Florida Panthers
Tkachuk Brothers, Sam Bennett Kick Off Fight Night at 4 Nations
If you were looking to watch a fight Saturday night, hope you tuned into the US-Canada game early. Naturally, Matthew and Brady Tkachuk were right in the middle of it.
Saturday’s game opened with two fights on successive faceoffs: Matthew Tkachuk dropped the gloves and fought Tampa Bay/Canada forward Brandon Hagel.
The younger Tkachuk brother got a little more personal when it came to his fight partner.
While Matthew and Hagel were slugging it out, Brady Tkachuk shouted over to the Team USA bench and called out Sam Bennett — Matthew’s friend (which makes him Brady’s pal as well) and linemate with the Florida Panthers.
Bennett quickly jumped on the ice to face Brady Tkachuk in the faceoff circle only neither player took the draw.
All four players got in their share of licks in the opening bouts, with the Tkachuk brothers going 1-for-2; on the fight card: Hagel put Matthew on the ice in their fight; Brady took down Bennett.
The Tkachuk Brothers seemed to enjoy some more bonding time in the penalty box only there were only in there together for a short while.
On the first actual shift of hockey, J.T. Miller (USA/Rangers) and Colton Parayko (Canada/Blues) mixed it up near the goal cage.
That made three fights in the first nine seconds in an emotionally charged Bell Centre in Montreal.
Seemed fitting that MMA star Georges St-Pierre was on the ice before the game to get things going, eh?
Maybe things will settle down as the game goes on.
Doubtful, but perhaps.
“Crazy,” Canada/Lightning coach Jon Cooper told Emily Kaplan of ABC. “Two passionate teams, it has been a long waiting — 10 years. These guys waited for this and you can tell, this isn’t an All-Star Game. This is a battle of the best of the best. So proud to be a part of it.’’
4 NATIONS FACE-OFF SCHEDULE/RESULTS
At Bell Centre, Montreal
- Wednesday: Canada 4, Sweden 3 (OT)
- Thursday: United States 6, Finland 1
- Today: Finland 4, Sweden 3 OT; United States vs. Canada (ABC, ESPN+)
At TD Garden, Boston
- Monday: Canada vs. Finland, 1 p.m. (TNT/truTV, Max); Sweden vs. United States, 8 p.m. (TNT/truTV, Max)
- Thursday: Championship game, 8 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN+)
Standings
- 1. United States 3 points
- 2. Canada 2
- 2. Finland 2
- 2. Sweden 2
