'Mayhem' At 4 Nations Face-Off, Followed By Precision From Team USA Against Canada

Team USA beat Canada on an unforgettable night at the 4 Nations Face-Off. After the longest nine seconds ever, the Americans got the win by locking things down.

MONTREAL - It started off with a group text. That's how the Team USA trio of J.T. Miller and the Tkachuk brothers, Matthew and Brady, spawned the idea of dropping the gloves as soon as possible. 

In the end, only nine seconds of the play clock had come off, and three consecutive fights with Team Canada electrified a raucous crowd at the Bell Centre. 

It was, in the words of Canada coach Jon Cooper, "mayhem." And if you want to know if he liked the mayhem, Cooper also noted that he "didn't see anybody running for the exits."

Simply put, this will go down as one of the most famous games in hockey history.

"The Tkachuk brothers and Millsy...what a start," said Team USA's Dylan Larkin. "Credit to those guys for answering the bell. It was a great night for the sport and a great night for this rivalry."

Oh yes, and Team USA won the game 3-1. 

Canada struck first on a beautiful goal by Connor McDavid, only to lose momentum when Jordan Binnington let in a softy to Jake Guentzel. And with Connor Hellebuyck in net for the Americans, Team USA only needed one more – a rocket from Larkin – to play with. 

While Guentzel added an empty-netter, the team's overall defensive play was so good that Canada's top scorers couldn't find another on the evening.

"We were able to skate with them," Larkin said. "And our defensemen did such a good job of corner-containing and killing plays. I was so impressed with the McAvoys and Slavins and Foxys, our whole 'D' corps – they just killed plays, and you could tell (Canada) was getting frustrated."

At times, it looked like Canada's forwards were getting too cute in the offensive zone, but it feels like a more accurate take would be that they couldn't get through the American defense. Team USA did a great job taking away the middle of the ice, something that typically leads to wins in high-stakes games.

"We're trusting our style, we're trusting our systems and we're playing our details well," Hellebuyck said. "We're feeding off each other, as well. A lot of our identity is two-way players. Guys can shut it down and also have a lot of offensive talent. I think we all understand that, and we're playing to our strengths."

With six of the NHL's top scorers playing in the contest, you would assume there would have been more scoring. But the commitment from both teams proved otherwise, and neither side came close to 30 shots on net.

"Both teams have a whole bunch of brilliant, skilled players," Cooper said. "You can watch an NHL game where the shots are 45-35, there are chances all over the place and it's run-and-gun. But when you have this quality of player and they all check, that's why the shots are 20-20 (officially they were 26-23). That's why there is no space. The margin of error is razor-thin."

Did the game live up to hype? Yes, and then some. Will we get a rematch in Boston? Team USA has already qualified for the final, thanks to the win. Now, Canada needs to beat Finland to keep its chances alive. 

Either way, hockey fans were treated to something absolutely unforgettable on Saturday night.

"It was a great moment for USA Hockey," Larkin said. "I was thinking about kids watching the game and the message: the work ethic, the compete, guys blocking shots. I hope kids watched it like I was as a kid, wanting so badly to put that jersey on as part of the next generation."

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