Tkachuk departs USA-Sweden game with apparent leg injury

USA forward Brady Tkachuk departed their game against Sweden on Monday night in the first period with an apparent knee injury, and was not on the bench at the start of the second.

Tkachuk returned to the ice for a shift with just over five minutes remaining in the first period, but played just 14 seconds of ice time before spending the rest of the period on the bench.

Per TSN's Claire Hanna, Tkachuk appeared to hit his left knee on the goalpost and was in some discomfort. After speaking with a trainer on the bench, Tkachuk tried the knee out for a shift before leaving to the locker room.

As TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston notes, the issue with Tkachuk is just another name to add to a growing list of injured players for Team USA.

Both Matthew Tkachuk and Auston Matthews did not participate in the game against Finland for precautionary reasons, while fellow forward Vincent Trocheck left the ice momentarily with an injury of his own. That makes four forwards dealing with injury problems through the round robin section.

The United States already clinched a spot in Thursday's final at the 4 Nations Face-Off after beating Finland 6-1 and Canada 3-1 in their first two contests of the round robin.

Their opponent on Thursday in the final will be Canada, who clinched their spot after winning 5-3 over Finland earlier on Monday.

Tkachuk scored two goals in USA's tournament-opening victory last week. He and his brother, Matthew, combined for four of USA's six goals in the win.

More to come.