The highly anticipated game Saturday night between the United States and Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off started with three fights in the first nine seconds.
Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel dropped the gloves just after the puck was dropped to start play. Brady Tkachuk fought Sam Bennett immediately off the ensuing faceoff. And J.T. Miller and Colton Parayko went at it after some pushing and shoving around Canada goaltender Jordan Binnington after he covered the puck.
Canada got a power play out of the third fight, with Miller penalized for cross-checking as well as fighting.
It all happened after a large percentage of the sellout crowd at Bell Centre loudly booed the U.S. anthem. Fans lined up by the hundreds to get into the arena more than 90 minutes before start time and also booed every time a U.S. player was shown on video screens during pregame warmups.
Canada is without all-star defenceman Cale Makar who was ruled out of the game late Saturday with an illness.
Thomas Harley was added to the Canadian roster. Makar remains eligible for the rest of the tournament.
Finland beat Sweden 4-3 in OT earlier Saturday.
Canada opened the event Wednesday with a 4-3 victory overtime victory against Sweden while the U.S. topped Finland 6-1 on Thursday.
The 4 Nations shifts to Boston for a pair of round-robin games Monday before next Thursday’s final.
