Team USA Coach Mike Sullivan Confirms The Worst for Matthew Tkachuk

If you remember near the end of the game of Team USA vs Canada at the Bell Centre, Tkachuk came back to the bench and told John Tortorella "he couldn't go".

He'd sit at the end of the bench the rest of the game, as Team USA would deftly defeat the Canadian team.

Without Tkachuk's help. A painful notion for someone who wanted to compete during what could be considered the main event of the Four Nations Face-Off.

Mike Sullivan would later confirm the reason why Matthew Tkachuk would have to exit the game early, losing one of his top forwards.

Fortunately for Team USA, they'd win the game 3-1, without Brother Tkachuk's help. However, Sullivan wouldn't confirm whether he'd be able to play the next game for Team USA, as he'll be evaluated by the team's medical personnel and decisions would be made from there.

While this is a minor setback for Team USA unfortunately, they have found their way into the final in the tournament with two-regulation wins.

A luxury not many teams in the tournament have, given that they'll likely have to sit Matthew Tkachuk further should the injury be more serious than thought.

On Monday, Team USA will face off against Mika Zibanejad and Sweden, who at the moment have 2 overtime losses and two points.

Team USA has six points in the tournament and two wins with Auston Matthews at the helm.

With hope, Tkachuk will be healthy enough by the time NHL games fire up again after the Four Nations Face-Off.

For now, we'll have to wait and see.