The classic Rodney Dangerfield joke “I went to a fight the other night, and a hockey game broke out” pretty aptly describes the wild 4 Nations Face-Off matchup between the United States and Canada that took place on Saturday night.
With the NHL constantly looking to provide players with chances to represent their teams in international play without massively disrupting the league’s regular season, this year the NHL replaced its usual All-Star game festivities with the 4 Nations Face-Off.
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Featuring Canada, the USA, Sweden, and Finland, the tournament takes place over eight days with games played at the Bell Centre (home of the Montreal Canadiens) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and TD Garden (home of the Boston Bruins) in Boston, MA, USA.
The game between the USA and Canada was easily the most-highly anticipated pairing of the event’s round-robin matchups, and the fans in Montreal’s Bell Centre were treated to a huge surprise when UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre walked onto the ice to introduce Team Canada.
GEORGES ST-PIERRE IN THE HOUSE TO FIRE UP THE BELL CENTRE 🔥#4Nations pic.twitter.com/fnp3Cprdxo
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No fan could have predicted that St-Pierre’s presence at the game would be an omen of things to come, as the game’s opening faceoff saw Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk drop the gloves with the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Brandon Hagel.
Things got even wilder when the next faceoff saw Matthew’s younger brother Brady Tkachuk fight Canada’s Sam Bennett before the pair also made their way to the penalty box. Yet another scrap between J.T. Miller and Colton Parayko after just nine seconds of play time sent the internet into a frenzy and also attracted the attention of former UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland.
I love me some hockey fights 🤝 https://t.co/D2FrwZsmc6
Canada went on to take an early lead in the game courtesy of Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, but goals from Jake Guentzel and Dylan Larkin gave the USA the lead before Guentzel sealed the victory by scoring on an empty net with less than two minutes remaining in the third period.
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The victory means that Team USA has already clinched a spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off finals on Thursday (February 20), and if Team Canada hopes to set up what would be the biggest hockey game of the year they’ll need to defeat Finland on Monday in Boston.
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Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.
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