USA’s Chris Kreider, Jake Sanderson to play against Sweden; Matthew Tkachuk, Charlie McAvoy to sit

There are some notable adjustments for Team USA prior to their final round-robin game at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

After morning skate, head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed the United States will be without forward Matthew Tkachuk and defenseman Charlie McAvoy for their clash with Sweden on Monday night. Instead, forward Chris Kreider and defenseman Jake Sanderson will be making their tournament debuts in Boston.

Tkachuk’s absence was expected. The Florida Panthers forward suffered a lower-body injury in the Americans’ 3-1 win over Canada on Saturday night, being unable to play the final 12:36 of the contest. McAvoy’s departure from the lineup most likely comes as a move to give him some rest, since the U.S. already punched their tickets to the championship game after also beating Finland last Tuesday.

That also led the team to tab goaltender Jake Oettinger to start instead of Connor Hellebuyck, who stopped 45 of the 47 shots he faced in two games last week.

The United States is the only team to have won its first two games of the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Tkachuk and McAvoy were big parts of both victories for the U.S. Tkachuk led the offensive charge with two goals and an assist in a 6-1 win over Finland, setting the tone against Canada with one of the three fights to start the game. McAvoy might not have registered a point, but his physical play and excellent defensive work limited both the Canadians and Finns’ top stars.

Kreider has been having an okay year with the New York Rangers but was picked to be on the U.S. roster to bring some veteran leadership. The Massachusetts native last played for the red, white and blue since the 2019 IIHF Men’s World Championship. Kreider was on the American team that won gold at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship, also winning bronze at the 2011 World Juniors and 2018 Men’s Worlds.

Sanderson has some more recent experience on the international stage. The Anaheim Ducks blueliner played for the American squad at the world championship last season, also appearing in his country’s colors at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Sanderson won gold with the U.S. at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.