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 the Americans went in with a plan that detonated this dynamite matchup in the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off in their favor, as Team USA went on to secure a 3-1 win over the co-host country and secure their spot in the best-on-best tournament’s championship game.
Two seconds in and Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel were throwing haymakers in front of a fiery crowd of 21,105 inside hockey’s grandest cathedral, Bell Centre.
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.
“There was a little discussion during the day,” Brady Tkachuk said when asked if the series of fights were premeditated.
“Tell the truth,” Matthew Tkachuk quipped.
“Yeah there was a group chat going on today,” Brady continued. “Still slept like a baby though. You know what, and then we just kind of reaffirmed we were going to do that, and Matthew’s fight to start it off was just such an energy boost. I think I was more excited, more nervous, than my own and then Millsy to cap it off to go against a big guy like that, I think he did a great job.”
The Red, White and Bruisers came to play.
And with it, Canada’s 17-game win streak in best-on-best competition came to an end.
It also marked the first time USA beat Canada in a best-on-best game in 15 years, dating back to the round robin at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
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.
“You have to set the tone,” Miller said. “And when you have the Tkachuk brothers on your team, it’s just built for them. These are my favorite types of games to be in and I just think there’s a tone to be set and not much needs to be said.”
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 with 12:36 remaining in 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 Centre now.
Ship it up to Boston.
