The United States and Canada team abandoned the gloves three times in the first nine seconds of their 4 nations competition on Saturday evening; It was the first time that the two teams have been in the best format in nine years.
Two fights occurred in the first three seconds, Matthew Tkachuk presenting himself in the first against Brandon Hagel, and his brother, Brady, fighting the teammate of Matthew Florida Panthers, Sam Bennett, in the second.
After a goalkeeper stop, JT Miller found anyone who was the saying, which led to the third hubbub. There were no fights for the rest of the game, but the fistifuffs set the tone for what was a physical fight that ended with a 3-1 victory for the Americans.
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Brady Tkachuk (TOP) of the United States Combat Sam Bennett of Canada during the hockey action at the 4 Nations of the first period in Montreal on Saturday February 15, 2025. (Christinne Muschi / Canadian Press via AP)
The fighting has been the preamble to the most watched event in the NHL outside a Stanley Cup final since 2019, which has resulted in an average of 4.4 million viewers. The fights, without a doubt, attracted the attention of novice fans everywhere, but not everyone was a fan.
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo called the fights to be “false”.
“I don’t like things that are pre-orchestrated. I don’t like things that have a falsehood or a WWE feeling. In nine seconds,” said Russo in his radio show, via a horrible announcement . “I know that fans of the arena loved it, I know that fans at home were immediately emotionally in the game.
“For me, it was a joke. It was wrong.” Let’s all fall for the gloves and we kill in the first nine seconds of the game. “It was not organic. Like that.”
Canada Brandon Hagel, on the left, is fighting with Matthew Tkachuk in the United States during the first period of a 4-nations hockey match in Montreal on Saturday, February 15, 2025. (Graham Hughes // Canadian Press via AP)
The excitement is built for US-Canada 4 final nations after the 1st hoarse match
Hagel recently closed the claim of Russo, saying that he “did not fight for the cameras” but rather “for the [Canadian] FLAG. “Brady Tkachuk also said that his brother’s fight” had occurred quite organically. “”
“Matthew said he wanted to go first, it just happened, and now it’s over and finished,” he said. “It’s just when Matthew discovered the starting training, he said he wanted a piece of him (Hagel).”
The fighting occurred shortly after the Canadian crowd has “Hue” The Star-Spangled Banner “, which was recently a theme to the north against United States teams in the tariffs by President Donald Trump on Canada. The prices have since been interrupted. The president also teased Canadians with the idea that Canada becomes the “51st state”.
The Canada Team striker Sam Bennett, on the left, and the American striker for the Brady Tkachuk team, were fighting in the first period in a 4 nations ice hockey match at the Bell Center. (Images Eric Bolte-Imagn)
While the United States and Canada have been rivals on ice for decades, political tension has certainly brought a new flavor to the crowd and perhaps also to the players.
The two teams compete again on Thursday, this time in Boston, for the title of the 4 nations.
