The Athletic has live coverage of USA vs Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off Championship.
BOSTON — Canada defenseman Josh Morrissey and U.S. forward Kyle Connor are not playing in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game Thursday night.
Morrissey was a late scratch due to illness and was replaced in the Canada lineup by Thomas Harley.
Connor was available to play but was scratched as a coach’s decision. The New York Rangers’ Chris Kreider stayed in the lineup after being inserted into the lineup for Team USA’s final round-robin game against Sweden on Monday when Matthew Tkachuk and Auston Matthews were both out of the lineup for precautionary reasons.
Connor is sixth in the NHL in goals this season with 30 in 56 games for the Winnipeg Jets.
“Kyle’s had a mixed bag,” Team USA coach Mike Sullivan said Thursday morning when asked to assess Connor’s tournament so far. “Obviously his speed is a critical element of his game. He has the ability to score goals. He’s helped us drive some offense. He’s played on one of our power plays. Obviously, we’d like to see him score.
“He’s had moments when he’s been an impact player for us. There’s been other moments where we’d like to see him get inside a little more and make more of an impact.”
Morrissey, who also plays for the Jets, is fifth in NHL scoring among defensemen with 46 points in 56 games. This is Harley’s second game of the tournament and the second time he is facing the United States after replacing Cale Makar in the first Canada-U.S. showdown in Montreal on Saturday.
(Photo of Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
