Now, not only were the Tkachuks playing together on the same team for the first time in their professional lives, they were on the ice at the same time, flanking Jack Eichel on the same line, their brotherly shorthand evident to their teammates and the crowd and those watching at home.
Sullivan and the U.S. had needed a spark. The Tkachuks were that spark.
By the start of the third period, the team was rolling, with Matthew and Brady matching each other goal for goal in a game that would eventually end as a 6-1 victory for the U.S. against Finland.
But midway through the second period, the game was tied 1-1 and the U.S. was generating little against Finland, which had nearly exhausted its supply of NHL defensemen before the 4 Nations even started.
So, Sullivan tossed the Tkachuks out.
“I think it’s pretty cool when you have an opportunity to play with your brother, there might be some added motivation or some added inspiration to want to play,” Sullivan said. “I thought when we made the switch -- we put them with Jack Eichel -- I think they have a funny way of just dragging us into the fight.”
Brady had already scored the first goal of the game for the U.S., banking the puck in off the pads of Juuse Saros from below the goal line to tie it 1-1 at 10:21 of the first period. In doing so, Brady and Keith Tkachuk became the fourth father-son duo to score a goal in an NHL international tournament, joining Peter and Leon Draisaitl, Matti and Niklas Hagman and Bobby and Brett Hull.
It would be just the start. Matthew soon would join them.
His first goal would come on the power play just 15 seconds into the third period, a backbreaker for Finland. Shortly after the puck had crossed the goal line, the video board cut to one of the best American players of his generation, a measured expression on his face. This time, though, he was merely a proud father.
Keith Tkachuk’s kids would combine for five points, with Brady getting two goals and Matthew getting two goals and an assist. They would be physical, in the faces of the Finnish defensemen, on the doorstep of Saros’ net, sometimes finding themselves battling for the netfront, whacking at the puck at the same time.
Asked how irritating that might be to face, defenseman Zach Werenski expressed sympathy for Finland.
“It’s annoying to face one of them in the NHL at once,” Werenski said. “I can’t imagine both of them.”
It was the clear consensus.
“I wouldn’t want to play against that line,” forward Jake Guentzel said. “That’s big bodies coming at you and going to hit you hard.”