It’s been quite a week for United States forward Brady Tkachuk. Tkachuk suffered an undisclosed injury in the first period of Monday’s game against Sweden, and ultimately didn’t return to the contest.
Tkachuk showed his mettle as he battled his way back into the lineup for Thursday’s championship of the 4 Nations Face-Off. In fact, with just over three minutes remaining in the first period, Tkachuk found the back of the net.
Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews was able to retrieve the puck on the forecheck, and attempted to execute a wraparound shot on Canada goaltender Jordan Binnington. However, the puck ended up sliding onto the stick of Tkachuk, who put the puck in the net.
Entering Thursday, Tkachuk was far from a foregone conclusion to play in the championship. After all, he did take quite a tumble late in the first period of Monday’s game before being ruled out for the remainder of that contest.
Tkachuk was able to show up when the United States really needed a goal after Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon had given Canada 1-0 lead earlier in the period. It was the third goal of the round-robin tournament for Tkachuk as he netted two goals in the United States’ 5-1 win against Finland to begin the 4 Nations Face-Off last week.
This was arguably the biggest game that Tkachuk has ever played in at the professional level given that the Ottawa Senators left wing has never reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs in his previous six seasons.
Tkachuk was originally selected with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. During his time with Ottawa, the 25-year old has tallied 393 points (183 goals and 210 assists), and currently leads the Senators in goals (21) this season.
