M. Tkachuk, Hagel trade barbs ahead of USA-Canada 4 Nations final - ESPN

BOSTON — Team USA's Matthew Tkachuk and Canada's Brandon Hagel traded punches on Saturday night. Ahead of their rematch in the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off championship game on Thursday in Boston, they're trading words.

Hagel said Tuesday that his fight with Tkachuk off the opening faceoff — one of three fights in the first nine seconds of Team USA's electrifying win in Montreal — was done «for the flag and not the cameras.» He also called out U.S players J.T. Miller and Matthew and Brady Tkachuk for preplanning their fights against Canada via group chat.

«We don't need to initiate anything. We don't have any group chats going on. We're going out there playing our game and then giving it everything and doing it for our country,» Hagel said, via Sportsnet. «We're just going to play as hard as we can and do it for the flag on the chest.»

Matthew Tkachuk was asked about Hagel's comments on Wednesday morning.

«Maybe their team doesn't like each other then, if they don't have group chats,» he said.

Tkachuk and Hagel are rivals in the NHL, as Tkachuk plays for the Florida Panthers and Hagel skates for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

«That's just a player enjoying his opportunity. Our team does not care about anything that they say. There's been a lot of chatter and talk from individuals, but we care about one thing in this room,» Tkachuk said. «We have millions of people that are watching us and supporting us around this country and we're very prideful in playing for them. So it's an opportunity of a lifetime for us.»

U.S. coach Mike Sullivan said that both Matthew and Brady Tkachuk — who was under the weather Wednesday and missed practice — will be available for their game against Canada.

Matthew Tkachuk missed Team USA's game on Monday