MONTREAL Three fights broke out in the first nine seconds of Saturday night’s eagerly awaited match between the United States and Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Shortly after the puck was dropped to begin play, Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel dropped their gloves. In the following faceoff, Brady Tkachuk quickly engaged Sam Bennett in combat.
Following some shoving and pushing around Canada goalie Jordan Binnington after he protected the puck, J.T. Miller and Colton Parayko got into a brawl.
In the third battle, Canada received a power play, and Miller was punished for both fighting and cross-checking.
It all began when a sizable portion of the Bell Centre’s sold-out audience noisily jeered the American anthem. Hundreds of fans waited in line.
To enter the venue almost 90 minutes before kickoff, and during pregame warmups, they jeered whenever a U.S. player appeared on TV displays.
