In a rare instance of the rules bending for a team, Canada got the green light from the NHL and the NHLPA to fly replacement defenseman, Thomas Harley, to Montreal. The team had successfully convinced the governing bodies after Shea Theodore sustained an injury and a second defenseman fell ill before Saturday’s match with the U.S. However, now Team USA finds itself in a similar, injury-plagued situation.

After securing their post in the finals, Team USA benched several stars in their 2-1 loss against Sweden. Matthew Tkachuk, team captain Auston Matthews, and Charlie McAvoy didn’t skate. However, things would get worse as Brady Tkachuk joined his brother on the beach for a significant portion of the match. Naturally, reports asked Sullivan if he was planning to follow Team Canada’s strategy.

However, Mike Sullivan denied such speculations, citing a hopeful outlook. “Not really, you know where we’re hopeful. We’re going to get some of these guys back. So you know I would anticipate we would. We’ll have to wait and see how things play out here over the next day or so,” the Pittsburgh Penguins coach said during the post-game press conference.

The reason Coach Sullivan may not have considered following in Canada’s footsteps could be that the Maple Leaf brigade was unsuccessful on their first try. Harley was only allowed to travel to Boston and wait for his team to arrive there for the second leg of the tournament. It wasn’t until Cale Makar fell sick in the 11th hour that NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA Assistant Executive Director Ron Hainsey finally permitted Canada to bring Harley to Montreal.

However, just because Mike Sullivan doesn’t want to take the special permission route doesn’t mean he’s flying blind. “Obviously, there will be contingency planning that we need people,” revealed the Team USA coach. However, the man who led the U.S. to the finals may not have been ready for what happened to Brady Tkachuk.

Brady Tkachuk’s injury becomes an unexpected obstacle for Mike Sullivan

As if Matthew Tkachuk sitting out the game due to a lower-body injury wasn’t enough, a similar fate befell his younger brother. Brady Tkachuk, who scored twice in USA’s huge 6-1 win over Finland could barely make a meaningful impact before sustaining an injury. The 25-year-old crashed into the net and had to get off the ice.

However, the fans who got excited to see him walk back out had their jubilation slashed. While Tkachuk managed to make one shot at the goal during his final shift, he shortly returned to the bench and stayed there. “Brady obviously had a lower body injury,” Sullivan later clarified.

Thankfully, for U.S. fans, what coach Mike Sullivan had to say about the injury wasn’t all negative. “We held him out more for precautionary reasons at that point… we’ll see how he responds, but I don’t anticipate it being an issue,” added the U.S. coach. However, the Penguins coach did admit that losing Brady Tkachuck early in the match was a hurdle.

“Yeah, it’s not easy. We lose a guy that early in the game. We’re already down one,” confessed. While Mike Sullivan didn’t make it an excuse, he did hint at how Tkahcuk’s injury made things harder for Team USA. Although, the 56-year-old remains hopeful, only time will tell if the U.S. returns to full strength before Thursday.