mélodie Daoust made her return from an injury sustained in the opening contest and garnered one assist. With it, every single Canadian skater has now registered a point in the tournament, deepening confidence in the team's scoring capacity.

"I am proud of this group," Nurse said. "We have battled a lot of adversity this year. I know when you look at the Olympic scores, you kind of think it has been an easy road for us, but that could not have been any further from the truth."