The United States will play one of its most anticipated hockey games ever Thursday night at TD Garden when they take on Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off final. Whether they’ll do so at full strength is very much in question.
The U.S. played Monday night’s group stage finale against Sweden – ultimately a 2-1 loss – with just 17 skaters, one shy of a complete roster. That was because defenseman Charlie McAvoy and forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Auston Matthews – the team’s three captains –were all out.
Of those three, McAvoy appears to be most in danger of missing Thursday’s final. USA coach Mike Sullivan, who is also McAvoy’s father-in-law, confirmed after the game that the Boston Bruins defenseman is dealing with an upper-body injury. Ty Anderson reported earlier in the night that McAvoy’s status for Thursday is up in the air.
Shortly after Sullivan spoke postgame, Jim McBride of the Boston Globe reported that McAvoy had been admitted to Mass. General Hospital Monday night, which would seemingly put his chances of playing Thursday even more in doubt.
UPDATE: Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli shed more light on what's going on with McAvoy Tuesday morning. According to Seravalli, McAvoy was admitted to the hospital with "an infection that stemmed from a minor injury." He adds that there is no long-term concern and that McAvoy has not been ruled out for Thursday's final as of Tuesday morning.
It’s unclear exactly when McAvoy suffered the initial injury. He took regular shifts right up until the final buzzer Saturday while playing 19:27. He did get crosschecked into the post by Finland’s Joel Armia in Thursday’s tournament opener and appeared to grab his shoulder after, so it’s possible that might have something to do with it. McAvoy has dealt with multiple shoulder injuries in recent years.
Matthew Tkachuk missed the final 12 minutes of Saturday’s win over Canada, but teammate and brother Brady Tkachuk told reporters Monday morning that Matthew would be good to go for Thursday.
Auston Matthews was expected to play as of Monday morning, but was a late scratch. Elliotte Friedman reported that he is dealing with “upper-body soreness,” but that there is “no concern” about him missing Thursday’s final. Sullivan said Matthews is more “nicked up” than injured.
If that wasn’t enough, Brady Tkachuk then exited Monday’s game in the first period after appearing to suffer some sort of leg injury when he crashed into the side of Sweden’s net. He briefly returned to the game for a 14-second shift late in the first period, but then did not come out for the second period and was ultimately ruled out. After the game, Sullivan confirmed it was a lower-body injury, but said he doesn’t “anticipate it being an issue.”
Another USA forward, Vincent Trocheck, also briefly left the game with what appeared to be a hand or wrist injury, but Trocheck returned for the start of the second period and stayed in the game.
So, the good news is that as of Monday night, all signs are pointing towards Matthews and both Tkachuk brothers playing Thursday. The bad news is that McAvoy's status remains in doubt.
McAvoy not playing Thursday would be a big blow for the U.S. He has handled some of the toughest defensive assignments and been a physical tone-setter, including with a couple big hits on Connor McDavid Saturday. He has also been a big part of the penalty kill.
Forward Chris Kreider and defenseman Jake Sanderson both entered the USA lineup for their tournament debuts Monday. Kreider, a Boxford native and Boston College alum, made an immediate impact, scoring on a rebound just 35 seconds into the game.
Either or both could remain in the lineup if anyone misses Thursday’s game. If more than two players are ruled out, the U.S. would have the option of adding a player not currently with the team in order to fill out their roster. That situation would obviously not be ideal since it would be a challenge for anyone to come in cold and jump right into the championship game. Sullivan said the team has not yet ventured down that path, but that there would be a contingency plan in place if necessary.
“We’re hopeful we’re going to get some of these guys back,” Sullivan said. “I would anticipate we would. We’ll have to wait and see how things play out here over the next day or so. Obviously, there will be contingency planning in the event that we need people.”
On the other side, Canada should actually be healthier than they were Saturday. Cale Makar, their No. 1 defenseman, missed Saturday’s game with an illness, but returned for Monday’s 5-3 win over Finland and played 23:57 with no signs of any lingering effects.
Team USA is scheduled to at least have media availability at TD Garden on Tuesday and Wednesday, although it’s unclear as of Monday night if they’ll actually skate both days.