Three fights erupted in the first 9 seconds of Saturday’s Canada-United States game at the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.
The United States won the game 3-1, but the opening brawls dominated post-game discussion.
“That was as organic as it gets, and it was, I guess, 10 years of no international hockey exhaled in a minute and a half,” Canada head coach Jon Cooper said.
Cooper described the fights as “mayhem” but saw them as positive for the sport.
“I didn’t see anybody running for the exits. People are going to talk about this.”
Brady Tkachuk revealed the fights weren’t entirely spontaneous. He, brother Matthew, and teammate J.T. Miller discussed starting the game aggressively in a group chat earlier that day.
“I think Matthew’s fight to start it off was just such an energy boost,” Brady Tkachuk said.
Miller emphasized the intensity of the moment: “That was pretty fun. That was the coolest experience I’ve probably had on the ice, one of them. To hear the building like that, it’s something you’ll never forget. There’s a lot of bad blood, but at the same time, tons of respect for the other team.”
The teams could meet again in Thursday’s tournament final in Boston.
