After the crowd at Montreal's Bell Centre loudly booed the United States national anthem ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off game between Team USA and Team Canada on Saturday night, the tension that was in the arena seemingly spilled out onto the ice, as three fights broke out in the first nine seconds after the puck was dropped.
But Team USA winger Brady Tkachuk, who—along with his brother Matthew—was involved in two of the three bouts on the ice against the Canadians, explained in an interview with ESPN's Emily Kaplan after the first period that the brawls started "organically", adding that his brother "wanted a piece" of Team Canada winger Brandon Hagel.
