Rangers forward Chris Kreider scratched again for Team USA vs. Canada at 4 Nations Face-Off
New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider was a healthy scratch for the second straight game when Team USA played Canada at Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday night at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Kreider did not dress for the Americans’ 6-1 victory against Finland in its tournament opener on Thursday, and he was the extra forward at the morning skate prior to Team USA’s game against its biggest international rival.
This season has been a struggle for Kreider, who’s been dropped to the third line in recent weeks and has been plagued by back issues that have sidelined him for eight games and hampered him in others. After scoring 52, 36 and 39 goals in the past three seasons, Kreider has just 16 goals and 20 points in 47 games.
Team USA coach Mike Sullivan, who sees a lot of Kreider in his day job as coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, was mum after the morning skate as to whether either of the Game 1 scratches — Kreider, or defenseman Jake Sanderson, would dress against Canada. He said only that he and his staff “always consider lineup changes.”
But in the end, he stayed with the lineup that defeated Finland. Sanderson was the seventh defenseman at the morning skate and was the other healthy scratch among the skaters. Goalie Jeremy Swayman also did not dress for the second straight game.
Canada’s best defenseman, Cale Makar, was unable to play because of illness. The Canadians, who also lost defenseman Shea Theodore to injury in their 4-3 overtime win against Sweden on Wednesday, dressed Thomas Harley as their sixth d-man.
Each team stayed with the goaltender who won Game 1, with Connor Hellebuyck playing for Team USA and Jordan Binnington for Canada.
Sullivan said before the tournament opener that he’s talked with all his players about what their roles will be. That included having a conversation with Kreider about sitting out.
“What I’ve tried to do is meet with a lot of players in this first three days of the process, and being very transparent and straightforward with what our game plan is and what their contribution or what their role is in trying to help this team win,” Sullivan said. “I think that’s a really important responsibility that I have as a head coach, and I take it very seriously, and I just have too much respect for these guys to not have those types of conversations. And Kreids is one of those guys.
“He deserves those conversations. All of the guys do. We’re trying to define roles and expectations for all our guys and explaining the whys. But we’re also trying to put players in positions where we can set them up for success, and that’s a conversation we have a lot as a coaching staff. My experience of being part of these tournaments is sometimes what you envision on paper or in theory before you get here, and then what actually plays out can be two different things, and that’s something that’s yet to be seen. And as a coaching staff, we’re going to do our best to try to set these guys up for success.
Kreider is healthy scratch again for Team USA at 4 Nations
Kreider is one of four Rangers on Team USA. The other three – defenseman Adam Fox and centers Vincent Trocheck and J.T. Miller – all took regular shifts in the win against Finland, though none of the three hit the score sheet. Miller had three hits and was 6-4 on face-offs, Trocheck had two hits and went 7-4 on draws. Fox had four shot attempts, one shot on goal, one hit, two giveaways and took a minor penalty.
Miller was at left wing on the third line with center Dylan Larkin and right wing Matt Boldy at the morning skate, while Trocheck centered the fourth line between Brock Nelson and Kyle Connor. Fox was on the second defense pair with Noah Hannifin and quarterbacked the second power-play unit.
“It’s a game everyone is excited about, and as coaches, we share that excitement with our players, staff and of course the fans,” Sullivan said after the morning skate. “We know it will be an electric atmosphere inside the Bell Centre, and I know our players are very much looking forward to the game.”
Sullivan said Thursday hasn’t ruled out dressing Kreider, a Boston-area native, in the final round-robin game against Sweden when the tournament moves to TD Garden on Monday. A win against either Canada or Sweden would put the United States into the championship game on Thursday, also at TD Garden.
“At the end of the day, performance matters,” he said. “We’re going to see how the team performs, and we’ll make adjustments or decisions accordingly to try to help this team win.”
