Hughes unavailable barring injury, USA expects Matthews and Tkachuks to play in 4 Nations final
Published
Vancouver Canucks star Quinn Hughes is en route to Boston to join Team USA, but he will not play in Thursday's 4 Nations Final unless there is another injury on defence.
The move to put Hughes on standby comes after the Boston Bruins announced Charlie McAvoy will not play in the championship game. 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.
Team USA head coach Mike Sullivan was more coy when discussing whether Hughes will be available for Thursday's game.
“We’re taking each day as it comes…we’ll see what potential options will be available for the championship game and go from there,” Sullivan said.
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 is expected to be called upon game to fill McAvoy's spot for the final against Team Canada.
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.
The Bruins said McAvoy was admitted to a Boston-area hospital on Monday and continues to undergo testing on his upper-body injury.
"It hurts for sure," Hanifin said Tuesday of losing McAvoy. "You just hope that he's healing up, and doing better."
Hughes, who last played with the Canucks on Jan. 31, has 14 goals and 45 points in 47 games this season. His younger brother Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils has one assist in three games at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
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.”