Tkachuk brothers each score twice as U.S. routs Finland 6-1 in 4 Nations Face-Off - ESPN

MONTREAL — Brady and Matthew Tkachuk came out hitting, started scoring and put together a display of brotherly dominance playing together for the first time on a big stage.

The Tkachuks each scored twice, flourishing after being put on the ice at the same time, and the United States beat Finland 6-1 on Thursday night night in each team's opening game at the 4 Nations Face-Off, a physical showdown played with edge throughout.

«That's the way we play, one of the reasons why we're on the team,» said Matthew Tkachuk, a reigning Stanley Cup champion who 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 finishing checks, including Jack Eichel dumping Finnish captain Aleksander Barkov into the U.S. bench. Brady Tkachuk bowled over 6-foot-6 Niko Mikkola with one of his game-high eight hits, and Matthew Tkachuk gave Patrik Laine an earful before a faceoff as the Americans began to take over.

Matthew called Brady «a beast,» and coach Mike Sullivan said the brothers «just have a funny way of dragging us into the fight.»

«I mean 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 scoreboard made it look like more of a rout than it was for the first two periods, when quality chances were at a