A 4 Nations Face-Off game that began with three fights in nine seconds produced some of the best hockey on display in recent memory. The result: a 3-1 win for the United States over Canada, much to the dismay of a majority of the fans at Montreal's Bell Centre on Saturday night.
The victory gives Team USA six points and clinches a spot in the championship game this Thursday. Each of the other teams has two points, so Monday's matchups will determine whom the Americans will face for the title:
Here are grades for the U.S. and Canada, our biggest takeaways, key players to watch in the next game and lingering questions.
Grading the teams
United States: A
Team USA's opening win over Finland on Thursday was the kind of emphatic, confidence-building victory the Americans needed before facing their archrivals. But it also was important for proof of concept about this roster. It established two scoring lines, anchored by Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel. It showed that star players on their NHL teams could adapt to becoming role players on the national team -- players such as Dylan Larkin, who scored a critical goal against Canada. It was a win that showed the Americans as poised and in control of their emotions.
Everything they exhibited in that matchup with Finland informed this effort against Canada on Saturday, underscored by a strong performance from Connor Hellebuyck in goal. It was a victory in the most hostile of environments for the Americans, a total team effort in a cyclone of emotions.
The Canadians will note the absence of Cale Makar due to illness and that the game's importance was diminished following Sweden's overtime loss to Finland. The Americans -- who of course are missing Quinn Hughes for the entirety of the tournament due to injury -- certainly will take that under advisement as they travel back home celebrating an epic win, clinching a spot in Thursday's championship game in Boston and ending Canada's 17-game "best-on-best" tournament winning streak, per ESPN Research. -- Greg Wyshynski
Canada: B-
Maybe placing such a high emphasis on a single play could be considered unfair when it comes to Canada's overall performance. But in a game between the two most talented teams in the tournament, there was going to be little separation.
The Americans found that separation in the second period, with Matt Boldy breaking up a Sidney Crosby cross-ice pass that was further compounded by a line change. That saw an odd-skater rush in the other direction, with Larkin firing a shot for what proved to be the winning goal in just the second period.
Mistakes often have the potential to prove costly, with the notion that miscues are further amplified by facing the reigning Vezina Trophy winner in Hellebuyck, who could win the award again this season. Even with the copious high-danger scoring chances Canada created later in the game, it wasn't enough to overcome the gaffe that led to the winning goal. -- Ryan S. Clark
Dylan Larkin takes advantage of a 2-on-1 situation for Team USA and buries the puck to give his team the lead.
What we learned
Hellebuyck answers the critics
Hellebuyck is considered the best goaltender in the world, having won the Vezina Trophy last season and the favorite to claim it again for the Winnipeg Jets this season. But the 31-year-old American has his detractors, who point to his lack of success when it matters most. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, he has a 33-49 career record and back-to-back first-round exits with a save percentage under .890.
While some felt the goal he surrendered against Finland was specious, he was solid for the rest of the contest. Against Canada, he gave a goal to Connor McDavid on the rush -- what NHL goalie hasn't? -- but was a formidable last line of defense the remainder of the way with 20 saves, coming up some big stops in the third period.
Hellebuyck was one of the players in this tournament who needed a strong showing -- for his confidence and to cement himself as the starter for the 2026 Winter Olympics ahead of a very crowded field. So far, he is making a statement. -- Wyshynski
Canada found countermeasures but still missed Makar
Even with Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley on standby, there were questions that Canada needed to answer when it came to how it would effectively replace one of the game's best defensemen. Makar finished with a little more than 28 minutes of ice time in Canada's overtime win against Sweden. It was the most of any skater for either team.
Makar's absence went beyond his ice time. It meant having to find someone who could operate on the first-team power-play and penalty-killing units. Canada turned to Josh Morrissey to operate in Makar's place on the power play, only to finish 0-for-2. As for Harley, he would finish with two shots in 18:47 of ice time. It's not overstating it to say Canada needs Makar back for Monday's game against Finland. -- Clark
Historic, chaotic start
Maybe it was the emotions of the rivalry manifesting in the only way they could have. Maybe it was the Florida Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk seeing Brandon Hagel, an NHL rival with the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the starting lineup and finding himself unable to do anything but drop the gloves -- which was brother Brady Tkachuk's theory. Maybe it was the Tkachuk brothers honoring their dad, Keith, who held a share of the record for earliest fight in an NHL international game at 20 seconds during the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
That's a record that fights by the Tkachuks and J.T. Miller against Hagel, Sam Bennett and Colton Parayko shattered. Whatever motivated three fights in the first nine seconds of Saturday night's showdown, it turned a rivalry hockey game in a round-robin tournament into a cultural moment on Saturday night. People who don't talk about hockey were talking about hockey, which is what the NHL wanted out of this tournament -- even if the catalyst for that spike in interest was something no one could have predicted.
The best rivalry in hockey, United States vs. Canada, just got better, with a return game potentially on tap next week. -- Wyshynski
Three players each from USA and Canada are penalized for three fights in the first nine seconds of the game.
Where were the individual displays for Canada when it needed goals?
Looking ahead to this game, there was a hearty debate over which side was more talented. The way McDavid found space and burst past Charlie McAvoy for the game's first goal is arguably the strongest example that those on the Canadian side were right.
But outside of that lone moment? Many of Canada's stars struggled to find the necessary openings that would allow them to utilize their talent. Perhaps the most evident example came in the third period, when reigning Hart Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon used his speed on a zone entry only to rethink his approach once Jaccob Slavin arrived to take away what appeared to be a path toward the net.
Much of the frustration had to do with the Americans relying on a tight structure, which made finding those opportunities difficult until later in the third period. It amounted to Canada ending the night with 12 high-danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. That's more than the 10 high-danger chances it mustered against Sweden -- but with fewer goals to show for it. -- Clark
Players to watch
Jake Guentzel
F, United States
What a tournament for the Lightning winger. He had a goal and an assist against Finland followed by two goals -- including an empty-netter -- against Canada.
Guentzel has always had the reputation of rising to the occasion as a Stanley Cup playoff performer with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes. He is the leader for tournament MVP. -- Wyshynski
Sam Reinhart
F, Canada
Part of what made Canada one of the initial favorites to win the tournament was the squad's scoring depth. That includes Reinhart. Since the 2022-23 season, only five players have scored more NHL goals than Reinhart, who is on pace to finish with more than 40 for a second straight campaign.
But against the U.S., he finished with zero goals on no shots, in the wake of a performance against Sweden in which he scored zero goals on three shots. -- Clark
Big questions for the next game
How do they approach a (potentially) meaningless game?
The Americans already have qualified for Thursday's championship game. That they know. Who their opponents are is a mystery.
Canada's game against Finland on Monday afternoon will determine whether the Canadians will punch their ticket for a rematch in the title game or if Monday night's U.S.-Sweden contest carries any importance.
Do the Americans play another goalie to give Hellebuyck a rest? Does Matthew Tkachuk heal up from whatever was ailing him in the Canada game and give Chris Kreider his 4 Nations debut? All in all, these are good problems to have for tournament-leading Team USA. -- Wyshynski
Charlie McAvoy delivers a punishing hit to Connor McDavid that everyone can hear in the first period.
Can the space that eluded Canada against the U.S. be found against Finland?
Much of what allowed the United States to have success against Canada was the ability to take away time and space, while also blocking shots and using a physical style by finishing with 30 hits. Could Finland look to employ a similar strategy on Monday when it faces Canada for a championship game berth on the line?
Finland overcame giving up six goals in its first game to the U.S. by making it difficult for Sweden to find chances of any kind by taking away space. It's one of the major reasons Sweden finished with only two high-danger chances. If Finland employs a similar system, what adjustments will Canada have to make to force a rematch with the U.S. -- and avoid an earlier-than-expected exit? -- Clark