Blues Defenseman Involved In Rare Instance For Team Canada

Colton Parayko dropped the gloves, fought for just third time (first in international play) in playing career

To say it didn't take long for the bad blood between the United States and Canada to be on full display is an understatement.

For the Tkachuk brothers, Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk, each respective fight just seconds after the opening face-off wasn't a surprise. But St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko? Now that's a rarity.

But there was Parayko, as Part 3 of the opening act of fights of USA's 3-1 win over Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off at Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday.

Parayko, who followed Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel just two seconds in and Brady Tkachuk and Sam Bennett one second later, would stretch it all the way out to nine seconds, when he took on J.T. Miller after a whistle near Blues teammate and Canada goalie Jordan Binnington.

And handled himself well for someone who doesn't fight often.

It was just the third fight of Parayko's career and first in nearly six years.

It was just the recipe needed for the 21,105 packed into the home of the Montreal Canadiens and those watching the first USA-Canada matchup since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

To say there was pent-up energy is understating it: