United States to embrace 'bad guys' role against Canada at 4 Nations

MONTREAL -- Charlie McAvoy plays for the Boston Bruins. He is already a villain in Montreal just because of the NHL colors he wears. For him, being booed at Bell Centre is nothing new.

But the defenseman knows the vitriol directed toward him and his United States teammates is going to hit a whole other level Saturday when the U.S. and Canada meet in the 4 Nations Face-Off (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS).

“It's nothing that won't be familiar to me,” McAvoy said Friday.

The U.S. players already are used to it.

The booing started in full throat Wednesday, when center Auston Matthews, while being introduced as one of the four team captains in the tournament, heard it before Canada played Sweden.

During warmups Thursday, the crowd rained down boos whenever a U.S. player was shown on the big screen before their game against Finland, and the cat calls continued during the pregame introductions.

During the United States’ 6-1 win, there were boos whenever Matthews -- who also plays for the rival Toronto Maple Leafs -- touched the puck, and a few anti-U.S. chants could be heard as well.

And this was during a game against Finland. Saturday night, expect the anger and decibel level to hit all-time highs.

Bring it on, U.S. forward J.T. Miller said.

“I think we like it,” Miller said. “We know we’re in Canada, and I think that fires us up more than anything.”

One word that comes up a lot when the U.S. players talk about being the target of the Canadian fans’ ire is -- believe it or not -- fun.

That’s right, they not only embrace being the villains here, they are enjoying it.

“We’re kind of the bad guys, it’s a fun role to play,” defenseman Noah Hanifin said. “I know the environment tomorrow is going to be probably the most intense I’ve ever been a part of. So it’s these moments you dream of and it’s exciting to be a part of it. It’s stuff that you’ll take with you the rest of your life.”

Besides Matthews and McAvoy, who are not only Americans but play for rivals of the Montreal Canadiens, the two biggest villains for the U.S. team are brothers Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk. They're pretty much viewed that way around the entire NHL for their abrasive style of play, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Those guys have a tendency to drag others into the fight,” U.S. forward Dylan Larkin said. “If they say something, they play a certain way, they’re going to drag us all into that, and that’s great. That’s great for our group.”

After he scored two goals in the win against Finland, Brady Tkachuk told ESPN about Saturday, “I’m excited to be playing the villain that night.”

McAvoy actually experienced being in that spot before he even joined the NHL, when he played for the U.S. in the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship in Montreal.

“We got booed the whole night," McAvoy said, "I don't think I remember seeing one American person. I know my family was there, but I couldn't find them. So it was an all-Canadian crowd, and it was as loud as it was hostile.”

Current U.S. players Adam Fox and Jake Oettinger were also on that team, which defeated Canada in the final to win the gold medal, so McAvoy said what happens Saturday will be nothing new.

“You have a different perspective because you've been there before," McAvoy said. "But all of us have played important games in arenas and crowds that were not supporting you. So you know everybody has some sort of experience with that.”

Maybe, but nothing close to what is expected here Saturday.

Not only are Canada fans basking in the return of best-on-best international play for the first time since the World Cup of Hockey 2016, they are counting on their national heroes putting the U.S. in its place -- behind them.

“I mean, what's better than this?” forward Jake Guentzel said. “There's not much. So it's just a lot of fun.

“I just can’t wait to see what the environment is.”