US, Canadian hockey stars get into numerous fights in opening seconds of 4 Nations rivalry after anthem boos
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Three fights broke out in the first nine seconds of a 4 Nations Face-Off game between the U.S. and Canada Saturday.
At the opening puck drop, Matthew Tkachuk of the U.S. and Canada’s Brandon Hagel didn’t wait to drop the gloves.
Just two seconds later, Matthew’s brother, Brady, went toe-to-toe with Sam Bennett, who is NHL teammates with Matthew with the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
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Brady Tkachuk (top) of the U.S. fights Canada’s Sam Bennett (9) during the first period of 4 Nations Face-Off hockey action in Montreal Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
That wasn’t all. After an opening rush into the Canadian zone, a scrap involving just about everyone broke out, and J.T. Miller and Colton Parayko got into a fight of their own.
The penalty boxes filled up, but cooler heads eventually prevailed.
The game was being played in Montreal, so the tensions in the crowd were already high. The “Star-Spangled Banner” was booed loudly despite pleas from the public-address announcer to “respect” both nations’ anthems.
Brandon Hagel of Team Canada reacts after his fight with Matthew Tkachuk of Team United States (not in photo) during the first period of a 4 Nations Face-Off game at Bell Centre Feb. 15, 2025, in Montreal. (Andrea Cardin/4NFO/World Cup of Hockey via Getty Images)
Even NHL exec Bill Daly called it an “unfortunate situation” and hoped it would end.
This is the first time since 2016 that the U.S. and Canada are on the ice in a best-on-best format since 2016 in the World Cup of Hockey, which will return in 2028 after a 12-year hiatus.
Both teams won their first games of the tournament, but the United States is ahead in the standings due to its win coming in regulation. Canada needed overtime to defeat Sweden Thursday.
TEAM USA STAR MATTHEW TKACHUK DELIVERS STERN ONE-LINER AFTER CANADIAN FANS BOO DURING AMERICAN NATIONAL ANTHEM
Canada got on the board first, with Connor McDavid lighting the lamp roughly 5½ minutes into the game. Jake Guentzel tied it up a few minutes later.
Connor McDavid of Team Canada celebrates after scoring during the first period of a 4 Nations Face-Off game against the United States at Bell Centre Feb. 15, 2025, in Montreal. (Andre Ringuette/4NFO/World Cup of Hockey via Getty Images)
With a win, the Americans will clinch a spot in the one-game final on Thursday in Boston, and they could face Canada again.
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Three fights broke out in the first nine seconds
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USA stuns Canada in fight-filled classic to reach final in 4 Nations Face-Off
MONTREAL – It was the game this generation of hockey superstars had been longing for.
Nine years, Matthew Tkachuk articulated, of anticipation for USA-Canada.
And from the second the puck was dropped on the marquee matchup of the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-off, it was an instant classic as Team USA secured a 3-1 win in front of fiery crowd of 21,105 inside hockey’s grandest cathedral, Bell Center, to secure their spot in the first best-on-best championship game since the 2014 Olympic Games.
The Red, White and Bruisers came to play.
They came to silence the Canadian crowd as the tournament now ventures to the other side of the border in Boston.
Villains or heroes, depending on your vantage point, the Americans came to represent.
Perhaps even more so than usual given the political climate that has engulfed this matchup.
On Canadian Flag Day, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the red-and-white Maple Leaf, the natives booed the U.S. national anthem as expected. Just like they have at other recent sporting events north of the border, ever since U.S. president Donald Trump threatened tariffs and called Canada a ‘serious contender’ to become the 51st state.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, who Trump derisively referred to as governor, was in attendance to witness it all.
Somehow, the political animosity in the air didn’t even compare to the animosity on the ice.
Punches were exchanged like greetings on three separate occasions in the first nine seconds.
Every net-front play was met with resistance, a shove to the face or a cross check in the back.
Both teams ran each other through the boards, not against.
Nothing was held back. Nobody was off limits.
It was as if the two rivals taking the ice detonated an explosion off the opening faceoff.
Two seconds in and Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel were throwing haymakers.
The next attempt to drop the puck? Brady Tkachuk and Sam Bennett, his brother’s Panthers teammate, went at it. All while their father, Keith Tkachuk, who fought Claude Lemieux in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, looked on.
Once the puck was finally in play, it was a mere six seconds before Rangers forward J.T. Miller dropped his mitts and took on the 6-foot-6, 228 pound Colton Parayko in front of Canada’s net.
Canada came away with a power play, but Team USA stifled the man-advantage unit of the tournament twice through the first period.
The Americans successfully stayed out of the box for the remainder of the game, after nine total penalties were called through the opening 20 minutes.
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Connor McDavid had his ‘Welcome to the Tournament’ moment when he opened the scoring off a slick backhander just over 5 ½ minutes into the game, skating right around American defenseman Charlie McAvoy.
It was also McDavid who was then obliterated by McAvoy into the boards just before Jake Guentzel tied it up for Team USA at the other end at the 10:15 mark.
Team USA broke the tie on a goal from Dylan Larkin 13:33 into the second period, when the Red Wings captain took it himself on a 2-on-1 rush and sniped one past Canada goalie Jordan Binnington for the go-ahead goal.
The only blemish on the third period being Matthew Tkachuk indicating to the USA coaching staff toward the end of the third period that he was unable to finish the game due to injury.
The home crowd let the home team know they were still with them until the very end, but with each unsuccessful play, the noise would dissipate until Guentzel’s empty-netter sent fans clad in red for the exits.
All is quiet inside Bell Center now.
The Americans were here.
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US beats Canada 3-1 at the 4 Nations Face-Off to wrap up a spot in the tournament final
United States’ Dylan Larkin (21) hits the post behind Canada goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) as Colton Parayko (55) defends during second period 4 Nations Face-Off hockey action in Montreal on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.(Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
MONTREAL (AP) — Dylan Larkin scored the go-ahead goal in the second period and the United States beat Canada 3-1 in the 4 Nations Face-Off on Saturday night, wrapping up a spot in the championship game by winning a game that started with three fights in nine seconds and was played at a blistering pace with physicality throughout.
The most anticipated game of round-robin play did not disappoint, from the fisticuffs off the opening faceoff to big hits from Charlie McAvoy on Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid and more than a few vital saves by Connor Hellebuyck among his 24. And the U.S. showed it could keep up with Canada’s speed, skill and talent in the first international event with the NHL’s best players in nearly a decade.
It all unfolded against the backdrop of uneasy tensions between the North American neighbors and longtime allies, with many fans in the sellout crowd of 21,105 at Bell Centre loudly booing throughout the pregame rendition of the U.S. anthem. That spilled onto the ice as soon as the puck was dropped, with American power forward Matthew Tkachuk asking Brandon Hagel to drop the gloves and the fourth-line Canada winger engaging in the fight two seconds in.
Brother Brady Tkachuk did the same with Sam Bennett the moment the puck was dropped on the ensuing faceoff three seconds in. U.S. center J.T. Miller cross-checked Canada defenseman Colton Parayko and the two went at it to make it a trio of bouts in the early going.
The old-school pugilism did not go great early for the U.S., with the Tkachuks in the penalty box for the first five minutes. McDavid accelerated around the top defensive pair of McAvoy and Zach Werenski and roofed a backhander over Hellebuyck that few goaltenders around would be able to stop.
But Canada’s questions in net continued when Jake Guentzel beat Jordan Binnington five-hole midway through the first period to tie it. And the perpetually reliable captain Canada, Crosby, made a rare mistake with a turnover that, combined with a bad line change, paved the way for Larkin to score on a 2-on-1 past the midway mark of regulation.
Binnington around that play made some timely stops, and Canada — without top defenseman Cale Makar because of illness — had plenty of chances to tie it but could not get the puck past Hellebuyck again. Guentzel scored into an empty net with 1:19 left to seal it, and the result puts an all-world roster led by McDavid, Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon in a must-win situation Monday against Finland.
The U.S. has nothing to play for against Sweden that night, but there is concern about Matthew Tkachuk after he did not finish the game because of an apparent injury. Tkachuk skated around several times in the third to test out whatever was bothering him and sat at the end of the bench for the rest of the period.
The tournament shifts to Boston for games Monday, with Canada finishing round-robin play against Finland at 1 p.m. and the U.S. against Sweden at 8 p.m. at TD Garden.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
