Team USA stars brace for rivaled showdown vs Canada as tensions rise over national anthem controversy

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Team USA and Team Canada are facing off in international best-on-best hockey at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday in Montreal, and the stakes are high.

It is the first time in nine years that NHL players will be able to compete in the bitter rivalry, as the NHL stopped allowing players to play in such an event since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. 

"I’ve thought about this game for nine years," Team USA star Matthew Tkachuk said via Sportsnet. 

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Team USA forward Matthew Tkachuk (19) celebrates his goal against Team Finland in the third period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre.  (David Kirouac-Imagn Images)

Adding to what is already going to be a hotly contested game on the ice, there is another part of the highly anticipated matchup that fans will be watching: the national anthems. 

Prior to Team USA’s 6-1 win over Finland on Thursday, which was also in Montreal, the Canadian fans booed during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

"I didn’t like it. That’s all I got," Tkachuk said postgame of the boos. 

And Tkachuk played like someone who didn’t like it as he and his brother, Brady Tkachuk, each scored two goals in the win. 

The Canadian fans would be wise to not give the Tkachuk brothers or Team USA any more reason to be fired up against team Canada on Saturday, 

"I think it's going to be the biggest game that I've ever played in my career. I'm really looking forward to that. There's a big buildup to it. USA vs. Canada is bigger than just the guys on the ice," Brady said postgame. 

TEAM USA STAR MATTHEW TKACHUK DELIVERS STERN ONE-LINER AFTER CANADIAN FANS BOO