Auston Matthews Gives Team USA a Scare as He Bows Out of Sweden Game at the Last Minute
Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews is not playing for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off tonight as his team looks to take on Team Sweden.
Auston Matthews is one of the best hockey players in the world but he will not be on the ice tonight as his team takes on Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Auston Matthews out against Team Sweden
Earlier today, it was made clear that this would be an exhibition game in every sense of the word as Sweden was eliminated following Canada's regulation victory.
Team USA is already in the championship match so this is a meaningless game for them too, and head coach Mike Sullivan is not taking any chances.
Prior to the game, Matthews revealed that he was battling some sort of illness and as a result, he was completely pulled from the match.
The captain now joins Matthew Tkachuk and Charlie McAvoy, who are also not going to be active for the game tonight.
All signs point to Matthews being okay for the championship match which is set to take place on Thursday and will be a rematch of Canada/USA.
The first game was an all-out war that was deemed an instant classic by many, and it is very easy to see why that was the case.
Matthews has been largely rendered ineffective in this tournament, and the same can be said for guys like William Nylander and Mitch Marner.
Simply put, the three Toronto Maple Leafs stars have largely gone quiet in big moments, which does not bode well for the playoffs.
Hopefully, Thursday's final is one to remember. After all, this tournament has gone above and beyond expectations so far.
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 17 | 244 ANSWERS Auston Matthews Gives Team USA a Scare as He Bows Out of Sweden Game at the Last Minute Do you believe Team USA will defeat Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-Off? | ||
| YES | 37 | 15.2 % |
| NO | 207 | 84.8 % |
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