Brady: Matthew Tkachuk's injury must be 'serious' to have limited him in final

Team USA forward Matthew Tkachuk was unable to play the final 23:22 of regulation and all of overtime in Thursday's 4 Nations Face-Off championship game loss due to an undisclosed injury, which made his brother Brady Tkachuk think it could be a significant issue.

"He usually battles through anything," Brady said, according to NHL.com's Bill Price. "But I think it's got to be really serious for him not to be able to go because he's such a warrior."

Panthers head coach Paul Maurice called Tkachuk day-to-day and said he won't play Saturday against the Seattle Kraken, according to Miami Herald's Jordan McPherson.

"He played through that broken sternum (two years ago in the Stanley Cup Final) and yeah, I don't think it's too good," Brady added.

Matthew was limited to just 6:47 of ice time. He didn't play Monday against Sweden due to an undisclosed injury he sustained versus Canada on Saturday. Tkachuk played 11:10 in that first clash against the Canadians and was unavailable for the last 12:36 of the third period.

USA's head coach Mike Sullivan had no regrets about including Tkachuk in the lineup despite the injury.

"Matthew Tkachuk has an impact on our team in such a way that even if he wasn't 100% and we weren't able to utilize him for a lot of the game, his presence on the bench and in the locker room means so much to this group," Sullivan said, according to Price. "He's all heart. He's a heart-and-soul guy."

Kyle Connor was scratched as the ailing Tkachuk drew back into the lineup. The Winnipeg Jets forward leads all American players with 30 goals in 56 games this season, but he was held to one assist and one shot in his three games at the 4 Nations.

Sullivan lauded the impact both Tkachuks had as leaders.

"I think those guys were a huge part of the leadership group," Sullivan said, according to Price. "They're just high-character people, they have an insatiable appetite to win, and it's contagious.

"I think they help our team confidence. I think they help build our team swagger. And for all those reasons, I'm glad (Matthew) was on the bench tonight."