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 United States delivered exactly what Matthew Tkachuk hoped for by beating Canada on Sunday (AEDT).
“We needed to send a message,” Tkachuk said.
“The message we wanted to send is: ‘it’s our time’.”
READ MORE: NRL’s top 50 players: Origin skipper, breakout stars picked
READ MORE: ‘Profound sadness’ as jockey dies from race fall
READ MORE: ‘Sad day for tennis’: Kyrgios fumes over ‘dodgy’ Sinner ban
Tkachuk fought Brandon Hagel off the opening faceoff, brother Brady tussled with Sam Bennett the next time the puck dropped, JT Miller dropped the gloves with Colton Parayko next and the Americans followed those fisticuffs with a 3-1 victory over their biggest rival.
“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.
And 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.
“What an incredible hockey game,” US coach Mike Sullivan said.
It all unfolded against the backdrop of uneasy tensions between the North American neighbours 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.
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.
“He’s not afraid to shoot it,” Brady Tkachuk said. “He’s got a great shot, and it ended up being the game-winner.”
Binnington around that play made some timely stops, and Canada — without top defenceman 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.
“It’s kind of like a Game 7,” McDavid said. “A lot of guys in this room have been in that situation before. Got to get a win.”
The US 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 what Sullivan called a lower-body injury.
“I feel good,” Tkachuk said, brushing off the injury. “Definitely way better after a win. Should be all good.”