USA-Canada takeaways: Hellebuyck, McAvoy star in 4 Nations win

If anyone thought that NHL players weren't totally invested in the new 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, all they had to do was watch the first nine seconds of Saturday night's much-anticipated United States vs. Canada showdown at the Bell Centre.

One of the best rivalries in sports is alive and well.

The atmosphere in Montreal pre-game was electric, and once the puck dropped, multiple fights broke out. Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel fought right after the opening faceoff.

Soon after, Brady Tkachuk and Sam Bennett dropped their gloves for another fight. And then J.T. Miller tussled with Colton Parayko in a third fight a few seconds later.

After giving up the first goal, the Americans scored three unanswered tallies to secure a 3-1 win over Canada. As a result, the United States has clinched a spot in Thursday's championship game at TD Garden in Boston. The loss also snaps Canada's 17-game win streak in best-on-best competition.

All three of the other teams in the tournament -- Canada, Sweden and Finland -- still have a chance to make the title game. The U.S. has six points, while the other nations have two points apiece after two round robin games for each team.

Canada controls its own destiny and can clinch a rematch with Team USA in the championship game if it defeats Finland in regulation Monday in Boston.

Before we look ahead to Monday's matchups, here are four takeaways from an awesome USA-Canada matchup.

Hellebuyck shows USA's advantage in net

The one clear advantage the United States has over Canada is the goaltender position. All three of the U.S. netminders -- Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman -- are better than any of the Canadian goalies.

Hellebuyck, as the Vezina Trophy favorite for the first-place Winnipeg Jets, was the no-brainer pick to start for Team USA, and he's played fantastic through two games.

It was hard to fault him on Canada's opening goal scored by Connor McDavid. Canada had a bunch of other good scoring chances in the first period, too, but Hellebuyck slammed the door shut to keep the U.S. in the game.

Hellebuyck made a clutch save on Nathan MacKinnon in close just before Dylan Larkin scored the go-ahead goal in the second period. He made nine high-danger saves on 10 high-danger scoring chances generated by Canada. Overall, Hellebuyck stopped 25 of the 26 shots sent his way. Canada was expected to score 3.49 goals in this game, based on the quality and quantity of its scoring chances, per MoneyPuck, but Hellebuyck allowed just one puck to get past him.

Jordan Binnington started for Canada and probably should have stopped both of the Americans' first two goals, particularly Jake Guentzel's tally in the first period.

Hellebuyck has been an awesome goalie for many years, but his performance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs has been less than stellar throughout his career. It was fair to wonder if he could step up in a pressure-packed environment like Saturday night's showdown in Montreal. So far, Hellebuyck has answered the challenge.

Hellebuyck has a .957 save percentage in two games. If he continues to play at this level and Team USA wins the championship, he'll be an easy choice for MVP.

Dylan Larkin needs more ice time

Larkin was the third-line center with J.T. Miller at left wing and Matt Boldy at right wing, and this trio played a huge role in Team USA's victory.

Larkin gave the Americans their first lead at 13:33 of the second period when he fired a shot past Binnington stick side. Boldy picked up an assist for jumpstarting the rush after the Canadian turnover.

Larkin also earned a primary assist on Jake Guentzel's empty-net goal late in the third period.

The United States had a 10-5 edge in shot attempts and a 4-2 advantage in shots on net when the Miller-Larkin-Boldy line was on the ice during 5-on-5 action.

Larkin was one of Team USA's best players Saturday, and he deserves more ice time going forward. Good things have happened when he's on the ice.

Speed and physicality in this matchup is crazy

The level of skill on the ice in Montreal was incredible, but the speed and physicality was just as impressive.

McDavid is one of the fastest skaters on the planet and breezed past multiple Team USA players before scoring on a backhand shot to open the scoring in the first period.

Speed was a huge factor throughout the game. In fact, all three even-strength goals were scored off the rush.

Both teams also tried to establish a physical tone right off the bat. In addition to the three fights in the first nine seconds of the game, there were a ton of huge hits -- enough to fill a whole highlight reel.

Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy was credited with five hits -- the most among U.S. defensemen -- including two on McDavid and two on Sidney Crosby.

But nobody set the tone more than the Tkachuk brothers. Matthew and Brady never passed up an opportunity for a massive hit or a cross-check.

Team USA finished with a 34-29 lead in hits and blocked 15 shots.

There are a lot of reasons why best-on-best international hockey produces some of the most exciting action in sports, and this USA-Canada game was a perfect example. The amount of high-end skill, toughness and emotions was phenomenal. And the crazy thing is if we get a rematch in the championship game in Boston, we should expect even more intensity than what we saw Saturday.

Matthew Tkachuk unable to finish the game

Tkachuk didn't shy away from contact Saturday, and unfortunately for the United States, he appeared to pick up some kind of injury in the third period. Tkachuk didn't take a shift over the last 12:36 of the final period. He skated during TV timeouts to test whatever was bothering him but didn't feel well enough to take another shift.

Losing Tkachuk for Monday's would be a tough setback for Team USA. Tkachuk has taken this tournament more seriously than any other player. He's also a clutch scorer and plays each shift with a level of toughness and energy that's contagious.

For what it's worth, Tkachuk told reporters postgame that there's "no concern" with whatever kept him off the ice for most of the third period.

Luckily for the United States, they don't need Tkachuk for Monday's game against Sweden after already clinching a championship game berth. It would be a good opportunity for him to rest and recover for Thursday's championship game.

If Tkachuk can't play in any of the final two games, Chris Kreider likely would enter the lineup. He's the extra forward on Team USA's roster.