The United States Men’s Hockey team upset team Canada 3-1 on Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, marking their first best-on-best international victory over their northern rivals in 15 years. In a clash fueled by an undercurrent of political tension, the immensely physical round-robin game in the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off tournament served as one of the most electrifying hockey games of the 21st century.
Before the puck dropped in the first period, Montreal fans booed the U.S. national anthem for the second time in two games – persisting throughout the entire song despite the arena announcer’s plea for respect. This blatant disrespect evidently did not sit well with the American bench – igniting three fights within the first nine seconds of play.
Two of the fights were started by Matthew and Brady Tkachuk – Chaminade College Preparatory alumni and sons of St. Louis Blues star Keith Tkachuk – amplifying the already deafening crowd. Ironically enough, Keith Tkachuk dropped the mitts in international play against Claude Lemieux 20 seconds into a World Cup of Hockey matchup against Canada in 1996.
“We’re one of the only sports that still has fighting in it. It’s a war out there,” said Canada forward Travis Konecny.
Despite serving as an alternate captain for the Philadelphia Flyers – one of the most passionate fan bases in all of professional hockey – Konecny commented on how the fights set the tone for a different type of night.
“It’s funny: You put the flag behind the meaning of something and guys’ switches just kind of flip,” Konecny said.
The rest of the game proved to be just as exciting as its opening moments. Even after jumping to a 1-0 lead after a splendid transition goal by alternate Canadian captain Connor McDavid, the U.S. knotted the game when a Jake Guentzel shot found its way through goaltender Jordan Binnington’s legs. At the 13:33 mark in the second period, center Dylan Larkin scored on a blistering wrist-shot that provided a lead the Americans would never relinquish. Guentzel secured the win with his second goal of the night in an empty Canadian net with less than two minutes to play in regulation. A stifling Yankee defense, a brilliant goaltending performance by Connor Hellebuyck, and an unwavering refusal to cater to Canada’s transition-heavy style all played key roles in the upset. With the win Saturday night, the U.S. secured its spot in the championship on Thursday, Feb. 20.
Following the loss, Canada’s head coach Jon Cooper said, “The game is in a better place because last night’s game existed,” reflecting on a night that ended Canada’s 26-game winning streak with superstar Sidney Crosby as captain.
As the NHL strives to remain relevant among the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL) and even Major League Baseball (MLB), innovative events like the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament can help grow the game’s excitement and appeal in the American sports landscape.
It’s hard to disagree with Cooper – as the television ratings back up the mastery that was laid out on the ice for all sixty minutes. At its peak, 5.4 million Americans watched the game, with a steady 4.4 million viewers throughout. Nielsen Fast National data showed a 473% increase from ESPN’s 2016 World Cup of Hockey matchup and a 369% rise compared to ABC’s NHL average this season. Moreover, it served as the most-watched non Stanley Cup Final hockey telecast since 2019.
The 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, which is temporarily replacing NHL’s annual All Star Game, consists of four nations: the U.S., Canada, Finland and Sweden. Due to a greater trend in the NHL, NBA and NFL of players not giving full effort in these events, the NHL took a bit of a gamble – and was a massive success. Thus far, the exciting tournament has not only filled the void left by the absence of the World Cup of Hockey since 2016 but also marks the return of elite, best-on-best international competition that largely defined the sport in the mid-20th century.
Despite facing potential elimination in the tournament, Canada pulled out a surprisingly close win against Finland on Monday, Feb. 17. Poetically, the Americans will face the Canadians Thursday night in Boston at the TD Garden at 7 p.m. CST on ESPN. In what will no doubt be an emotionally compelling and fiercely patriotic rematch, the outcome will not only bring immense pride to the winning country, but regardless serve as a massive win for the sport of hockey.
Frank Sterle Jr. • Feb 20, 2025 at 10:27 pm
In regards to the premeditatedly frequent fist fights and the international turmoil that only encourage them: The world is indeed on fire, both literally and figuratively. I myself have been inexplicably angrier over the last few years and sometimes dread that I may someday leave this world that way.
However, as individuals we can resist flawed yet normalized human/societal nature thus behavior; and if enough people do this and perform truly humane acts, positive change on a large(r) scale may result.
Perhaps somewhat relevant to this are the words of American sociologist Stanley Milgram, of Obedience Experiments fame/infamy: “It may be that we are puppets — puppets controlled by the strings of society. But at least we are puppets with perception [and] awareness. And perhaps our awareness is the first step to our liberation.”
Still, could it be that the human race so desperately needs a unifying fate-determining common cause, that an Earth-impacting asteroid threat or, better yet, a vicious extraterrestrial attack is what we have to collectively brutally endure in order to survive the longer term from ourselves?
Humanity would all unite for the first time ever to defend against, attack and defeat the humanicidal multi-tentacled ETs, the latter needing to be an even greater nemesis than our own formidably divisive politics and perceptions of differences, both real and perceived — especially those involving race and nationality.
During this much-needed human alliance, we’d be forced to work closely side-by-side together and experience thus witness just how humanly similar we are in the ways that really count. [I’ve been informed, however, that one or more human parties might actually attempt to forge an alliance with the ETs to better their own chances for survival, thus indicating that our deficient human condition may be even worse than I had originally thought.]
Yet, maybe some five or more decades later when all traces of the nightmarish ET invasion are gone, we’ll inevitably revert to those same politics to which we humans seem so collectively hopelessly prone — including those of scale: the intercontinental, international, national, provincial or state, regional and municipal. And again we slide downwards.
Frank Sterle Jr. • Feb 20, 2025 at 10:12 pm
I’ve always been bewildered by the psychological or moral ability to throw a serious punch without physical provocation, of which we’re seeing a lot in the USA vs. Canada 4 Nations Face-Off hockey tournament. Also disturbing are the only-too-eager viewers.
In the early 1980s, I’d see from a distance the mostly-male ‘audience’ at the after-classes fights between a pair of almost-always male students, one of whom was needed to initiate the barbaric exchange.
A few years later, during my own troubled-teen years, I observed how by ‘swinging first’ a guy potentially places himself in an unanticipated psychological disadvantage — one favoring the combatant who chooses to patiently wait for his opponent to take the first swing, perhaps even without the fist necessarily connecting.
Just having the combatant swing at him before he’d even given his challenger a physical justification for doing so seemed to instantly create a combined psychological and physical imperative within to react to that swung fist with justified anger. In fact, such testosterone-prone behavior may be reflected in the typically male (perhaps unconsciously strategic) invitation for one’s foe to ‘go ahead and lay one on me,’ while tapping one’s own chin with his forefinger.
Yet, it’s a theoretical advantage not widely noticed by both the regular scrapper mindset or general society. Instead of the commonly expected advantage of an opponent-stunning first blow, the hit triggers an infuriated response earning the instigator multi-fold returned-payment blows.
Nevertheless, matters should remain peaceful, or at least non-violent, if every party shows the other due respect. And, of course, everyone follows the basic rule: Only a physical first swing will justify a returned blow.
Gayle Friedman • Feb 20, 2025 at 10:07 pm
USA is such a slow Team. You really look awful to all USA. What is your problem? You have awful coaching. Your heart can fall out of your chest just to watch a USA Team just watch, and not get into the game! This is a poor group of players!
Mike hunter-Lindsey • Feb 21, 2025 at 11:56 pm
You must have not watched the game. Do you even know what happened. How can you even comment a game you didn’t watch? Please refrain from commenting if you’re going to sound this horrendous. Gayle, I’m genuinely curious if you even watched the game. Please know the game better if you’re going to comment.
Jacob • Feb 20, 2025 at 9:37 pm
Such a great piece! Best coverage of the game I’ve read thus far! Keep up the good work Brendan!