Matthew Tkachuk reveals early fights in USA vs Canada were planned before game

Team USA took down Team Canada 3-1 in the second match for both squads at the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off on Saturday night. It was an impressive effort by the Americans to overcome a physical showing by the Canadians in their first best-on-best meeting since the 2016 World Cup.

The big win for Team USA started with multiple bouts of fisticuffs between the players. Both Matthew and Brady Tkachuk dropped the gloves to fight Canadian opponents just a few seconds into the first period. A third fight in nine seconds was also initiated between J.T. Miller and Colton Parayko, sending six players to the penalty box before the game could truly get underway.

According to TSN insider Pierre LeBrun, those were not heat of the moment bouts or even instigated on the ice. Matthew Tkachuck revealed that all three players were on a group chat and decided prior to puck drop that they would all drop the gloves and pick a fight.

"Anything goes with these Tkachuk guys," teammate Dylan Larkin told Sports Net post game. "They drag us into the battle."

American aggressiveness sparked Team USA to crucial 4 Nations Face-Off victory

If there were any boxing judges in the audience for the start of USA-Canada, they probably would've judged both Tkachuk brothers winners of their respective fights and chalked up the Miller-Parayko fight to a draw. Either way, the heated bouts were just the spark Team USA needed to battle for the all-important victory.

Now with six points in the table, Team USA automatically qualifies for the championship game on Thursday and will head into Monday's final round-robin match against Sweden with no need to worry about a loss.

A rematch with Canada in the championship game is very likely and there's also the possibility more fights could break out in the tournament sequel. I'm sure the Tkachuk brothers will be more than happy to go for round two with whichever hoser decides to square up with them on Thursday in Boston.