Cale Makar will do everything he can to step on the ice for Canada on Saturday night.
But head coach Jon Cooper isn’t ready to confirm his top defenceman will be available for the highly anticipated 4 Nations Face-Off matchup against the United States.
“That’ll be a game-time decision,” Cooper said Saturday morning — “but trust me, this won’t be a situation (where) we ever put Cale Makar in harm’s way — so if he’s in the lineup, he’ll be good to go.”
Cooper said goalie Jordan Binnington will start for the second consecutive game.
Makar — an all-situations blueliner who quarterbacks Canada’s loaded top power-play unit — participated in Canada’s morning skate after missing practice Friday with an illness.
The former Norris Trophy winner said the last couple of days have featured “a lot of ups and downs” with his status uncertain.
“Just trying to manage things, trying to put myself in the best spot I can to play tonight,” he said. “We’ll see how this afternoon goes. Feel better today, just kind of go from there and hopefully, obviously, do everything I can to play.”
Canada opened the tournament with a nail-biting 4-3 overtime win Wednesday against Sweden. The U.S., meanwhile, bulldozed their way to a 6-1 win over Finland on Thursday.
Bitter rivals Sweden and Finland were to meet Saturday afternoon at Montreal’s Bell Centre.
The 4 Nations shifts to Boston for a pair of round-robin games Monday before next Thursday’s final.
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Makar leads all NHL defencemen with 63 points (22 goals, 41 assists) in 57 games for the Colorado Avalanche this season.
The 26-year-old from Calgary also led Canada with a 28:06 ice-time in its opener against Sweden.
“He was pretty sick last game too, and he didn’t look it,” said Canada forward Nathan MacKinnon, who also plays for the Avalanche. “He’s so mentally tough that nothing phases that guy. He’s the best defenceman in the world, so him at 80 (per cent) is better than almost everybody anyway.”
“But I’m not gonna sit here and say if he’s 80 per cent we’re gonna put him in,” added Cooper.
Canada dropped to six healthy defencemen when Shea Theodore exited against Sweden with an upper-body injury.
Travis Sanheim will take his place in the lineup while Thomas Harley, a non-roster player who’s on standby, would enter if Makar is ruled out.
Harley skated on Saturday morning at CN Sports Complex after Makar left the ice, earning a loud applause from Canada’s squad before leading a stretch at centre ice.
“If there’s any question of what this tournament means to guys, I think that’s the biggest example right there,” forward Connor McDavid said. “Harley being a few hours away from being in Cabo to being here and being part of the group, and maybe not even getting an opportunity. I think it shows what it means to be a part of this tournament.”
On offence, gritty forward Sam Bennett is replacing Travis Konecny after being a healthy scratch Wednesday.
Goaltending was a concern for Canada leading up to the tournament, considered the star-studded team’s biggest weakness. Cooper ultimately stuck with Binnington after choosing not to reveal Canada’s starter after practice Friday.
The St. Louis Blues goalie allowed a less-than-stellar three goals on 26 shots against Sweden — including a wrist shot by Adrian Kempe that he’ll surely want back — but stood tall with a game-saving stop on Mika Zibanejad in overtime.
“He gave us a chance to win,” Cooper said. “Watch the overtime, said it all for me. At the biggest moment of the game, the kid came up huge for us. He deserves it.”
Vegas netminder Adin Hill will back up while Montreal’s Sam Montembeault serves as Canada’s third-stringer.
Vézina Trophy favourite Connor Hellebuyck will be in goal for the U.S. after stopping 20 shots against Finland.
The Americans didn’t make any changes to their lineup.
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