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Tage Thompson wasn't on the bench to start the third period of the Olympic semifinal.
The Buffalo Sabres' star will now become a point of concern as Team USA's gold medal matchup with Canada looms on Sunday.
He already a goal and an assist on Friday against Slovakia, and the U.S. had a 5-0 lead after two periods.
Thompson was being held out for precautionary reasons, according to the NBC broadcast.
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The 6-foot-6 forward has been particularly crucial for the Americans on their powerplay in this tournament.
While not getting a lot of even strength minutes, Thompson has been on the first powerplay line and been a huge presence around the net.
Without Thompson, the third period powerplay began with Dylan Larkin in his spot. Larkin has played well, but that changes the entire geometry, because Larkin is a lefty, not a righty like Thompson.
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The U.S. played the second of two semifinals on Friday, so they'll have the slightly quicker turnaround to Sunday's gold medal match. They'll be done playing just before midnight on Friday, and the game Sunday has a local faceoff time of 2 p.m.
Thompson will get treatment on whatever needs it in the day and a half to come.
Team USA would sure love one of its most gifted goal scorers available for the biggest game of the tournament, but right now, it's an uncertainty.
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