The biggest rivalry in international hockey is back, and the stakes? Through the roof. Team USA and Team Canada are set to clash in the 4 Nations Face-Off finals, and let’s just say—this one’s got everybody on edge. Fans? Locked in. Hockey stars? All in. But here’s the plot twist—some of those stars won’t even get to suit up.

Team USA has already suffered a huge blow with Charlie McAvoy’s injury. But when it seemed that the Canadians had the upper hand, bam-bad news hits. Now, Canada is facing its own lineup upheaval at the worst time possible. Just before the start of the 4 Nations game, they are down big time against Team USA, and the timing could not be worse.

Canada faces a blow ahead of 4 Nations final game!

Darren Dreger, sportscaster for TSN, hopped on X and hit fans with the bad news: “Josh Morrissey is out with an illness.” Yeah… let that sink in. Right before the biggest game of the 4 Nations tournament, Canada’s blue line takes another major hit.

With Morrissey officially out, Canada is now entering the 4 Nations Face-Off final without yet another key defenseman. That means Thomas Harley—who already played well when Cale Makar was injured—will come in to play against a determined Team USA team. No pressure, right?

On one hand, Winnipeg Jets’ number one, defenseman Morrissey, was averaging over 21 minutes a game before being sidelined by an illness. On the other hand, Thomas Harley of the Dallas Stars, who performed quite well with an 18-minute shift against Team USA, is now replacing him. Now, he has even more significant shoes to fill. And guess what? It is not only Canada that is dealing with last-minute shake-ups. The injury bug hasn’t spared Team USA either in 4 Nations!

USA has had a similar fate!

The 4 Nations Face-Off championship is ready to go, but Team USA has not had it easy to get to the finals. The victory over Canada last Saturday was a tough one which was achieved at the expense of injuries. That was the 2-1 loss in which Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk did not play, and Brady Tkachuk played only two minutes before leaving the ice. And then there is Charlie McAvoy—who got a small injury that later turned into an infection, officially ruling him out for the big game.

So yeah, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster for the red, white, and blue. But wait—there’s hope on the horizon. Matthew seems to be on the mend and is expected to suit up against Canada, despite dealing with some upper-body soreness that kept him out of Monday’s loss to Sweden.

Brady Tkachuk’s situation has been a little trickier. While he missed most of Monday’s game after a nasty crash into the net, he’s moving in the right direction, even if he skipped practice Wednesday due to an illness. On Thursday morning, however, he was caught practicing, suggesting that he would not want to be out of this game. Therefore, McAvoy is the only certain scratch, but Tkachuk’s availability remains the focus throughout the pre-game period. This game is shaping up to be an all-out war on ice, with players gritting through injuries and battling through whatever comes their way for 4 Nations.