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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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel dropped the gloves off the opening draw, which marked the first of three fights that ensued within the first nine seconds of play. After the United States' 3-1 ...

When the puck dropped in Montreal’s Bell Centre on Saturday night, Team Canada’s Brandon Hagel dropped his gloves along with Team USA’s Matthew Tkachuk. It was the first of three fights that ...

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.

Saturday’s USA-Canada match in the 4 Nations Face-Off showdown started with three consecutive fights in the game’s first nine seconds.