John Gibson to start for Team North America vs. Sweden

John Gibson talks about how he will use past experiences to help him in net for Team North America.

John Gibson will make his first World Cup of Hockey start Wednesday afternoon when Team North America faces Team Sweden.

The 23-year-old Gibson came on in relief of Matt Murray in the second period of Monday’s 4-3 loss to Team Russia. Murray injured his right thumb while allowing four goals on seven second-period shots.

Gibson played 22:14 and stopped all six shots he faced the rest of the way as the North Americans dominated the third period but failed to mount a comeback.

Murray, 22, practised with the team on Tuesday afternoon and didn’t show any signs of concerns, participating in full drills, according to The Canadian Press.

“It’s good, sore, but nothing major,” Murray said. “Nothing to worry about.”

Gibson, who plays for the Anaheim Ducks, earned a 7-4 win against Team Europe in pre-tournament play, while turning aside 29-of-33 shots.

Team North America has already lost defenceman Aaron Ekblad, who returned to Florida on Tuesday to be evaluated by Panthers’ team doctors. He suffered an upper-body injury on Sunday against Team Finland.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.