Well everyone is ready for the game this evening from TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off championship final, Team Canada, Team USA. Everyone that is except Josh Morrissey for Canada, as during the pre-game warmups, it was announced he is out for tonight’s game with an illness. Luckily, as a result of Cale Makar’s inability to go on the previous USA-Canada match, the replacement is already on deck. The Dallas Stars youngster Thomas Harley will draw into the lineup to fill in for Morrissey.
Lineup changes:
Canada
Josh Morrissey – OUT (illness)
Thomas Harley – INUnited States
Kyle Connor – OUT (coach’s decision)
Chris Kreider – IN— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 21, 2025
Defence Josh Morrissey Out for Canada Tonight in Championship Final
Josh Morrissey has been skating hard all tournament. He has been playing a dynamic tournament, whoever his partner had been, whether it was Cale Makar or Colton Parayko on his right side. Furthermore, Morrissey has zero points and two penalty minutes in three tournament games thus far. However, his pace of play and what he shows for the Winnipeg Jets all season will be sorely miss.
What Does this Mean for Canada’s Blueline?
It appears from warmups that the lines will be shuffled around a bit. It seems that Harley will play with Drew Doughty, like they had in the previous tournament game. Travis Sanheim will replace Morrissey specifically and slot in with Parayko. In any case, it will mean the D-man will need to be at their sharpest.
Harley is having a huge season for himself personally with the Stars. The 23 year old, who was born in Syracuse, NY interestingly enough, has 29 points through 53 games. Moreover, he has been playing big minutes for Dallas as 22:39 a night and carries a very respectable point share standing of 10.6.
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A quick note for the Americans, and Chris Kreider draws into the lineup tonight. It appears it was a coach’s decision, and we will see Kyle Connor draw out of the lineup.
So, with a few pre-game jitters, hopefully all that noise settles down, and we can all buckle up for a ride of a lifetime. Canada-USA, championship final, best-on-best, let’s go!
Main Photo Credit: James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports
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