USA vs. Canada began with three fights in nine seconds (VIDEO)
By Joe Lago
![Feb 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team United States forward Matthew Tkachuk (19) and Team Canada forward brandon Hagel (38) fight in the first period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3600,h_2025,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Fthebiglead_en_international_web%2F01jm6qrnjnt5d72evbep.jpg "Feb 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team United States forward Matthew Tkachuk (19) and Team Canada forward brandon Hagel (38) fight in the first period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images")
The contrast couldn't have been more clear.
While the NBA was hosting a largely lackluster All-Star Saturday until Mac McClung's historic Slam Dunk Contest title saved the night in San Francisco, the NHL had some of its biggest stars competing in a glorified exhibition in Montreal with the intensity of a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final.
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The 4 Nations Face-Off is a tournament is serving as the NHL's All-Star event this year, but don't tell the players the games don't matter.
After the puck dropped for Saturday's USA-Canada showdown in Montreal, the gloves were off as America's Matthew Tkachuk traded haymakers with Brandon Hagel at center ice. Once order was restored, Tkachcuk's brother, Brady, took his turn to scrap with Sam Bennett. Then J.T. Miller got into it with Colton Parayko.
Nine seconds in, there were already three fights.
USA vs. Canada started off in MADNESS 😳
— ESPN (@espn) February 16, 2025
📺: ABC/ESPN+/Disney+ pic.twitter.com/BrWlXzMb7J
Team USA won the battle 3-1, erasing a 1-0 deficit with goals by Jake Guentzel and Dylan Larkin. Guentzel's empty-netter clinched the victory, which earned the United States a spot in Thursday's championship game.
“We needed to send a message,” Matthew Tkachuk told reporters. “The message we wanted to send is 'It’s our time.'"
Brady Tkachuk said he and his brother came up with the idea to fight after the opening faceoff.
"Yeah, there was a little discussion during the day. There was a group chat going on today," Tkachuk revealed. "... We just reaffirmed we were going to do that. I think Matthew's fight to start it off was just such an energy boost. I think I was more excited, more nervous (about his fight) than my own."
"There was a little discussion during the day, there was a group chat going." 😅
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) February 16, 2025
Brady, Matthew, and JT Miller decided earlier today they wanted to drop the gloves early in the game. pic.twitter.com/QVyMN5CObi
“That was one of the best experiences of my life — just an unbelievable hockey game,” Larkin told reporters. "The Tkachuk brothers and Millsy, what a start, and credit to those guys for answering the bell. And the crowd, just a great night for our sport and a great night for this rivalry.”
The fisticuffs emerged amid political tensions between the U.S. and Canada. Before the game, the sold-out Bell Centre crowd booed throughout the playing of the American anthem.
Canada head coach Jon Cooper described the fight-filled start as "mayhem."
“It was, I guess, 10 years of no international hockey exhaled in a minute and a half,” he said.
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