The Tkachuk brothers, recently implied by this website to be among the seven greatest Americans of all time, are both hurt. Let’s get into the details.
Matthew Tkachuk’s Groin
Fans saws the elder Tkachuk point towards his groin as left the ice during Saturday’s game against Canada. Normally, we’d assume he was commanding Canada’s bench to fellate him, albeit in coarser language. In this case, though, he appeared to be speaking to America’s trainer (by which I mean Team USA’s trainer, not America’s Trainer™, Richard Simmons).
Was it a Peyton Manning situation? Doubtful. Mike Sullivan confirmed after the game that Tkachuk had suffered a lower-body injury. Thankfully, pregame reports yesterday indicated Tkachuk should be back on Thursday for the title game.
Brady Tkachuk’s Knee
Concerns that Team USA would take it easy on Sweden met quick resolution last night when Brady Tkachuk spent his first few shifts playing like a bumper car with a V8 engine. Unfortunately, he eventually slid into Sweden’s goal and hit his knee on the post. Another lower-body injury.
After the game, Sullivan said Tkachuk’s absence from most of the rest of the game was precautionary. So again here, we should be ok. But. As an Ottawa Senators fan and an American (long story, originating in college basketball and my great-great-great-grandmother marrying a Bavarian commoner), it’s my duty to point out how painful 4 Nations could end up being for Canadian fans of the Sens. In one tournament, they could both 1) watch their country lose its claim to hockey dominance and 2) see their best player suffer what could theoretically become a nagging knee injury in the midst of the Sens’ first serious playoff push in years and years and years. Am I catastrophizing? Yes. Hopefully it’s just a bruise. If it isn’t, though…
We got you, Canada. We really, really got you. 4 Nations was the prank of the century.
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