Is Quinn Hughes coming to rescue USA with Charlie McAvoy injured?

BOSTON — Quinn Hughes could be flying to Boston, and he might just be wearing a cape.

What is different about the rosters Canada and USA will dress in Thursday’s 4 Nations Face-Off championship compared the ones that threw down at Saturday’s chaotic tuneup in Montreal is that both teams now have X-factors — and they might just X each other out.

Not so long ago, we wondered if we might see the trophy awarded with neither of the two best defencemen in hockey on the ice.

Cale Makar is good to go for Canada. And now, with rugged Charlie McAvoy sidelined by an upper-body injury and subsequent infection, the dynamic Hughes is on standby.

Two desperate countries. Two healthy Norris winners?

“Good for the game, no doubt about that. Quinn Hughes is a special player. But I don't know all the rules,” Canada’s coach, Jon Cooper said Tuesday. 

“Is he allowed to play?”

That, antsy viewer, is the million-dollar question hovering over this rollicking tourney’s must-see finale.

Canada was unable to dress replacement Thomas Harley in Monday’s win over Finland because it had six healthy defencemen from its original roster available.

On the States’ side, Jake Sanderson, Hughes’ replacement, is good to play, as are banged-up forwards Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, and Brady Tkachuk.

Team USA isn’t short a man. And yet… Hughes was on the club’s original roster.

The Red-and-White-and-Blue showdown is shaded in grey.

“If he does play and throws in a wrinkle into things,” Canadian D-man Josh Morrissey says, “we’ll have to prepare for that. Because, obviously, he’s great.”

The rules around the 4 Nations — a brand-new, one-off event — are, to be kind, unclear. Fluid, let’s say.

The Americans want Hughes in and are exploring options to make it happen. The Canadians may wish to object.

The league’s current position is that someone other than McAvoy will also need to be ruled unavailable before Hughes participates on-ice with USA.

Underneath that mystery, though, is the tremendous loss of smart, edgy McAvoy, who was a force in the U.S.’s first-blood victory Saturday. 

He logged 19:27, limited some of Canada’s best forwards, and delivered the Hit of the Tournament on Connor McDavid. 

“A message-sending moment. Probably one of the plays of the game. They just scored a goal, the building was rocking, and Charlie comes there and pops McDavid. Like, one of the hardest hits I've seen,” Matthew Tkachuk said.

“Charlie was incredible and really led that back end — the whole 200 feet, the physicality, the offence, everything. He was one of our best players, for sure, and I think the rest of us, we followed him.”

Zach Werenski beamed: “That hit Charlie threw on him was kind of a game-changer.”

Team USA coach Mike Sullivan, who is also McAvoy’s father-in-law, said it’s an “assumption” to believe that the player was injured in Saturday’s game. 

The defenceman has been admitted to a local hospital and is in good care.

“He’s obviously disappointed that he won't have the ability to participate in the championship game. He’s a very competitive guy. There's a personal note with respect to my relationship with him, and I'm disappointed for him because, first and foremost, he's a great kid, and he's a terrific hockey player. Under all the circumstances, he's in good spirits.”

Prior to injury, McAvoy spoke passionately of his commitment to his country and the event.

“I've never been to an All-Star Game. You can have the All-Star Game. I’d rather play in this instead,” said McAvoy, thinking of facing USA’s biggest rival.

“Just everything that’s come before us is what has set it up and what we've grown up watching, and for a lot of us, what we've played in, whether it's world juniors or other events. It just doesn't get any better than this. 

“So, I can't wait. It's gonna be amazing.”

Unfortunately, McAvoy — much like Hughes’ final status — has been forced to wait.

Either way, he’s correct, though.

It’s gonna be amazing.