MONTREAL – ahead of the highly anticipated matchup with the US as part of the four-nation NHL showdown on Saturday, Team Canada brings star defensive man Thomas Harley amid uncertainty surrounding the blue line Permission was given.
After Sia Theodore suffered a upper body injury in his opening victory in Sweden, Canada, and was ruled out in the remaining tournaments, Kale Makar missed practice on Friday due to illness.
Canadian head coach John Cooper said he is confident McCal is ready to play on Saturday night.
The rules for the tournament indicate that the Theodore could not be exchanged since everything was officially started, so Team Canada had a quick conversation with the NHL and NHL Players Association when the Golden Knights defensive man fell .
Travis Sanheim is expected to replace Theodore on the left side of Drew Dauty.
Travis Konecny appeared in Makar in the defense next to Devon Toews during practice on Friday, but the only situation Harley plays is when Makar is not available.
Canada also created a unit for Lightning Players alongside Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli and Brayden Point, switching between the lower two forward lines.
The fourth unit featured Brad Merchand, Seth Jarvis and Sam Bennett.
Cooper also refused to reveal his first goalkeeper, pointing out that he wanted to talk to his players before making an announcement. Jordan Binnington nodded at the opener, but Addin Hill and Sam Montenbe are also options.
Finland head coach Antti Penang hinted at several lineup changes after he fell 6-1 to Team USA on Thursday.
Former ranger Kaapocacco was a Finnish forward scratch. This means that if Penang wants to switch things up, he becomes an option.
“Maybe, but tomorrow we'll know about them,” Penang said. “Again, 6-1, I think you need to do something, but I know more accurately. [Saturday]and those changes have been made public [Saturday]. ”
Team USA head coach and Pittsburgh bench boss Mike Sullivan will face star Sidney Crosby for the first time in Saturday's four-country showdown.
“Well, I think what stood out to me is probably the same thing that stood out to you and everyone else that stood out to everyone you and everyone else saw, right?” Sullivan said. “He's a big player. I've seen it firsthand for 10 years. SIDs tend to be the best when the stakes are high. That's what I saw the other day. I'm him. I expect it to be in the best condition for us.”
