Tension and gloves were flying high at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament on Saturday, Feb.15, as Team USA “faced off” against Canada in Montreal. This comes after President Donald Trump ordained a 25% export tariff on goods entering Canada and a 10% tariff on Canadian energy earlier this month. The White House released a fact sheet on Feb. 1 laying out key points of The Trump administration’s evolving plans with the United States’ foreign relations.
In early February, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a public statement addressing the American people. Trudeau wanted to highlight the many years of Canada’s continuous support and mention its recent aid during the California wildfires. He stated, “As I said before, if President Trump wants to usher in a Golden Age for the United States, the better path is to partner with Canada, not to punish us.” As a response to Trump’s tariffs, Canada has devised a 25% tariff of their own on U.S. goods, adding to the growing tensions between the neighboring countries.
The 4 Nations Face-Off comprises Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the USA. This is a change the NHL is doing this season instead of the classic All-Star Game. Drafting players from the NHL who are the best of the best to represent their home countries as they prepare for the 2026 Winter Olympics hosted in Milano Cortina. Before puck drop Saturday evening, with the singing of the two national anthems, Canadian hockey fans began to boo during the duration of the United States National Anthem. This comes after the announcer asked fans to respect each participating country’s national anthem kindly.
Just as the puck drop started the game, at 19 minutes and 58 seconds, two players, Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel, dropped their gloves. This is an unofficial official recognition to another player that a physical fight was set to take place. It usually lasts until it hits the ice, and the referees break it up.
Tkachuk represents Team USA and plays for the Florida Panthers, who took home the Stanley Cup last season. Hagel, originally from Canada, plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning. These two teams have a competitive rivalry, especially given the outcome of the previous season.
As Tkachuk and Hagel were put in the penalty box, another fight broke out during the second face-off at 19 minutes and 57 seconds. This fight was between Tkachuk’s brother, Brady Tkachuk, and Sam Bennett. Ironically, Bennett also plays on the Panthers with Matthew. The bitter rivalry between the two Florida teams doesn’t seem like the only fuel on the ice, as at 19 minutes and 51 seconds, a third fight broke out, this time with J.T. Miller of the New York Rangers and Colton Parayko of the St. Louis Blues.
After the penalty box had collected players like infinity stones and these two teams gave their all, the game concluded with the USA winning 3-1. This placed the USA in the championship game. After Canada’s win against Finland (5-3), they will go head-to-head again in Boston on Thursday, Feb. 20. Fighting for the title of 4 Nations Champion.