An enthralling matchup between Canada and the USA on Saturday night ends with a 3-1 win for the Red, White, and Blue to punch their ticket into the 4 Nations Face-Off Finals.

The start of the contest was one for the ages as three fights within the first nine seconds brought the ruckus crowd at the Bell Centre to their feet. It started with a tilt between Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel two seconds after the opening face-off that saw the Canadian get the better of the two and pump the crowd up. A second later, Brady Tkachuk and Sam Bennett exchanged blows which went more in favour of the American. Six seconds after that, a scrum ensued in front of the Canada net before JT Miller and Colton Parayko gave it a go.

Given how long it had been since a best-on-best game between the two teams and the recent political events, suffice it to say that the start of the contest was one that everyone in attendance will never forget. Some wondered if the animosity between Canada and the US on the ice had dissipated since the last major tilt between the two at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, but they silenced those critics with authority.

Once the fireworks dispersed and the game properly began, the two hockey powerhouses were evenly matched as many came to expect. Connor McDavid opened the scoring with a spectacular goal where he flew by the defence and roofed a backhander that Connor Hellebuyck had no chance to stop. Jake Guentzel responded a little over five minutes later with a shot off the rush that got through Jordan Binnington’s five-hole.

In the second period, both teams came up short on the power play and engaged with plenty of hits though it was not quite as electric as the first. Then with just under seven minutes remaining, Dylan Larkin fired a shot that Binnington could not stop to give the USA the lead.

The Americans did a masterful job from that point on shutting things down defensively and making it impossible for the Canadians to generate much offensively. While the Red and White certainly had their chances to tie the game, Hellebuyck was the difference maker in this one with 22 saves and allowing only one goal against. It was enough to help propel the US to hold the fort within the dying minutes, culminating with an empty-net goal from Guentzel to ice it.

With the win, the USA clinched their spot in the finals on Thursday at TD Garden and will be looking to go undefeated in the round-robin on Monday night against Sweden. As for Canada, they will need to secure a regulation victory on Monday afternoon against Finland if they wish to get a rematch with their bitter rivals and right the wrongs.