A bold decision by Team USA forward Matthew Tkachuk is making waves today, following Canada’s victory in Boston.

Personally, even though I don’t necessarily agree with his recent on-camera antics, I find it hard to blame him for this. However, he is facing heavy criticism today.

Why? Mainly because he decided to play yesterday’s game and insisted on being in the lineup, despite being clearly injured.

Tony Marinaro also briefly discussed this during his key segment of the day on BPM Sports.

 

In the end, Matthew Tkachuk played six painful minutes, and ultimately, his decision to play forced Team USA to remove Kyle Connor from the lineup.

A decision by Matthew Tkachuk that sparks debate and penalizes his teammate Kyle Connor

Some say it was a selfish decision. Personally, I believe he just wanted to give it his all. But the result was that it was not a good decision for Team USA, which was forced to play with 11 forwards for the vast majority of the game.

And even if Tkachuk had been able to play more than six minutes, I truly believe that a 100% healthy Kyle Connor is, by far, better than a Matthew Tkachuk at 60 or 70%.

“Kyle Connor should have, without question, played last night.”


“I know Kyle Connor hasn’t been at his best in this event, but I’m not leaving out a guy with that kind of talent in a game where one shot, one play, can make the difference.”

There’s also this:

“No American skater has more goals or points than Kyle Connor this season in the NHL.

And yet, he’s watching from the stands for the biggest game.

Unbelievable times.”