Starting with three fights in the first nine seconds and ending with a celebration and a spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off final, the US on Saturday delivered exactly what Matthew Tkachuk hoped for by beating Canada.
“We needed to send a message,” Tkachuk said. “The message we wanted to send is ‘It’s our time.’”
Tkachuk fought Brandon Hagel off the opening faceoff, brother Brady tussled with Sam Bennett the next time the puck dropped, J.T. Miller dropped the gloves with Colton Parayko next and the Americans followed those fisticuffs with a 3-1 victory over their biggest rival.
Photo: AFP
“That was one of the best experiences of my life — just an unbelievable hockey game,” said Dylan Larkin, who scored the go-ahead goal in the second period. “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.”
Played at a blistering pace with physicality throughout, the most anticipated game of 4 Nations round-robin play did not disappoint, from the fisticuffs off the opening faceoff to big hits from Charlie McAvoy on Canadian star Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid and more than a few vital saves by Connor Hellebuyck among his 24.
The US showed it could keep up with Canada’s speed, skill and talent in the first international tournament with the NHL’s best players in nearly a decade.
Photo: AFP
“What an incredible hockey game,” US coach Mike Sullivan said.
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 US anthem. That spilled onto the ice as soon as the puck was dropped, with 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 Bennett the moment the puck was dropped on the ensuing faceoff three seconds in. Miller cross-checked Parayko and the two went at it to make it a trio of bouts in the early going.
The idea came from a group chat involving the Tkachuk brothers and Miller.
Canada coach Jon Cooper called the first minute purely “mayhem.”
“It was, I guess, 10 years of no international hockey exhaled in a minute and a half,” Cooper said.
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