The United States sealed their spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game with a huge win over rival Team Canada, but they didn’t make it through without a noticeable early exit. Star Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk planted himself on Team USA’s bench early in the third period and didn’t return to the ice.
Following the win, United States head coach Mike Sullivan said Tkachuk was being evaluated for a lower-body injury. Tkachuk noted that he doesn’t believe it’s anything to be concerned about.
Sounds likely that Matthew Tkachuk will sit out Monday night’s game against Sweden 🇸🇪 to heal up for Team USA’s championship game on Thursday.
We’ll hear from Mike Sullivan this afternoon.
Tkachuk missed final 12:36 of Canada clash and left Bell Centre with noticeable limp.
With the United States’ spot in the championship game already guaranteed, however, it seems like everyone will play things smart. According to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, it sounds like Tkachuk will sit out Team USA’s final round robin game against Team Sweden.
Tkachuk only recorded 11:10 of ice time in Team USA’s win over Canada and didn’t play in the last 12:36, but he was a difference-maker from the very start. As the puck dropped to start the contest, Tkachuk dropped the gloves for a fight with Canada’s Brandon Hagel.
Video cameras caught Tkachuk informing the United States’ coaching staff that he was not going to be able to continue playing with his injury. He moved himself to the end of the bench and didn’t hit the ice for the remainder of the game.
In the United States’ opening game against Finland, Tkachuk scored a pair of goals in a 6-1 blowout win.
At the moment, it’s not expected that Team USA will be forced to play without Tkachuk for the rest of the tournament. New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider will step into the lineup after being a healthy scratch in each of the first two games.
A healthy and rested Tkachuk will be huge for Team USA in the championship game as they wait to see who they will be battling for gold.
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