USA vs Canada 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game Preview

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The United States and Canada are set to clash in the championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off, with the Americans looking to repeat their earlier victory over their northern rivals. However, both teams will be missing some key players due to injuries. The USA will be without defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who was hospitalized on Monday with an infection in his right shoulder and a significant injury to his AC joint. McAvoy has since been released from the hospital and is expected to be in attendance at TD Garden for the championship game.

Meanwhile, the Canadians will be without defensemen Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo, who were injured and ill, respectively. The USA had initially hoped to replace McAvoy with Quinn Hughes, but the Vancouver Canucks defenseman will not be joining the team due to his own injury concerns. Hughes, who won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman last season, has been out of action since January 31 with an oblique injury and has not been cleared to play by the Canucks. The NHL rules state that a team can bring in a non-roster player as an emergency injury replacement if they lose two players at the same position to injury or illness.

The USA will have Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson and New Jersey Devils defenseman Brett Pesce as injury insurance for the championship game. The Americans will also be without forward Brady Tkachuk, who was forced to leave Monday's game against Sweden due to an undisclosed injury. However, Tkachuk's brother Matthew has declared himself ready to play, despite missing the third period of Saturday's win against Canada. The injury report for the USA is a concern, but the team is hopeful that some of their key players will be able to return for the championship game.

The championship game is a rematch of the emotional battle between the two teams in Montreal on Saturday night, which featured three fights in the opening nine seconds of the game and ended with a 3-1 victory for the Americans. The USA will be looking to repeat that performance and take home the 4 Nations Face-Off title. The championship game is set to take place on Thursday night at TD Garden, with the puck dropping at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Disney+, ESPN+, ESPN, SN, and TVAS.

Here are the match scores for the 4 Nations Face-Off:

• USA vs Finland: 5-1
• USA vs Canada: 3-1
• USA vs Sweden: 6-1

And here are the player statistics for the tournament:

• Matthew Tkachuk: 2 goals, 1 assist
• Quinn Hughes: 14 goals, 59 points (in the NHL season)
• Charlie McAvoy: 19:27 of ice time, 5 hits (in the tournament)

The tournament schedule is as follows:

1. USA vs Finland: February 13
2. USA vs Canada: February 17
3. USA vs Sweden: February 20
4. Championship game: February 23

The team rankings for the 4 Nations Face-Off are:

1. USA
2. Canada
3. Sweden
4. Finland

face off usa mcavoy canada championship charlie quinn nation hugh