McAvoy will not play for Team USA in final; Quinn Hughes en route to Boston
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Charlie McAvoy will not play for Team USA in Thursday's 4 Nations Face-Off final against Canada, the Boston Bruins announced Tuesday.
United States head coach Mike Sullivan revealed that Vancouver Canucks star blueliner Quinn Hughes is travelling to Boston and is on standby in case of another injury.
McAvoy missed Team USA's meaningless game against Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off on Monday due to an upper-body injury.
"Charlie was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital on Monday to undergo testing related to an upper-body injury sustained during the 4 Nations Face-Off and is currently being evaluated by Boston Bruins Head Team Physician Dr. Peter Asnis," the team said in a release. "He will not play for Team USA in the 4 Nations Face- Off Championship Game on Thursday at TD Garden.
"The Boston Bruins will provide further updates on his condition and status as soon as they become available."
Hughes was late removal from Team USA's roster due to injury, with Jake Sanderson taking his place. Sanderson drew into the lineup for the first time in the tournament against Sweden, logging 17:08 of ice time. The Ottawa Senators defenceman will now be called upon game to fill McAvoy's spot for the final against Team Canada.
Based on the criteria that saw Thomas Harley play for Team Canada on Saturday against the Americans, a team must drop below six defencemen to add a replacement. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed that is the case for Team USA.
Hughes "“is not ‘in’ unless someone else is definitely 'out' due to injury or illness. Can’t practice with the team or play until that happens,” Daly told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun.
The 27-year-old McAvoy is without a point in the tournament, but logged 19:45 of ice time in the American's opening win over Finland and 19:27 of ice time in their win over Team Canada.
The United States leaned heavily on Jaccob Slavin and Brock Faber in their first game against Canada, with both finishing with over 25 minutes of ice time. Noah Hanifin sat just above McAvoy with 20:13 of ice time, while Zach Werenski and Adam Fox saw just under 14 minutes of ice time each.
"It hurts for sure," Hanifin said Tuesday of losing McAvoy. "You just hope that he's healing up, and doing better."
McAvoy has seven goals and 23 points in 50 games with the Bruins this season while averaging a team-high 23:40 of ice time. The star blueliner is signed through the 2029-30 season at a cap hit of $9.5 million.
Matthews, Tkachuk brothers expected to play
Sullivan said Tuesday that he anticipates Team USA captain Auston Matthews and both Tkachuk brothers being available for Thursday's final.
Matthews missed Monday's game with upper-body soreness, leaving the United States forced to play shorthanded with McAvoy and Matthew Tkachuk (lower-body injury already out. Brady Tkachuk then left the game in the first period with a lower-body injury.
“We start the game with 11 forwards, and then you lose another guy and a key player on our team,” centre Jack Eichel said after the 2-1 loss. “It’s never easy. You don’t want to see anyone go out. I give the guys credit. We put a lot on (the) 10 forwards, and it’s tough. (Head coach Mike Sullivan is) trying to find combinations. We had chances, but we just weren’t able to bury.”