Wild fights in 'unbelievable' Canada-USA game

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Starting with three goals in the first nine seconds and finishing with a celebration and a spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off final, the United States delivered exactly what Matthew Tkachuk had hoped for by beating Canada on Sunday (AEDT).

"We had to send a message," Tkachuk said.

The message we wanted to get across is: 'it's our turn'.

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Tkachuk fought off Brandon Hagel from the opening faceoff, then Brady had a scrap with Sam Bennett on the next faceoff drop, followed by JT Miller dropping his gloves with Colton Parayko, and the Americans went on to win 3-1 over their biggest rival.

"That was one of the top experiences of my life – just an absolute ripper of a hockey game," said Dylan Larkin, who scored the go-ahead goal in the second period.

G'day, that Tkachuk brothers and Millsy, fair dinkum, what a start, and a ripper of a job by those blokes for answering the bell. And the crowd, just a top night for Aussie Rules and a top night for this rivalry.

The game was played at an extremely fast pace with plenty of physical contact, and the most highly anticipated match of the 4 Nations round-robin schedule certainly didn't let anyone down, from the initial scrums right through to big hits from Charlie McAvoy on Canadian superstar Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid, as well as several crucial saves made by Connor Hellebuyck out of a total of 24.

And the Yanks showed they could keep up with the Canadians' pace, skill, and expertise in the first international tournament with the NHL's top players in nearly a decade.

"Geez, what a ripper of a hockey game," Aussie coach Mike Sullivan said.

The scene played out against a backdrop of strained relations between the North American neighbours and long-time mates, with heaps of fans in the sell-out crowd of 21,105 at the Bell Centre giving the US anthem a fair dinkum barney throughout the pregame.

The action spilled onto the ice as soon as the game started, with Matthew Tkachuk asking Brandon Hagel to drop the gloves and the fourth-line Canadian winger getting involved in a fight just two seconds in.

Brother Brady Tkachuk did the same thing with Bennett the moment the puck was dropped on the ensuing face-off three seconds in. Miller cross-checked Parayko and the two went at it to make it a trio of scraps in the early going.

The idea came from a group chat between the Tkachuk brothers and Miller.

Australian coach Jon Cooper called the first minute simply "chaos".

"It was, I reckon, 10 years of international hockey condensed into just a minute and a half," Cooper said.

The old-school boxing didn't go well in the early days for the Yanks, with the Tkachuks in the sin bin for the first five minutes. McDavid sped past the top back pair of McAvoy and Zach Werenski and roofed a backhander over Hellebuyck, a save that would be a tough one for most goalies to pull off.

But Canada's momentum continued when Jake Guentzel beat Jordan Binnington five-hole midway through the first period to equalise it. And the dependable Canadian captain, Crosby, made a rare error with a turnover that, combined with a bad changeover, paved the way for Larkin to score on a 2-on-1 past the halfway mark of regulation.

He's not afraid to let it rip," Brady Tkachuk said. "He's got a cracking shot, and it ended up being the game-winner.

Binnington shone with some crucial stops in that play, and Canada – who were missing top defenceman Cale Makar due to illness – had plenty of opportunities to level it but couldn't get the puck past Hellebuyck again. Guentzel scored into an empty net with 1:19 left to seal it, and the outcome puts an all-star team led by McDavid, Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon in a must-win situation against Finland on Monday.

It's a bit like a Game 7," McDavid said. "A lot of blokes in this room have been in that situation before. Got to get a win.

The Yanks have nothing to play for against Sweden that night, but there's a worry about Matthew Tkachuk after he didn't finish the game due to what Sullivan described as a lower-body injury.

G'day, I feel as right as rain," Tkachuk said, giving the injury a flick. "Definitely feeling heaps better after a win. Should be all good.