Hagel, of course, had a starring role in the first Canada-USA game Saturday in Montreal, dropping the gloves with Matthew Tkachuk off the opening faceoff and riling up the crowd afterward by throwing both hands in the air.

The post followed Canada’s thrilling 3-2 overtime victory in the 4 Nations Face-Off final against its American rivals.

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.

Hagel netted a shorthanded goal, dished an assist and blocked three shots in Sunday's 4-1 win against Seattle.

Hagel's comments came in response to Team USA’s pre-planned approach to their round-robin matchup, which featured three fights in the first nine seconds — starting with one featuring Hagel and Matthew Tkachuk — with the Americans plotting the bouts in advance through a group chat.

Brandon Hagel was on the ice for the opening face-off when Team USA and Team Canada battled on Saturday. Within seconds, his gloves were off and he was exchanging a flurry of punches with United States alternate captain,

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The fight between Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel in the opening seconds Saturday certainly didn’t settle any lingering Team USA-Canada tensions.

Team Canada's Brandon Hagel said fighting Team USA's Matthew Tkachuk was "for the flag," not "for the cameras," on Saturday in their 4 Nations Face-Off game.

Team Canada forward Brandon Hagel dropped a fiery comment on his fight with USA's Matthew Tkachuk during Canada's 3-1 loss.

In the round-robin game between Team USA and Canada in the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off on Saturday in Montreal, Tkachuk and Hagel were the first combatants in the now legendary three-fights-in-nine-seconds sequence that opened the Americans' 3-1 win.

Brandon Hagel let his patriotism shine after Canada’s 3-2 overtime win over Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off final on Thursday while making a dig at the Americans and their recent antics.