Brady and Matthew Tkachuk came out hitting, started scoring, and put on a great display of brotherly power as they played together for the first time on a big stage.
Both Tkachuks scored twice, showing off their skills when they were on the ice at the same time. The U.S. defeated Finland 6-1 on Thursday night in the opening game of the 4 Nations Face-Off, a hard-hitting match filled with energy.
“That’s the way we play, one of the reasons why we’re on the team,” said Matthew Tkachuk, who is the reigning Stanley Cup champion and finished with three points. “You don’t change your game. You play your identity. It’s up to us and the rest of the guys to play to your strengths. That’s one of them.”
Everyone was hitting, including Jack Eichel, who knocked Finnish captain Aleksander Barkov into the U.S. bench. Brady Tkachuk delivered one of his game-high eight hits when he knocked over the 6-foot-6 Niko Mikkola, and Matthew Tkachuk had a little talk with Patrik Laine before a faceoff as the Americans started to take control.
Matthew called Brady “a beast,” and coach Mike Sullivan said the brothers “just have a funny way of dragging us into the fight.”
“We kind of knew what to expect after watching [the Canada-Sweden] game that it was going to be fast and physical,” said defenseman Zach Werenski, who had three assists. “We have some guys on this team that can do that, right? You have the Tkachuks. We got [J.T.] Miller.
We got a lot of big bodies. Eichel was throwing his body around tonight. I thought the pace was really good. I thought the physicality was good, and I thought we responded well to all of it.”
The score made it look like a bigger blowout than it really was, as the first two periods had fewer scoring chances, and there wasn’t much space on the ice. Matt Boldy scored the go-ahead goal on a perfect deflection of Brock Faber’s shot late in the second period, then everything changed quickly in the third.
Many fans hadn’t even returned to their seats after the break when Matthew Tkachuk scored just 15 seconds into the third period. Then, Jake Guentzel scored 11 seconds later, and Brady Tkachuk scored again, all within three minutes.
“The start of the third, it was — I don’t know how to say that, but we weren’t ready for that,” said Finland coach Antti Pennanen, who admitted they considered pulling goaltender Juuse Saros.
The quick goals silenced the pro-Finland crowd, made up of Canadians who were eager to cheer against their rival. Some even booed the U.S. anthem before the game, and a few fans booed Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews every time he touched the puck.
Matthew Tkachuk added another power-play goal with 8:47 left, and that was enough to get “U-S-A!” chants going in the Bell Centre. In the final minutes, a few U.S. fans cheered, “We want Canada!”
The U.S. faces off with Canada on Saturday night
“I think it’s going to be the biggest game that I’ve ever played in my career,” Brady Tkachuk said. “We’ve been talking about that game especially. Really excited to experience it.”
Finland only had one real chance to cheer when late addition Henri Jokiharju beat Connor Hellebuyck with a shot at 7:31 to make it 1-0. Hellebuyck stopped the next 18 shots he faced to finish with 20 saves.
Saros, however, allowed six goals on 32 shots and might be replaced by Kevin Lankinen for Finland’s game against Sweden on Saturday.
“Of course we need to think about that,” Pennanen said. “It was a tough day for Juuse. He was really good the first 40 minutes, but I think we need to analyze this game and make those decisions tomorrow or Saturday.”
The U.S. doesn’t have goalie concerns but Sullivan made some smart midgame changes that helped his team take the lead in the 4 Nations standings after round-robin play.
In the second period, Sullivan moved Brady Tkachuk to left wing with Eichel and Matthew Tkachuk, and shifted Kyle Connor to the second line with Matthews and Jack Hughes. He also changed the second and third defense pairs to put Noah Hanifin with Adam Fox and Jaccob Slavin with Brock Faber.
“We’ve been together for four days,” Eichel said. “He’s coached for quite a while. I think we’re all trying to find chemistry and get comfortable with each other. That could mean some changes in lines and pairings and whatnot. I think everyone was prepared when their number was called and helped contribute to the win.”
