TORONTO -- Matt Murray was pulled on Tuesday night after allowing four goals on seven second period shots, but it's the health of his thumb that could be the bigger concern as Team North America prepares for Sweden on Wednesday.

The Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender says he hurt his blocker-hand thumb midway through the second period.

"It's something pretty minor, I just jammed my thumb a little bit," he said after the game.

North American head coach Todd McLellan expects Murray to be a participant at practice on Tuesday.

"He's very capable of playing," McLellan said. "I'm sure we're going to see him on the ice in practice (on Tuesday) so if that's any indication, we'll be able to pick from three healthy guys."

Russia scored all four of its goals in a 6:14 span of the second period capped off by Vladimir Tarasenko's winner at 15:43 of the second period. Evgeny Kuznetsov's goal at 13:37 of the second, which gave the Russians a 3-1 lead, is one Murray felt he should've had.

"I was there, I just over-reacted to it, opened up, got under my arm. I was aggressive enough," Murray said. "I felt the Kuznetsov one, I could've had, but you're going to let in bad goals every now and then -- can't worry about that."

The 22-year-old Thunder Bay, Ont. native, who back-stopped the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup victory last spring, admitted he had rebound control issues early on, which was evident on Vladislav Namestnikov's goal that tied the game 1-1.

John Gibson relieved Murray following Russia's fourth goal and made six saves in just over 22 minutes of action.

"It would've been nice to get an extra save, he'll probably tell you that, but we gave up team goals," said McLellan.

"The good thing is, when John went in, he played well. I thought he had to make a couple early saves. We have real good options. If it's Matt Murray then great, if it's John Gibson, we feel comfortable and if it's Connor (Hellebuyck) we feel good."

Murray wasn't the only one who found himself on the bench in the third period. With the North Americans trying to claw back into the game, Dylan Larkin and Jonathan Drouin were noticeably absent.

Larkin didn't play a shift in the third while Drouin played three shifts and served a bench minor for too many men.

"When you have 81 (shot) attempts on goal, and you're an offensive guy, you've got to find a way to get the puck to the net somehow, at least make an attempt at shooting," McLellan said. "Jonny had a tough night in that situation, we shortened up the bench and felt that's where we gained some momentum."

Monday's loss to the Russians also gave a glimpse of what the North Americans' blue line would look like without Aaron Ekblad. The Florida Panthers defenceman was sidelined with an upper-body injury after being run over by Leo Komarov on Sunday.

"He means so much. He's a leader on the team and plays such a big role," said Connor McDavid. "He's used to playing against guys that (the Russians) have: the Ovechkins and the Malkins -- those kinds of guys. So to lose him for a night like this definitely hurts."

McLellan wouldn't confirm the concussion report saying the defenceman is day-to-day with an upper body injury.