Sources: Matthew Tkachuk likely to sit out Monday’s game against Sweden
It looks like Team USA might be without one of their star players for the final game of the round-robin at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Sources tell Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli that Matthew Tkachuk will likely not be in the lineup when the U.S. takes on Sweden on Monday night in Boston.
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.
The 27-year-old suffered a lower-body injury during the third period of the U.S.’ emotional 3-1 win over Canada on Saturday night. The Florida Panthers forward didn’t play the final 12:36 of the game, and was caught on the televised broadcast telling the coaching staff that he couldn’t continue. Tkachuk stayed on the bench with his team, attempting to skate during media timeouts.
Tkachuk recorded 11:10 of ice time against Canada, recording three shots on goal and two hits.
With Matthew Tkachuk out, head coach Mike Sullivan bumped J.T. Miller up to the top line alongside Brady Tkachuk and Jack Eichel.
The decision not to play the elder of the Tkachuk brothers wouldn’t be surprising. With the win over Canada on Saturday night, the Americans punched their ticket to Thursday’s championship game, making their meeting with Sweden more of a formality from the red, white and blue side. It makes sense to allow Tkachuk the opportunity to rest up for the Americans’ first championship game in a “best-on-best” tournament since the gold medal game at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
With Tkachuk potentially out, New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider, who has been scratched the first two games of the tournament, is expected to be in the lineup on Monday.
Tkachuk was a big part of the United States’ two wins at the 4 Nations Face-Off. He scored two goals and an assist against Finland in the team’s opener last Thursday before being part of the explosive start against Canada, in which three fights took place nine seconds into the contest.
The United States (2-0-0) faces Sweden at 8 p.m. ET at TD Garden on Monday. They will wait to see who they play in the championship game on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET.