Booing an anthem? Three fights in nine seconds? Welcome to USA-Canada hockey.

||| FROM THE WASHINGTON POST |||

There hadn’t been a fight in an international hockey tournament since the NHL hosted the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, but there hasn’t been an international hockey tournament at a time of such strained relations between the United States and Canada.

Against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st state and the imposition of tariffs on Canadian goods, Saturday night’s 4 Nations Face-Off matchup between the countries began when the sold-out crowd at Montreal’s Bell Centre booed the American national anthem. The spirit quickly spilled over onto the ice, with three fights in the first nine seconds of the highly entertaining game, which the United States won, 3-1.

The matchup was an emotional one for Canadian fans who booed “The Star-Spangled Banner” despite the public address announcer asking — in French and English — “in the spirit of this great game that unites everyone that you kindly respect the anthems and the players that represent each country.” Montreal fans also booed before Team USA’s 6-1 victory against Finland on Thursday, prompting forward Matthew Tkachuk to say afterward, “I didn’t like it, and that’s all I got.” The boos, which were louder Saturday night, were a continuation of those at NBA and NHL games in Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver earlier this month as well.

“We knew it was going to happen,” U.S. defenseman Zach Werenski told reporters Saturday night. “It happened the last game, it’s been happening in the NHL before this, and we knew tonight was going to be the same way. We obviously don’t like it.”

“There should not be any of that. We’re here to play a hockey game. They can boo all they want during the games. The anthems should be off limits,” Canada’s Brad Marchand, who plays for the Boston Bruins, told reporters Thursday. Players, he added, “have nothing to do with the political things that are going on.”

U.S. players were prepared for the reception. “It is what it is,” Werenski said. “We kind of had an idea. We used it as motivation the best we could and found a way to get a win. But we had an idea going into it, so it wasn’t a surprise. Definitely don’t like it, though.”

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