Copyright © 2025 Bleacher Report, Inc. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved.

Canadian forward Brandon Hagel said the animosity at the start of the game wasn't just for showmanship. When the Americans and Canadians met on Saturday night, a 3-1 win for the U.S., there were three fights in the first nine seconds of the game.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel was feeling quite patriotic after helping Canada defeat the United States 3-2 in overtime in Thursday's 4 Nations Face

Matthew Tkachuk responded to Team Canada winger Brandon Hagel's jab that Team USA is "playing for the cameras" before the two teams' showdown in the 4 Nations Face-Off Final.

With national pride on the line in a long-awaited rivalry game, Saturday's round-robin 4 Nations Face-Off tilt between the United States and Canada showcased a smorgasbord of hockey ingredients. With three fights commencing in the opening nine seconds of play,

Ahead of Thursday's 4 Nations Face-Off title game, Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel continued to trade chirps at TD Garden.

Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel added fuel to the fire with direct jabs at each other ahead of the 4 Nations Final between Team USA and Team Canada.

It appears that the feeling was mutual between Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel. Immediately following puck drop on Saturday’s 4 Nations Face-Off match between USA and Canada, won 3-1 by the Americans, Tkachuk and Hagel threw their gloves to the ground and sparred with each other.

The reasons differ from player to player and from one situation to the next. The three American forwards, for example, infamously had a group chat before the game in which they all pledged to get the crowd going by fighting in the game. Canada’s Brandon Hagel, on the other hand, had a different reason.

The post followed Canada’s thrilling 3-2 overtime victory in the 4 Nations Face-Off final against its American rivals.

Team Canada forward Brandon Hagel dropped a fiery comment on his fight with USA's Matthew Tkachuk during Canada's 3-1 loss.

Matthew Tkachuk, naturally, was the instigator to Saturday's punchfest, but no way was Brandon Hagel, a proud Lightning and prouder Canadian, was backing down. Ahead of Thursday's final, that bad blood simmered into a war of words.