Florida Panthers winger Brad Marchand has been dealing with injury issues for over a month now, but the 37-year-old continues to battle and has been confirmed to be back in Team Canada’s lineup for the quarterfinals.
Florida Panthers winger Brad Marchand has missed the previous two games for Team Canada with an undisclosed injury, but the veteran has been confirmed to be back in the lineup for their quarterfinal matchup.
Canada will take on the winner of Czechia and Denmark in the quarterfinals.
Marchand has been dealing with injury issues since the beginning of the New Year. He missed about three weeks in January after colliding with Toronto Maple Leafs winger Bobby McMann, but returned for six games before exiting the lineup again.
He returned to play one game before the Olympics, but his minutes were very limited, as he recorded only 10:55 of ice time.
He skated in Canada’s opening game of the Olympics, where he also played in a limited role, lower in the lineup. He then missed the next two games and practiced in short spurts.
But Team Canada coach Jon Cooper confirmed that Marchand will be ready and will be in the lineup when Canada takes the ice on Wednesday. In Canada’s practice today, Marchand skated on the fourth line alongside New York Islanders’ Bo Horvat and Carolina Hurricanes’ Seth Jarvis.
Nathan MacKinnon and Sam Bennett were both absent from practice due to maintenance, so additional changes are expected. As of now, either Nick Suzuki or Jarvis will be out of the lineup, allowing Marchand to return.
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