Depleted Team USA falls to Sweden as injury scares mount before facing Canada in 4 Nations final

BOSTON — The game between the United States and Sweden on Monday night may have had zero tournament implications, but there are no shifts off in the sport of hockey when donning your country’s colors.

Pride was still on the line, especially for Sweden, which lost its first two games in overtime before pulling out a 2-1 win over Team USA in front of a packed house at TD Garden in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

No team in this tournament has been spared of injuries or illness, a testament to the quality of play and investment from players.

But now Team USA will go into the two off days before Thursday’s final with uncertainty surrounding their lineup.

Especially regarding Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who was admitted to Mass General Hospital with an upper-body injury, according to the Boston Globe.

Head coach Mike Sullivan had ruled forward Matthew Tkachuk (lower body) and McAvoy out in the morning, which forced the Americans to ice a lineup with 11 forwards against Sweden.

News then broke during warmups that USA captain Auston Matthews wouldn’t play, either, due to upper-body soreness.

Concern hit a different level, however, when Brady Tkachuk awkwardly crashed into the post in the first period Monday night.

He headed to the locker room, missed maybe a couple of turns in the rotation and then returned for a 14-second shift. Instead of going down the tunnel again, Brady Tkachuk stayed on the bench for the remainder of the period, but was ruled out for the rest of the game following the first intermission.