Team USA lost its first game in the 4 Nations Face-Off on Monday night, falling to Sweden, 2-1, at the TD Garden in Boston.
However, despite the blemish on the record, they will still be playing in the championship game on Thursday night in the same arena against Canada, who they defeated, 3-1, on Saturday.
Team USA wasn’t at full strength in this matchup, as Matthew Tkachuk was absent from the bench with a lower-body injury. Auston Matthews also took the night off to battle an illness.
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Also, his brother, Brady, was injured early in the first period during an attack in Sweden’s zone, which is worth monitoring heading into that title game against Canada.
Still, it was the U.S. getting on the board first thanks to Chris Kreider, the New York Rangers star, who scored his first goal of the tournament.
Kreider hadn’t played yet in the tournament, but was needed …