It looks like both Matthew and Brady Tkachuk will be good to go for Thursday’s 4 Nations Face-Off championship.
Team USA held their final practice at TD Garden on Wednesday morning.
Brady Tkachuk did not skate, as he’s feeling a little under the weather, but Matthew Tkachuk did.
Afterwards, Matthew made it clear that he would be taking part in what is shaping up to be the biggest matchup between the North American rivals in decades.
“I’m ready to go,” he said. “It’s going to be an incredible game.”
Both Tkachuk brothers have suffered apparent injuries during the tournament and missed time, but U.S. Head Coach Mike Sullivan confirmed Wednesday that he expects every player, except for defenseman Charlie McAvoy, to be healthy and eligible to play.
During the practice, Matthew was on a forward line with Jack Eichel and Kyle Connor, though it’s likely that Brady takes Connor’s place for Thursday’s game, as that’s the line that had such an impact when the U.S. beat Canada on Saturday in Montreal.
“I think Brady and Matthew, first and foremost, are really good hockey players, and they've been a big part of the success that we've enjoyed to this point in this tournament,” said Sullivan. “I also think they have the ability, through their personality, to give our team a whole lot of confidence and swagger.”
That was clear after the first three seconds of the game, when both Matthew and Brady dropped the gloves, respectively, with Brandon Hagel and Sam Bennet.
Talk about setting the tone.
“I know what this tournament means to them personally, and how important it is to put our best game on the ice,” said Sullivan. “I know they're excited to play, they're excited for this unbelievable opportunity.”
The contributions from the Tkachuks at 4 Nations have been quite apparent.
They have helped to set the tone physically on the ice and emotionally off the ice.
“Both of them have that same ‘rah rah’ style, they’re always bringing the energy into the room,” said American forward Vincent Trocheck. “That’s what leadership is. I think they’re both great leaders. You need everybody in a game like this. You can’t have any passengers up and down the lineup, whether you’re playing 10 minutes or 25 minutes, you need everybody to contribute and bring their A-Game, so having those guys bringing everyone into it is a huge part of it.”
The anticipation for Thursday’s championship game is growing by the second.
Despite the 4 Nations Face-Off being a brand-new thing that has never existed before and may not happen again, it’s brought us some of the best, most entertaining hockey we’ve seen outside of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a long time.
Whatever happens at TD Garden between the U.S. and Canada, it will be talked about and remembered for years to come.
We’ll see how big of an impact the Tkachuks have.
“This is as good as it gets with respect to best on best, and as I said all along here, I think there's a mutual respect on both sides for how talented the teams are,” said Sullivan. “I also think, from our standpoint, with respect to those two guys, there's a certain determination that those guys have to want to win.”
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