Canada-USA skirmish a phenomenal reminder of what international hockey has been missing
The 4 Nations Face-Off seemed like a gimmick... until it didn't.
Sometimes in there are moments in the world of sports that leave you speechless. Others have you jumping out of your seat cheering, but most are somewhere in between.
Saturday night’s epic Canada vs United States tilt at the 4 Nations Face-Off had fans experiencing emotions on both sides of the spectrum, often at the same time. It was the most anticipated hockey game in recent memory, and it certainly lived up to the hype.
It would be hard to script a scenario with more emotions than those surrounding this game. Canada and the United States are natural rivals at everything as neighbours, but throw in recent political threats from the man in the White House, and the heat turned up several notches. Before the game even began there were loud boos during the American national anthem.
The fact that it was also the first best-on-best men’s international hockey game in almost a decade between these two teams, and taking place in Montreal — one of the spiritual homes of the sport — made it a perfect storm.
Surely though, most thought, the players on the ice would tune out a lot of the outside noise and let their skill do the talking, and hopefully trade blows on the scoreboard. Those people could not have been more wrong. What transpired next wasn’t fuelled by politics according to those at the forefront, but by the longstanding rivalry, and finally getting a crack at each other in national team jerseys after so many years.
Within a second of the puck dropping at centre ice, Brandon Hagel of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers — players who have some history together — dropped the gloves. After trading a few blows, Hagel ended up on top of Tkachuk and both were whisked off to the penalty box. Advantage Canada.
A fight in international hockey in 2025? A wild way to start the game for sure, but let’s get on with the show.
Then the puck dropped again, and more gloves flew across the ice — this time belonging to Brady Tkachuk, Matthew’s little brother, and Matthew’s Panthers teammate Sam Bennett. Both landed a few punches, but this time it was a Tkachuk coming out on top.
Surely that’s it… right? Wrong.
After a few quick seconds of play, which included the Americans getting a shot on net, there was a scrum in front of the Canadian crease and J.T. Miller dropped his gloves looking for a scrap. Colton Parayko accepted the challenge, and landed several big punches against the much smaller American forward, aided by Miller accidentally upper-cutting himself before the referees stepped in.
Nine seconds. Three fights. Thirty-two penalty minutes. The crowd in Montreal erupted for a third time.
"That was the greatest start to a hockey game ever," said former NHL player Kevin Bieksa on Sportsnet during the first intermission.
"It was, I guess, 10 years of no international hockey exhaled in a minute and a half," Canadian coach Jon Cooper said after the game.
What seemed not long ago like a cheesy gimmick to replace the All-Star Game suddenly had hockey fans treating a 4 Nations Face-Off round robin game like the fate of the universe depended on the result.
In the end it was the Americans earning a 3-1 victory and a spot in the championship game, but Saturday’s match won’t be remembered for the final score — especially if the States don’t go on to win the final in Boston on Thursday.
Millions of viewers tuned in on both sides of the border, and player names and relevant topics trended online well into Sunday. This tournament has become a reminder of what the sport lacked for nine years since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey: men’s best-on-best international competition.
NHL players not competing on the world stage for so many years will be a stain on Gary Bettman’s time as commissioner. Other than the obvious issue of the pandemic, fans didn’t want to hear the excuses for why tournaments couldn’t feature NHL players, and superstars spoke out about how much they wanted international games to return.
To the NHL’s credit — as the NBA, NFL and MLB All-Star Games become increasingly soulless — the intensity of Saturday night’s game at the 4 Nations Face-Off is something the league can point to to say that they have got this year’s switch absolutely spot on so far.
These teams are packed from top to bottom with household names. Not having them line up at their fullest potential for years was a major disservice to the sport.
That was clear in Canada’s opening game against Sweden as well, less than a minute in. When the Swedes took an early penalty, over the boards hopped Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon — three of the best offensive talents to ever lace up a pair of skates, on one powerplay unit. They immediately combined for a highlight reel goal, powered into the back of the net by MacKinnon.
On Saturday it was McDavid’s time to shine, using his elite skating ability to speed through the American defence before backhanding the puck over Connor Hellebuyck’s shoulder to open the scoring. Competing for Canada in a best-on-best tournament for the first time at age 28 is ridiculous for someone who could end his career as one of the greatest players of all time, if he isn’t there already.
The NHL has committed to sending players to the Olympics in 2026 and 2030, and revealed plans recently to host an eight-team international tournament in 2028. The goal is reportedly to make international tournaments like that a biennial occurrence — especially with the 2034 Olympics heading to Salt Lake City, home to the NHL’s newest franchise.
Canada and the United States could meet again in the final on Thursday, and we still have a year until the grandest international stage of all at the Olympics. Memories immediately flood back about Crosby’s Golden Goal against the States in 2010, among countless others.
International hockey — highlighted by this Canada-USA rivalry — is back. Hopefully for good.
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