4 Nations: Tkachuk sparks series of brawls between USA and Canada

For the first time in nine years, USA and Canada battled in a best-on-best competition.

In just nine seconds, three fights broke out.

Is there anything better than hockey?

An epic showdown at the 4 Nations Face-Off on Saturday at Bell Centre in Montreal, Florida Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk -- who else? -- set the tone for the matchup when he dropped the gloves right off the opening draw with Brandon Hagel.

With Hagel being from the rival Tampa Bay Lightning, there was also built-in bad blood.

“Two passionate teams,” Canada head coach Jon Cooper told ESPN.

Check out the fight in the below post from X.

Of course, Tkachuk wasn’t the only Panther to show their claws.

On the next puck drop, Sam Bennett threw down with Tkachuk’s brother, Brady.

Throughout the brawl, Matthew cheered on Brady from the penalty box.

Upon Brady’s arrival to the box, the two star-spangled siblings had an all-time dap.

“I think it happened pretty organically,” Brady told ESPN's Emily Kaplan during the first intermission. “Matthew said he wanted to go first, and it just happened. It’s over and done with, and now it’s an opportunity to win the game here.”

Brady also told Kaplan that Matthew brought up the idea of starting things off with a bang right after seeing the starting lineups for both teams.

"He said that he wanted a piece of him,” Brady said.

Time to play the game?

Not yet!

After a feisty scuffle in front of Canada’s net, J.T. Miller was the next man to start proudly chucking fists for the red, white and blue, going toe-to-toe with Canada’s Colton Parayko.

Nine seconds into the game, 30 penalty minutes had been handed out.

“I’ve never seen a game start like that in any league on any platform in any event,” former NHL defenseman and current ESPN broadcaster P.K. Subban said. “Buckle up, strap in, there’s more. If you want more, we’ve got more.”

Postgame update: USA went on to win 3-1, clinching a spot in the championship game at TD Garden on Thursday.