Team Canada just took a 10-2 victory over France to move to 3-0 in the group stage. It was a historic performance for many players on Canada, but one player of interest was not on the ice, as Brad Marchand was scratched for a second straight game.
Now, Jon Cooper is speaking out about the absence of Marchand and his future availability, per Ryan Rishaug of TSN.
Marchand, who missed ten of the last 15 games for the Florida Panthers, will be available for the quarterfinal game for Canada. He skated for roughly 40 minutes prior to Canada's dominating victory over France and was moving well.
Marchand has not played since the opening victory over Czechia, but played just 9:29 in the game, with two shots and a plus-one rating. Meanwhile, Canada is looking to win gold. They are already 3-0 and should have the top seed inthe knockout round of the tournament. The only other team that could be 3-0 is the United States, and they would need to put up 11 goals in order to catch Canada on goal differential.
Meanwhile, Marchand is looking to rejoin his team after being solid this year. He has 25 goals and 25 assists for the Panthers this year, which places him second on the team in points, despite missing 11 games. He was not a major player for Canada when they won the 4 Nations Face-Off, having just one goal in the four games.
Canada does not have a set opponent for the quarterfinals, but will take the ice on Wednesday against the winner of a qualification round game. The semifinals are set for Feb. 20, while the gold medal game is set for Feb. 22.
