Fight night: U.S., Canada open tilt with 3 brawls
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Kristen Shilton
MONTREAL — It took less than nine seconds for Team USA to record three fights in their 3-1 win over Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off showdown at Bell Centre on Saturday night.
Unsurprisingly, Matthew and Brady Tkachuk were the ringleaders.
The brothers — who stole the show in Thursday’s game against Finland with a combined four goals five points — took it a step further on Saturday by coordinating with teammate J.T. Miller to try and put Canada on its heels off the hop.
“We needed to send a message,” Matthew Tkachuk said after the win. “We’re here in Montreal on a Saturday night. We want it to be our time, and that message started right from the get-go.”
And so, the hockey rivalry renewed with Matthew dropping the gloves against Canada’s Brandon Hagel off the opening faceoff, igniting a sold-out crowd already fit to burst. Tkachuk and Hagel are rivals in the NHL as well, playing for the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, respectively.
Theirs was the fastest fight to start an NHL international game, topping the previous record of 20 seconds in 1996 when Canada’s Keith Primeau and Claude Lemieux fought Team USA’s Keith Tkachuk and Bill Guerin in the World Cup of Hockey. Guerin is the U.S. general manager in the 4 Nations Face-Off, and Tkachuk is father to Matthew and Brady — although Matthew denied that his father’s history influenced his and Brady’s actions in the game.
Because one second after Matthew Tkachuk went to the penalty box, Brady Tkachuk fought his older brother’s Florida teammate, Sam Bennett, off the night’s second faceoff. Matthew Tkachuk slammed his arms against the glass of the box in support as it played out.
Six seconds later, Miller fought Colton Parayko after the two jostled in front of the Canadian net. Miller also received a cross-checking penalty on the play, giving Canada the first power play of the game.
No matter to the parties involved, though. For them it was no accident the game started that way.
“There was a little discussion during the day,” Brady Tkachuk said about the fights, with his brother imploring him to “tell the truth,” while they sat together at the podium.
“Yeah, there was a group chat going on today,” Brady Tkachuk said. “We just reaffirmed we were going to do that. I think Matthew’s fight to start it off was just such an energy boost. I think I was more excited, more nervous for my own. And then for Millsy to cap it off against a big guy like that, he did a great job. It was a pretty awesome experience.”
The NHL hadn’t had a fight in an international tournament it had hosted since the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Miller was just as pleased as the Tkachuks to be part of the plan.
“That was pretty fun,” he said. “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.”
That’s what drove Hagel not to deny Matthew his request to drop the mitts.
“I’m not backing down,” Hagel said. “A little bit of the talk was these guys are going to take over the Canadian way, but I’m not going to let it happen.”
The exuberance on both sides wasn’t lost one anyone in the building — least of all the teams’ coaches. Canada’s Jon Cooper called the start of the game “mayhem” and credited “two passionate teams” for the intense opening.
Team USA’s coach Mike Sullivan thought the way each country responded showed how important the outcome of this tournament is to the ones involved.
“I just think it’s very indicative of what this means to the players,” he said. “There’s two teams out there that are very competitive that have a ton of pride for their respective teams and countries. For me when you have an investment in trying to win like the way that it occurred, I think that’s an indication of it. What an incredible hockey game.”
The U.S.-Canada game at 4 Nations was years in the making. The NHL hadn’t participated in a “best on best” tournament since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. An entire generation of star players are representing their countries for the first time in such a tournament, from Canada’s Connor McDavid — who scored the lone goal for his nation on Saturday — and Nathan MacKinnon to Team USA’s Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel.
The showdown took on an added dimension due to recent political tensions between the U.S. and Canada. President Donald Trump threatened — and subsequently enforced — significant tariffs on Canadian imports. Trump has also repeatedly made references to his proposal of Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state.
The U.S national anthem was booed by NHL fans in Canadian cities leading up to the tournament. There was a smattering of boos before the Americans’ win over Finland on Thursday, as the public address announcer at Bell Centre asked for the anthems to be respected. But before Saturday night’s game, the fans booed the introduction of the U.S. players by Olympic figure skating legend Michelle Kwan and loudly booed the anthem.
With the win, the U.S. secured its place in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game in Boston on Thursday night.
“Getting a win here on a Saturday night, that puts us in the finals, that’s a pretty neat feeling,” Brady Tkachuk told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan in his postgame, on-ice interview. “I feel like they’re a lot of unhappy people here, especially in Montreal, a place that isn’t my favorite.”
When Team USA does take part in the final, Matthew Tkachuk fully intends to dress. That looked in question when he appeared to suffer an injury late in the game on Saturday. He played just three shifts in the third period and sat out the final 12:36. Sullivan subsequently said Tkachuk is being evaluated for a lower-body injury and wouldn’t say whether he’d be held out of the USA’s game against Sweden on Monday.
Tkachuk, though, downplayed any nagging issue on Saturday.
“No concern at all,” he said of a potential ailment. “Just going to enjoy this win tonight. Other than Game 7 last year (when his Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup), this has been the highlight of my hockey career. I’m just going to enjoy it with the guys.”
Additional reporting from ESPN Senior NHL Writer Greg Wyshynski.
It’s 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby day in Atlanta!
Some of the most dynamic home run hitters in baseball will be taking aim at the Truist Park stands on Monday (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) in one of the most anticipated events of the summer.
While the prospect of a back-to-back champion is out of the picture — 2024 winner Teoscar Hernandez is not a part of this year’s field — a number of exciting stars will be taking the field, including Atlanta’s own Matt Olson, who replaced Ronald Acuna Jr. just three days before the event. Will Olson make a run in front of his home crowd? Will Cal Raleigh show off the power that led to 38 home runs in the first half? Or will one of the younger participants take the title?
We have your one-stop shop for everything Derby related, from predictions to live updates once we get underway to analysis and takeaways at the night’s end.
MLB Home Run Derby field
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners (38 home runs in 2025)
James Wood, Washington Nationals (24)
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays (23)
Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins (21)
Brent Rooker, Athletics (20)
Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves (17)
Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees (17)
Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates (16)
Live updates
Who is going to win the Derby and who will be the runner-up?
Jeff Passan: Raleigh. His swing is perfect for the Derby: He leads MLB this season in both pull percentage and fly ball percentage, so it’s not as if he needs to recalibrate it to succeed. He has also become a prolific hitter from the right side this season — 16 home runs in 102 at-bats — and his ability to switch between right- and left-handed pitching offers a potential advantage. No switch-hitter (or catcher for that matter) has won a Home Run Derby. The Big Dumper is primed to be the first, beating Buxton in the finals.
Alden Gonzalez: Cruz. He might be wildly inconsistent at this point in his career, but he is perfect for the Derby — young enough to possess the stamina required for a taxing event that could become exhausting in the Atlanta heat; left-handed, in a ballpark where the ball carries out better to right field; and, most importantly, capable of hitting balls at incomprehensible velocities. Raleigh will put on a good show from both sides of the plate but will come in second.
Buster Olney: Olson. He is effectively pinch-hitting for Acuna, and because he received word in the past 72 hours of his participation, he hasn’t had the practice rounds that the other competitors have been going through. But he’s the only person in this group who has done the Derby before, which means he has experienced the accelerated pace, adrenaline and push of the crowd.
His pitcher, Eddie Perez, knows something about performing in a full stadium in Atlanta. And, as Olson acknowledged in a conversation Sunday, the park generally favors left-handed hitters because of the larger distances that right-handed hitters must cover in left field.
Jesse Rogers: Olson. Home-field advantage will mean something this year as hitting in 90-plus degree heat and humidity will be an extra challenge in Atlanta. Olson understands that and can pace himself accordingly. Plus, he was a late addition. He has got nothing to lose. He’ll outlast the young bucks in the field. And I’m not putting Raleigh any lower than second — his first half screams that he’ll be in the finals against Olson.
Jorge Castillo: Wood. His mammoth power isn’t disputed — he can jack baseballs to all fields. But the slight defect in his power package is that he doesn’t hit the ball in the air nearly as often as a typical slugger. Wood ranks 126th out of 155 qualified hitters across the majors in fly ball percentage. And he still has swatted 24 home runs this season. So, in an event where he’s going to do everything he can to lift baseballs, hitting fly balls won’t be an issue, and Wood is going to show off that gigantic power en route to a victory over Cruz in the finals.
Who will hit the longest home run of the night — and how far?
Passan: Cruz hits the ball harder than anyone in baseball history. He’s the choice here, at 493 feet.
Gonzalez: If you exclude the Coors Field version, there have been just six Statcast-era Derby home runs that have traveled 497-plus feet. They were compiled by two men: Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. James Wood — all 6-foot-7, 234 pounds of him — will become the third.
Olney: James Wood has the easy Stanton- and Judge-type power, and he will clear the Chophouse with the longest homer. Let’s say 497 feet.
Rogers: Hopefully he doesn’t injure himself doing it, but Buxton will break out his massive strength and crush a ball at least 505 feet. I don’t see him advancing far in the event, but for one swing, he’ll own the night.
Castillo: Cruz hits baseballs hard and far. He’ll crush a few bombs, and one will reach an even 500 feet.
Who is the one slugger fans will know much better after the Derby?
Passan: Buxton capped his first half with a cycle on Saturday, and he’ll carry that into the Derby, where he will remind the world why he was baseball’s No. 1 prospect in 2015. Buxton’s talent has never been in question, just his health. And with his body feeling right, he has the opportunity to put on a show fans won’t soon forget.
Olney: Caminero isn’t a big name and wasn’t a high-end prospect like Wood was earlier in his career. Just 3½ years ago, Caminero was dealt to the Rays by the Cleveland Guardians in a relatively minor November trade for pitcher Tobias Myers. But since then, he has refined his ability to cover inside pitches and is blossoming this year into a player with ridiculous power. He won’t win the Derby, but he’ll open some eyes.
What’s the one moment we’ll all be talking about long after this Derby ends?
Gonzalez: The incredible distances and velocities that will be reached, particularly by Wood, Cruz, Caminero, Raleigh and Buxton. The hot, humid weather at Truist Park will only aid the mind-blowing power that will be on display Monday night.
Rogers: The exhaustion on the hitter’s faces, swinging for home run after home run in the heat and humidity of Hot-lanta!
Castillo: Cruz’s 500-foot blast and a bunch of other lasers he hits in the first two rounds before running out of gas in the finals.
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