BOSTON — First-line center Auston Matthews isn’t playing Monday night in the United States’ meaningless game against Sweden.
With the U.S. already destined for Thursday night’s 4 Nations Face-Off final against Canada, Matthews was a late scratch with upper-body soreness. He’s expected to play in Thursday’s championship.
Rather than playing with seven defensemen, the United States is opting to go with 11 forwards and 17 skaters. The team has no extra forwards on the roster because Chris Kreider is already playing for Matthew Tkachuk, who has a lower-body injury.
Matthews has no goals and one assist in two games in the tournament.
Matthews set or tied Maple Leafs records with eight consecutive 30-goal seasons and six 40-goal seasons. He’s one of nine players in NHL history with multiple 60-goal seasons after leading the league with 69 last season.
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(Photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)
