3 takeaways from Team USA's 3-1 4 Nations' win over Canada

One of hockey's great rivalries delivered as the United States downed Canada 3-1 in a fiery 4 Nations Face-Off game Saturday night, including a scuffle involving New York Ranger J.T. Miller.

"Guys are willing to do a lot of different things when you have a lot of guys that are bought into out-willing the other team and not caring if they're the guy, not caring if you're on the power play," Miller said. "Taking pride in wearing the sweater and you're seeing the investment. [Team USA] is a willing group that's hard to play against."

Here's three key takeaways from the game that gave Team USA an automatic spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off final no matter what.

1. Fight Night

The heated hockey rivalry between the United States and Canada boiled over almost immediately after puck drop. Three fights erupted within the first nine seconds of play. Team USA's Matthew Tkachuk and Team Canada's Brandon Hagel came to blows first, with Tkachuk's brother, Brady Tkachuk, joining in one second after play restarted, taking on Canada's Sam Bennett. Six seconds later, a scrum around the Canadian goal turned into another fight, this time between American and New York Ranger J.T. Miller and Canada's Colton Parayko.

Hagel said during the first intermission that Matthew Tkachuk had initiated the fight, asking Hagel before puck drop if he wanted to start the game with gloves off.

"[I wanted to] just try to get some energy into the building," Hagel said. "He asked, and I'm not backing down from him."

2. Achieving the Win

Connor McDavid gave Canada the 1-0 lead after five minutes of play, powering past the U.S. defense to get the puck into the net first. But the red, white and blue soon followed, with Jake Guentzel scoring off a pass from Jack Eichel. In the second period, USA's and Detroit Red Wings member Dylan Larkin scored to give the U.S. a 2-1 lead.

Canada pulled goaltender Jordan Binnington in the final two minutes in an attempt to find an equalizer, but Guentzel notched his second goal of the game with an empty-netter to seal the 3-1 win.

3. Moving On

The U.S. has nothing to play for against Sweden in Boston on Monday night. Staying healthy will be key as the finale awaits later in the week. The game might give Sullivan a chance to rest some players. There is also a possibility that Matthew Tkachuk will set out for Monday night's play versus Ranger Mika Zibanejad's team. Matthew missed the final 12:36 of the Canada clash and left Bell Centre with a noticeable limp — meaning he could need time to heal up before the championship game on Thursday.

It's a possibility Blueshirt Chris Kreider could see play in Matthew's place.