Tkachuks help set tone, spark U.S. past Canada in 4 Nations Face-Off

MONTREAL -- They said they didn’t do it to be like their dad. They didn’t do it because the crowd booed the U. S. national anthem, either.

They did it for one reason.

“The message we wanted to send is, ‘It’s our time right now,’” Matthew Tkachuk said.

That’s why the Tkachuk brothers -- Brady and Matthew -- each fought within the first three seconds of the United States’ epic 3-1 victory against Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off at Bell Centre on Saturday, followed by J.T. Miller six seconds later.

The United States hasn’t won a best-on-best tournament since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. Canada has won three straight best-on-best tournaments, five of the past six and nine of the 13 ever played.

But here, in the first best-on-best tournament since the World Cup of Hockey 2016, the Americans had a chance to make a statement and clinched a spot in the championship game at TD Garden in Boston on Thursday.

The Tkachuks said they planned it with Miller on a group chat before the game.

“We’re in a hostile environment,” Matthew Tkachuk said. “We wanted to show that we’re not backing down. They’ve had so much success, and so many players over there are some of the best players in the world. But we felt in this environment, this stage in this tournament, was a good time to do it. It was a lot of fun.”

The parallel is striking. When the United States faced Canada in the round robin of the World Cup in 1996, Bill Guerin and Keith Tkachuk each fought in the first 20 seconds at CoreStates Center in Philadelphia. The Americans went on to win the game 5-3 and the tournament.

Guerin is now the U.S. general manager. Keith Tkachuk is the father of Brady and Matthew Tkachuk.

Asked if the brothers could draw from what happened in 1996, Matthew Tkachuk said, “I mean, we could if we wanted to. I haven’t brought it up with Billy. I don’t know.” Turning to his brother, he said, “Have you?” Brady Tkachuk said no.

“I mean, we just watched it with my dad before,” Matthew Tkachuk said. “No real correlation. I get what you guys might think, but it’s just guys that are all fired up to play their biggest rivals in this type of environment. We had an absolute blast from the start.”

The context is striking too. In an emotionally charged atmosphere, the fans booed the Americans during warmup, booed them when they took the ice for the game and booed “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Asked if this was about more than hockey, Matthew Tkachuk said, “Yeah, to us it was.” Then he paused for a second and said, “I mean, I guess I shouldn’t say that.” He said it was more about the rivalry and opportunity.

“To us, this is as big of a game as it gets,” he said. “I mean, this is what you dream about, a chance to knock off Canada in Canada, like I said, on a Saturday night in Montreal, in that type of environment. It was incredible. It was fun to start like that.”

The Americans continued to be physical throughout the game. After center Connor McDavid outskated defenseman Charlie McAvoy and gave Canada a 1-0 lead at 5:31 of the first period, McAvoy sent McDavid flying with a big hit at 9:49.

“That also is a message-sending moment and probably one of the plays of the game,” Matthew Tkachuk said. “They just scored a goal, the building was rocking, and Charlie comes there, and he pops McDavid, one of the hardest hits I’ve seen.”

Jake Guentzel tied the game 1-1 at 10:15 of the first, and McAvoy popped McDavid again at 11:55. The hits kept on coming.

And after Dylan Larkin gave the United States a 2-1 lead at 13:33 of the second, the Americans frustrated the Canadians’ attack until Guentzel iced the game with an empty-net goal at 18:41 of the third.

“That was one of the best experiences of my life,” Larkin said. “Just an unbelievable hockey game. I hope you guys feel the same way. The start, the guys, the Tkachuk brothers and ‘Millsy,’ what a start, and credit to those guys for answering the bell. You know, the crowd, just a great night for our sport and a great night for this rivalry. Can’t wait to get back to Boston and get on home soil.”

The question now is whether we’ll get a rematch.

Each team plays three round-robin games, earning three points for a win in regulation, two points for win in overtime or a shootout, one point for loss in OT or a shootout, and none for a loss in regulation.

The United States leads the tournament with six points. Canada, Finland and Sweden each has two points.

The teams play a doubleheader at TD Garden in Boston on Monday: Canada vs. Finland (1 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS) and Sweden vs. the United States (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS).

“Other than Game 7 last year, this has been the highlight of my hockey career,” said Matthew Tkachuk, who won the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers last season. “I’m just going to enjoy it with the guys. We have such a fun group in there. It’s going to be a fun plane ride tonight.”