Canada To Enter 4 Nations Face-Off With Advantage Over USA After Unfortunate Announcement

During a contentious first game between Canada and the USA on Saturday, we saw 3 fights occur within the first 9 seconds of the game, setting the tone for what was going to be a hard-fought matchup between the two international rivals.

In the end, USA skated away with the 3-1 victory, forcing Canada into a scenario where they'd need to beat Finland in regulation to punch their ticket to the finals and set up a grudge match with their American counterparts. In the end, Canada did just that.

Unfortunately for Team USA, they had a pair of very important players sit out for Monday's game against Sweden as Auston Matthews and Charlie McAvoy were dealing with injuries.

The game against Sweden left USA even more banged up than they were before they started, with Brady Tkachuk and Vincent Trocheck not leaving Monday's game unscathed. However, it was the update that we received on McAvoy that was most concerning.

Not only was McAvoy admitted to a Boston hospital on Monday evening, but on Tuesday morning, he was already ruled out for Thursday's rematch with Canada.

According to reports, McAvoy's unspecified upper-body injury has resulted in an infection.

McAvoy was a key factor for Team USA in their victory over Canada this past weekend, and as Sportsnet's Luke Fox has outlined below, Canada's top defender Cale Makar did not play in that game. Today's update on McAvoy, coupled with the fact that Makar is back in Canada's lineup represents a huge momentum swing for Canada.

As previously mentioned, with Matthews, Trocheck and both Tkachuk brothers also dealing with various ailments, Canada appears to have a distinct advantage.

Naturally, the hope is that the issues plaguing these players are minor and will not impact their longer-term outlooks with their NHL clubs, especially Leafs captain Auston Matthews, who has struggled to stay healthy this season.

One thing is for certain, though; Thursday's rematch between Canada and the United States will be must-watch television.