NHL
Team USA and Team Canada brawled three times in the first nine seconds of the heated matchup.
MONTREAL (AP) — Dylan Larkin scored the go-ahead goal in the second period and the United States beat Canada 3-1 in the 4 Nations Face-Off on Saturday night, wrapping up a spot in the championship game by winning a game that started with three fights in nine seconds and was played at a blistering pace with physicality throughout.
The most anticipated game of round-robin play did not disappoint, from the fisticuffs off the opening faceoff to big hits from Charlie McAvoy on Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid and more than a few vital saves by Connor Hellebuyck among his 24. And the U.S. showed it could keep up with Canada’s speed, skill and talent in the first international event with the NHL’s best players in nearly a decade.
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 U.S. anthem. That spilled onto the ice as soon as the puck was dropped, with American power forward 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 Sam Bennett the moment the puck was dropped on the ensuing faceoff three seconds in. U.S. center J.T. Miller cross-checked Canada defenseman Colton Parayko and the two went at it to make it a trio of bouts in the early going.
The old-school…